Vegan Linzer cookies - these delicious jam sandwich biscuits are light, tender and melt-in-the-mouth with a nutty, buttery, jammy flavour.
They are easy to make but look so beautiful with their jammy centres and snowy dusting of sugar; they are the perfect holiday cookie!
These vegan Linzer cookies are one of my all-time favourite biscuits. They are like a classy version of a jammy dodger, a rich, nutty, tender shortbread filled with sweet jam.
They are good all year round but are particularly suited to Christmas time due to their sparkling jammy centres and snow-like dusting of icing sugar.
They are a traditional Austrian biscuit, a mini version of a Linzer torte which is said to be the oldest cake in the world and is named after the city of Linz.
What Do I Need To Make Vegan Linzer Cookies?:
Vegan block butter: Please, for the love of holy baking, use a block butter/margarine to make these Linzer cookies, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Spreadable will likely make the dough too soft to roll out properly, and the biscuits may be more tough as it contains more water. I recommend Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Ground hazelnuts or almonds: I love the flavour of hazelnuts in these but almonds work just as well.
I used shop bought ground hazelnuts from Whole Foods Market (which unfortunately only has stores in London in the UK), but you can easily buy them online; or make your own.
Caster sugar: Caster sugar is best for these as it dissolves easily, making the dough nice and smooth. Golden caster sugar will add a nice hint of caramel flavour. Granulated sugar will work if that is all you have.
Don't use brown sugar, coconut sugar, sweeteners or liquid sugars as that will affect the texture of the cookies.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free.
Vanilla extract: Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavour. If you have it then vanilla bean paste would be amazing instead.
Cinnamon: I just add a little bit so these cookies don't really have a cinnamony flavour. Feel free to add more if you want a stronger cinnamon flavour.
Lemon zest: This is optional and the cookies don't really taste like lemon, it just adds depth to the flavour. You could also use orange zest instead.
Milk: A dash of non-dairy milk replaces the moisture from the usual egg to bring the dough together. Any kind will work but I always use unsweetened soy.
Salt: A little bit of salt balances the sweetness and brings out the flavour.
Jam: Any kind is fine as long as it isn't too runny or has big chunks of fruit. A smooth textured, thick jam is best. I use raspberry.
How To Make Vegan Linzer Cookies:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Stir together the flour, ground nuts, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until no lumps of butter remain. Add the milk and mix to form a dough. Knead it just briefly, until it is smooth.
Divide the dough into two discs, wrap them and refrigerate for 1 hour, until the dough is firm enough to roll out.
Roll one of the discs of dough out on a floured surface to 4mm thick. Use approximately 6 cm/ 2 ⅓rd in cookie cutters in your choice of shapes to cut out as many cookies as you can.
Use a mini cutter or the wide end of a piping nozzle to cut out a shape from the centre of half of the cookies.
Gently transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet, slightly spaced apart.
Bring together the scraps of dough, roll out again and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes first if it is too soft to roll.
Place the trays of cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes, or the fridge for 30 while you preheat the oven.
Bake the chilled cookies for 9-12 minutes until light golden around the edges. Cool on the tray for 5 mins then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Repeat with the other disc of dough, making sure the baking sheets are cold before you load them with more cookies.
Once all of the cookies are baked and have cooled completely, place the ones with the middle cut out on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar.
Spread a dollop of jam over the other half of the cookies, leaving a border.
Pick up one of the sugar dusted cookies, touching the edges only, and place it on top of one of the jam spread ones. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Don't overwork the dough as that will make the cookies tough. Just knead it very briefly until it is smooth and then stop.
The dough is quite soft so keep it refrigerated and work quickly when rolling it out.
A rolling pin with measuring rings is very helpful to ensure that you roll the dough out to exactly the right thickness. I have this one.
Chilling the cookies before baking them helps to ensure that they don't spread. I don't recommend skipping this step!
These cookies hold their shape well so you can use pretty much any shape cookie cutters you like. Just bear in mind that the dough is quite delicate so anything too large/intricate may be difficult to transfer to the baking sheet.
When the cookies are freshly assembled, they will have a crisp texture, the following day they will have soaked up some of the moisture from the jam and will be softer.
