Linzer Torte Recipes

AUSTRIAN LINZER TORTE

Steps:

• Place flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves on a clean work surface. Add butter and 2 egg yolks; knead quickly to form a smooth dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch springform pan with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
• Press 2/3 of the dough evenly in the pan so that the entire bottom is covered. Spread red currant jam on top. Divide remaining dough into several pieces and roll into 1/3-inch strands between your fingertips. Arrange the strips over the jam in a neat lattice pattern. Place the last strip along the sides of the pan to form a rim.
• Beat remaining 2 egg yolks and brush over the lattice and rim, taking care not to splash onto the jam.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Watch carefully towards the end of the baking time to make sure the torte does not turn too dark. Let cool and remove gently from the pan. Store for at least 3 days in a cool place before serving.

LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until skins begin to split, about 15 minutes. Immediately rub hazelnuts vigorously in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins (as much as will come off easily). Let cool.
• In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts and almonds until finely ground. (Be careful not to overprocess; you don't want the mixture to become a paste.) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nut mixture; set aside.
• In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat 1 minute to combine. With mixer on low speed, add ground nuts and flour mixture all at once.
• Divide dough in half. Set a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, press 1 dough half into tart pan. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, roll remaining dough half between 2 sheets of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour to a 12-inch round; place on a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using an offset spatula, spread jam evenly over chilled dough in tart pan; set aside. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut 3/4-inch-wide strips from chilled round of dough. Arrange strips on top of jam in a lattice pattern. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until torte is golden brown all over, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Remove ring and cool torte completely. Torte can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, dust with confectioners' sugar, if using.

LINZER TORTE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 11x7 inch baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and lemon peel. In another bowl, stir together the flour, almonds, cinnamon and cloves. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. The dough will be stiff, so you may need to knead it by hand to get it to come together. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the preserves over the crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll the remaining dough into long rope about 1/2 inch in diameter. Place lengths of the rope across the top of the jam in a lattice pattern over the preserves.
• Bake 40 minutes or until top is golden. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 2 inch by 1inch bars.

LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs and lemon zest; stir until mixture forms a ball. Divide into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until chilled. , Remove two portions of dough from refrigerator; press each into an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Spread 2/3 cup jam over each., Between two sheets of lightly floured waxed paper, roll one portion of remaining dough into a 10x6-in. rectangle. Cut six 1-in.-wide strips; arrange in a lattice design over jam. Repeat with remaining dough (return dough to the refrigerator if needed). , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and crust is browned. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

CLASSIC AUSTRIAN LINZER COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until it is pale and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until well mixed.
• Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined.
• Wrap the dough well with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least two hours and up to 3 days.
• When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) fan assisted. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. (I do a fan here because you will have to put 2 trays of cookies into the oven and you need the air to circulate)
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about an 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. (You can also roll this dough on a floured piece of parchment for even easier handling)
• Working quickly while the dough is still cold and firm, use a 2 ½ inch (6cm) cookie cutter to cut out as many rounds of dough as you can and place them 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Gather any scraps, rewrap, and chill until firm enough to reroll.
• Once the cut dough is on the cookie sheets, cut out one inch (2.5cm) hole out of the centers of half of the cookies. (See above video for step-by-step)
• Bake for roughly 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the base of the cookie, spread about 1 teaspoon of strained raspberry jam onto ½ of the cookies, spreading the jam out a bit but not quite to the edge.
• Dust the top halves of the cookies (with the cut-out circle) generously with powdered sugar, then carefully place the tops on the jam covered bottoms. Press to seal very gently so you don't break to the top half.
• These cookies are best enjoyed the day they are made. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The raw dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 8 weeks.

LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Process flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor for a few seconds until combined. Add butter and pulse several times until mixture becomes crumbly and resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and keep pulsing until dough starts to clump together. The dough should be crumbly with large clumps. If dough is too dry, add a bit of water. Another way to check if the dough is done is to take a piece of dough and press it between your thumbs - the dough should stick well together without feeling dry. Avoid overworking the dough throughout the process.
• Turn the dough to a floured surface and form into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line pans with parchment paper and set aside.
• Roll out dough on a floured surface until it's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (for sandwich cookies I prefer thin cookies). Cut 60 rounds or hearts of dough using a 2 inch (5 cm) cookie cutter. Using a smaller round (or other shape) cutter, cut a hole into the center of 30 of the cookies.
• Transfer cookies gently using a thin spatula to the prepared baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart.
• Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are golden just at the edges. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Sift powdered sugar on top of the cookies with the holes.
• Put about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in the center of the whole cookies, then place the cookies with the holes on top, and press gently.
• Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.

