Apricot linzer cookies
The recipe for linzer tart is primarily the crust, and assembly – the traditional filling is usually simply the best jam you can buy, either raspberry or apricot, so not as crucial to have a recipe for that.
- 3/4 cup lightly toasted nuts – hazelnuts and/or almonds are the usual
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups white flour – I prefer unbleached
- grated zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter (1 cup or 8 oz.)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
Put the nuts in a food processor and warn your family that there will be a loud and terrible noise. Grind the nuts fairly fine, and then add the powdered sugar, and grind until you have a fine powder. Add the flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt, and pulse to combine. Slice in the butter. Pulse more until you have crumbles. Mix the egg yolks and exstracts, and pour those into the food processor. Pulse until the mixture clumps, stopping before you have a ball. If it seems too dry, add water a teaspoon at a time.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gather it into a smooth ball. Divide the ball in half, and form each half into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill for an hour, or overnight. (though you will probably need to let the dough soften at room temperature a bit if you chill it overnight)
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°. Unwrap one of the disks and roll it out into a roughly 10-inch circle. I like to use a pastry cloth, and a straight – called French – rolling pin. Fold the circle in half, and ease it into an 8 inch fluted tart tin with a removeable bottom. Fold over the excess so you have a sidewall that is thicker than the bottom.
Tools for rolling
Spread a layer of your favorite jam in the crust – about an inch thick.
Roll out the second disk and cut it into strips about an inch wide. I like to use a crinkle cutter, to get a nice edge.
Here’s YouTube on how to weave a lattice crust – with linzer crust, you’ll probably have to just lay the strips across – it’s not really flexible enough to weave.
Crimp the lattice strips to the sidewalk, and kind of pat everything together. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. You can brush the strips with an egg wash, to give it a more finished look. Bake until lightly browned and the jam is bubbling – about 30 – 40 minutes.
Linzer bars from Valentine’s Day – I doubled all the crust ingredients except the butter – oops.
Here are pictures of the process of making a linzer tart (using the extra half lb. of butter that I should’ve used on Valentine’s Day)