Can I Make The Dough In Advance?:
To make the dough in advance, shape it into a disc, wrap with clingfilm and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3 months.
Frozen dough should be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. Let it sit out at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes before rolling it out. It should still feel cool to the touch, but be pliable enough to roll out without cracking.
How To Store The Cookies:
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Unfilled they will keep for up to a couple of weeks.
Once they have been filled with jam they will keep for 5 days or so and will become softer over time.
The cookies can also be frozen, either filled or unfilled. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature to serve.
What Else Can I Fill These Vegan Linzer Cookies With?:
You aren't just limited to using jam to fill these biscuits, why not try chocolate spread (such as vegan nutella), biscoff or lemon curd instead?
More Vegan Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- Vegan gingerbread cookies
- Vegan biscotti with cranberries and almonds
- Vegan shortbread fingers
- Vegan chocolate pistachio biscotti
- Double chocolate almond cookies
- Vegan vanilla sugar cookies
- Vegan pecan snowball cookies
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Vegan Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) ground hazelnuts or almonds
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 225 g (1 cup) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) slightly softened
- 125 g (½ cup + 2 Tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- finely grated zest 1 lemon (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk
- jam to fill
- icing (powdered) sugar to dust
Instructions
- Line a couple of baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Stir together the flour, ground nuts, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until no lumps of butter remain. Add the milk and mix to form a dough. Knead it just briefly, until it is smooth. Do not over-work the dough.
- Divide the dough into two discs, wrap them and refrigerate for about 1 hour, until the dough is firm enough to roll out.
- Roll one of the discs of dough out on a floured surface to 4mm (⅛ in) thick. Use approximately 6 cm/ 2 ⅓ inch cookie cutters in your choice of shapes to cut out as many cookies as you can. If you are using a selection of different shaped cutters, remember that you need an equal number of each shape to create the sandwiches.
- Use a mini cutter or the wide end of a piping nozzle to cut out a shape from the centre of half of the cookies.
- Gently transfer the cookies to the lined baking sheets, slightly spaced apart.
- Bring together the scraps of dough, roll out again and cut out more cookies. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes first if it is too soft to roll.
- Place the trays of cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes, or the fridge for 30 while you preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Bake the chilled cookies for 9-12 minutes until light golden around the edges. Cool on the tray for 5 mins then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Repeat with the other disc of dough, making sure the baking sheets are cold before you load them with more cookies.
- Once all of the cookies are baked and have cooled completely, place the ones with the middle cut out on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar.
- Spread a dollop of jam over the other half of the cookies, leaving a border. Don't use too much or it will splurge out the sides, but don't be stingy either. It may be a good idea to assemble a test cookie to judge the right amount of jam.
- Pick up one of the sugar dusted cookies, touching the edges only, and place it on top of one of the jam spread ones. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, storage and freezing instructions and step-by-step photos.
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- A rolling pin with measuring rings is very helpful to ensure that you roll the dough out to exactly the right thickness. I have this one.
Max
Perfect cookies - toothsome, rich in flavor from the lemon and cinnamon, rather addictive! I filled mine with raspberry preserves, apricot jam, and chestnut cream. All turned out great. Chilling the dough really is your friend here! Thanks for the nice recipe xx
Rebecca
Hi, can I use something else than nuts? I am making these for a party and allergy conscious.
Thanks
Hannah
Hi Rebecca, to be honest I would just use a different recipe for the biscuits - this one would work well with the jam filling (you can omit the lemon): https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2022/03/11/vegan-lemon-sandwich-cookies/
Adele
Hi Hannah, I have a question about the butter block you use. I'm in New Zealand, and it's not easy to come by. When you can get it, it's really expensive, and I'd need 2 blocks, just for this recipe. Day to day, I use Olivani margarine, but I assume the taste and texture would be affected. Is there something else you would recommend, that would be similar to a vegan block butter?
Hannah
Hi Adele, I'm not familiar with that brand but I assume that it's a spreadable one? It is best to use a block type butter/margarine when baking things like biscuits and pastry as a spreadable one will likely make the dough too soft and could result in a tough texture. Obviously I can't say for sure how it will turn out as I've not used the brand before. You can actually also make your own vegan butter block so that may be an option for you?: http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter https://avirtualvegan.com/easy-vegan-butter/