EASY LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Remove one-third dough, and set aside. Roll out remaining dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch square or round tart pan, pressing into corners and sides. Using a paring knife, trim the dough flush with edges of pan, and patch any holes or tears with extra dough.
• Roll out reserved dough into a rectangle at least 13 inches long and 1/8 inch thick. Cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a baking sheet; refrigerate, along with shell in pan, 30 minutes.
• Over medium heat, melt the raspberry jam in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat, strain through a fine sieve, and let the jam cool slightly.
• Remove tart pan from refrigerator, and pour jam into shell. Remove dough strips from refrigerator, and arrange over the top in a lattice pattern. Trim the excess dough, and press ends into edge of shell to adhere. Bake until pastry is golden brown and jam is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust top with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

LINZER TORTE RECIPE (VIDEO)

Steps:

• Using the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and sugar in a stand mixer, at a medium speed.
• Add the two egg whites and one egg yolk and continue to mix until fluffy. Next add vanilla, cinnamon, almond extract, ground cloves, salt, baking powder and mix it.
• Then add finely ground almonds and mix that in.
• Next, add the flour in two installments and mix it in. Increase the speed and knead the mixture into a smooth dough. The dough can also be made by hand.
• Divide the dough into two portions. One you can use for the classic Linzer torte. The other for the fancy version.(Tip: May wrap the portions with cling wrap and freeze to use later).
• Take one portion of the dough and cut out 2/5th (40%) of it.
• Roll it out into a circle, dusting with flour as needed. You can also roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper.
• Cut narrow strips using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Refrigerate to allow the strips to firm up while proceeding with the next steps.
• Roll out the remaining 3/5th (60%) of the dough into a 10 inch circle, dusting the work surface with flour.
• Prepare a springform pan by lightly applying butter all over and lining it with a parchment paper circle in the bottom.
• Open the ring of the springform pan and transfer the dough circle using a floured cake lifter (or a flat lid) on to the base.
• Close the ring around the springform pan and using your fingers, press the dough about one inch up the sides of the pan.
• Take about half the jam and spread it out evenly on the dough circle.
• With the help of an offset spatula lay about four to five of the narrow strips over the jam, parallel and evenly spaced.
• Repeat with laying four more strips in the opposite direction to create a lattice pattern. If the strips break, just patch it up and it will bake fine. Trim the edges of the strips.
• Use the remaining strips to create a border at the outer edge of the Linzer torte, where the strips join the bottom crust. Seal the outer edge using a fork or spatula.
• Whisk the other egg yolk (add few drops milk if needed) and brush all over the pastry strips. Decorate the outer edge of the torte using almond slices.
• Take second portion of the dough and cut out about 2/5th (40%) of it.
• Roll it out into a circle, dusting with flour as needed. You can also roll out the dough between two wax papers for ease.
• Use small (1/2 to 1 inch) cookie cutters and cut out shapes of your preference. With the remaining dough, roll out rope shaped strips of 5 to 6 inches long.
• Proceed with the 3/5th part of the dough following steps 3 to 7.
• Arrange the cut out shapes evenly spaced over the jam layer.
• Use the rope shaped dough strips to create a border at the outer edge of the Linzer torte and flatten with a spatula.
• Whisk the other egg yolk (add few drops milk if needed) and brush all over the pastry strips. Decorate the outer edge of the torte using almond slices.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the baking pan in the center of the oven and bake the Linzer torte for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for some time. Using a butter knife or spatula loosen the torte from the pan, release the ring and let it cool completely.
• Dust with powdered sugar. It is best to slice and enjoy it the next day. This torte keeps well at room temperature for few days, but you may also refrigerate it for a week. It can also be frozen.

LINZERTORTE

Steps:

• Grind almonds with half of sugar in a food processor until powdery (be careful not to process to a paste), then transfer to a small bowl.
• Add butter, yolk, and remaining sugar to processor and blend, scraping down sides, until light and fluffy. Add ground almonds, flour, zest, salt, cinnamon, and cloves and pulse, scraping down sides if necessary, until a dough forms. (Dough will be sticky.)
• Divide dough into 1 one-third portion and 1 two-thirds portion and form each portion into a disk on plastic wrap. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Unwrap larger disk and put in springform pan. Cover surface with plastic wrap and press dough (through plastic wrap) evenly onto bottom and 1/4 inch up side of pan. Discard plastic wrap.
• Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer crust in pan to a rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 9-inch round, then transfer to a baking sheet and freeze 10 minutes. (Round will be thinner than bottom crust.)
• Remove top sheet of plastic and cut dough into 12 (1/2-inch-wide) strips, then freeze strips 5 minutes. Discard any remaining dough.
• Spread jam evenly over cooled crust, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge, then arrange 6 strips 1 inch apart across jam, pressing ends onto edge of crust. Arrange remaining 6 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. (Repair any broken pieces of dough by carefully pressing them together.) Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of pan.
• Bake until top is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool completely.