Linzer Doily Wreaths Recipes

OATMEAL SHORTBREAD WREATHS

Steps:

• Pulse the oats in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, brown sugar and salt and pulse. Add the butter and egg yolk and process until the dough comes together and no streaks of butter remain. Divide the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pat into disks; wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Let the dough sit at room temperature about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick; dust with more flour. (If the dough becomes too soft, refrigerate 15 minutes.) Cut out cookies with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter (preferably fluted), then cut out the centers with a 3/4-inch round cutter. Arrange the wreaths 1 inch apart on the prepared pans. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are dry and firm on top and golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the pans. Lightly brush the tops with the maple syrup, then immediately sprinkle with the crushed raspberries and sanding sugar. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

RASPBERRY DANISH WREATHS

Steps:

• Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about3 minutes. Add 1 egg and beat until incorporated; set aside. Butter 2 baking sheets. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper and dust with flour. Cut the dough in half. Place 1 piece on the parchment and roll into a 16-by-6-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs, then spread half of the cream cheese filling over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle 1/2 cup raspberries lengthwise down the middle. Use the parchment to lift the dough and roll it around the filling into a 16-inch log. Transfer the log to one of the prepared baking sheets, seam-side down, and form into a wreath, pinching the ends together to seal. Repeat to form a second wreath. Cover the wreaths loosely with buttered plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Uncover the wreaths. Use kitchen shears to cut long vents crosswise into the tops of the wreaths at 1-inch intervals, using your fingers to gently separate the dough at each cut. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl; brush the tops of the wreaths with the egg wash. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes, switching the position of the baking sheets halfway through. Let cool to room temperature on the baking sheets. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
• Warm 1/2 cup water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until a thermometer registers 100 degrees F to 110 degrees F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast on top, then sprinkle with a pinch of the sugar; set aside, undisturbed, until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla into the yeast mixture until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the remaining sugar, the salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center, then add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick and slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and elastic, about 6 minutes. Shape into a ball.
• Brush a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, turning to coat lightly with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough is doubled in size, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly to release excess air; re-form into a ball and return to the bowl. Lightly butter a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it directly on the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

KRINGLA SWEDISH WREATHS

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar and egg yolks. Blend in the flour. Gather the dough into a ball and chill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break off small pieces and roll out a piece about 5 inches long and 1/3-inch thick. Form into a circle and twist or knot the ends. Continue until all the dough has been used. Brush each cookie with egg wash, sprinkle with parl sukkar (pearl sugar) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until just set, not browned.
• The recipes for this program, which were provided by contributors and guests who may not be professional chefs, have not been tested in the Food Network's kitchens. Therefore, the Food Network cannot attest to the accuracy of any of the recipes.

CRANBERRY-GINGER LINZER TORTE COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest, orange juice, water, ginger, and salt for filling in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until cranberries burst. Continue cooking, mashing fruit a bit with the back of a spoon, until thick as jam, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat to cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, and salt for cookies together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Mix butter and white sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just combined. Add the vanilla. Gradually add in flour mixture on low speed just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough ¼-inch thick and cut into 2-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round into a desired shape. Place all cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.
• While cookies chill, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges just begin to brown or the cookies are crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven; let cookies cool for 1 minute on the pan, then remove to a wire rack and allow to cool completely, 15 to 20 minutes.
• When the cookies have cooled, place 1 teaspoon of filling on the flat side of each whole cookie, spreading it out to the edges with the back of the spoon. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar. Place the sugared tops on the filled bottoms.

LINZER WREATHS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper orgrease it lightly and set aside.2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, andsalt, then lightly whisk in the hazelnuts and set aside.3. In a stand mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy,about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated,scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in thelemon zest until blended. Turn off the mixer, add half the flour mixture,and beat on low speed until blended. Add the remaining flour and beat untilblended.4. Use lightly floured hands to gather the sticky dough into a ball. Dividethe ball in half and flatten each portion into a 6- to 8-inch disk. Tightlywrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the firstdisk 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured board, between 2 sheets of parchmentpaper or heavy-duty plastic wrap, or on a pastry cloth with a cloth-coveredrolling pin.5. Lightly dip a 2 1/2-inch wreath-shaped cookie cutter or round biscuit cutterin flour, then firmly press it straight down into the dough. Repeat, cuttingthe cookies close together to avoid rerolling. Using a spatula, carefullytransfer the cookies to the baking sheet. Bake until lightly colored, 10to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.6. Roll out the remaining disk of dough, cut into cookies with the sameround cutter, and use a smaller, 1 1/2-inch round garnish cutter to removethe centers from the cookies. Bake the large and small rounds as directed.(The small rounds will take less time to bake, 7 to 9 minutes.) When cool,lightly spread half the large rounds with black currant preserves. Sift powderedsugar onto the cut-out rounds' frames and carefully set them atopthe jam-spread rounds. Enjoy the mini-rounds on their own.NOTE: Hazelnut meal is available in the baking section of many supermarkets orin specialty markets such as Trader Joe's in the nut section. One brand isBob's Red Mill. Hazelnut meal is finely ground hazelnuts.From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.