It's the holiday season, So whoop-de-do and hickory dock, And don't forget to hang up your sock, 'Cause just exactly at twelve o'clock, He'll be coming down the chimney, down.
The holiday season means it’s time for baking! Now that our halls are decked and the Christmas tree trimmed, snuggling in with a plateful of cookies is all that’s left. These honey-vanilla Linzer cookies are simple and stunning. Each sweet jammy cookie sandwich is spiced with cardamom, lending a warm and cozy aroma. Swap out orange marmalade for your favorite jam and cut out the treat in any shape you would like.
The hubs just finished our incredible dining room table in November. The timing was perfect because he got it done just before Thanksgiving. This year we hosted Turkey Day at our house. We gathered around this beautiful table with a group of our closest friends who stayed in town. My husband created it specifically to fit multiple bowls, platters and plates alongside glasses, pitchers and wine bottles. Let me tell you, it did just that. It not only fit a 20-pound turkey and all the fixin’s but also the dishes that our friends brought. We sat around, wine glasses in hand, jazzy Christmas music in the air, embracing the coziness of the holiday.
The next day on Black Friday, we didn’t get up at 3 a.m. to shop, instead we slept in way past 10. Later that day we found the perfect tree that complimented the ivory and gold bulbs that would soon adorn it. A soft fur skirt finished the look. Now that our halls are decked, all our home needs is COOKIES.
These Linzer cookies were so easy to make. I love how versatile they are, given the variety of shapes and jam flavors that can be used. For the center cut outs, get creative and use the tops of small bottles like the vanilla extract. I used a circle biscuit cutter to form the main cookie and the top of a maple syrup bottle for the center circle. This recipe is from Bon Appetit, with a few A Common Connoisseur tweeks.
ingredients
Dough
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2¼ cups all-purpose flour
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¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
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¾ teaspoon kosher salt
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½ cup granulated sugar
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2 tsp. vanilla extract
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1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
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1 large egg yolk
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¼ cup honey
Cookie Assembly
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⅔ cup any flavor jam (I used orange marmalade)
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powdered sugar (for dusting)
- circle cookie cutter
- 1/2 inch diameter circle cutter (such as vanilla extract top)
preparation
- Whisk flour, cardamom, salt, sugar in stand mixer. Add vanilla and mix to combine.
- Add butter and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Add egg yolk and honey; beat to combine.
- Knead dough a couple of times to incorporate any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl.
- Roll dough into a disk and wrap in parchment paper, then wrap tightly in plastic. Chill until firm but not frozen, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Unwrap dough and roll out with rolling pin about 1/8 inch thin
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out desired amount of cookies. Ensure that there is an even amount, since each sandwich will use 2 cookies.
- Use a pastry tip or small circle shape to punch out centers of half the cookies
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Bake cookies on top rack, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until evenly golden brown all over, 10–15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.
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Spread about ¾ tsp. jam across entire surface of each unpunched cookie. Dust tops of cutout cookies with powdered sugar; place on top of jam, sugar side up.
Do Ahead: Dough can be made 1 month ahead. Freeze. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.
Do Ahead: Cookies can be baked (but not assembled) 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
a common connoisseur 