Bake

Dominique Ansel's Linzer Cookies

by:
April 23, 2020
2.7
3 Ratings
Photo by Evan Sung
  • Prep time 40 minutes
  • Cook time 40 minutes
  • Makes about 10 sandwiched cookies
Author Notes

I love making jam with ripe fresh berries to preserve the very best of summer. Use your favorite berries—strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or huckleberries all work well here.

Vanilla Sablé Tart Shell filled with jam (recipe below) and finished with confectioners’ sugar

Excerpt from EVERYONE CAN BAKE by Dominique Ansel.
Copyright © 2020 by Dominique Ansel. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc, NY. —Food52

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Dominique Ansel's Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
  • 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 24 grams (2 tablespoons plus 1 3/4 teaspoons) powdered apple pectin
  • 700 grams ripe fresh berries
  • 1 quantity Vanilla Sablé Tart Shell dough (see Author Notes)
Directions
  1. Make the pectin mixture: Combine the sugar and pectin in a medium bowl and stir until well mixed.
  2. Make the berry mixture: Sprinkle the pectin mixture evenly over the berries and stir until incorporated.

    Make sure to sprinkle the pectin mixture evenly, or it will clump.
  3. Cook the jam: Transfer the berry mixture to a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed if the mixture threatens to boil over, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is thick and jammy, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat. If you prefer your jam to be seedless, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve before letting it cool.
  4. Use or store the jam: If you’ll be using the jam immediately or within a few days, let it cool completely; otherwise, process the jam for long-term storage while it’s still hot.
  5. Roll the dough slightly thicker than a tart shell, 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut shapes from the dough. With a smaller cookie cutter, cut a smaller shape from the center of half the cookies. Arrange all the cookies on a parchment paper–lined sheet pan and bake in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan. Turn the cookies without the center hole bottom-side up and dollop a teaspoon of jam onto each. Dust the cookies with the center hole with confectioners’ sugar and place on top of the jam. Push down slightly to make a sandwich. Once assembled, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

Smaug April 25, 2020
Just can't see it. The dough bears not the slightest resemblance to Linzer dough, which is, among other things, nut based; traditionally hazelnuts, but more often almonds or walnuts in the US. Additionally 1/4" is much too thick for a sandwich cookie. Making the jam yourself can be fun if you have the materials, but if you have to buy the berries it becomes insanely expensive. Once again, Linzer torte is traditionally made with red currant jam, and often raspberry in the US. Other berries, such as blueberries or blackberries, would be pushing it.