These cookies are my undeniable favorites for this time of year; since I’m not really one for cookie decorating, I just love how easily festive these are with a few miniature cookie cutters on hand. I’ve made them during the last several holiday seasons, and have to seriously rush to get them wrapped up and delivered to neighbors and friends before my husband steals them all!
A note on the name—”jammy dodgers” are a traditional British cookie consisting of butter cookies sandwiched with raspberry jam, and are common with or without a dusting of powdered sugar. The Linzer cookie, on the other hand, is a traditional Austrian cookie that’s quite similar but for that it typically contains ground almonds in its dough. That said, I have run across notable recipe sources for them that *do not* contain almonds, and as they’re always finished with the sugar dusting, I thought it appropriate to make the association here. Whatever you call them, make them and enjoy the buttery, jammy goodness!
Festive Jammy Dodger / Linzer cookies
makes around 20
Cookies:
scant 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup + 1 T (110 g) confectioners’ sugar
1/2 c + 6 T (200 g) unsalted butter, softened
2 egg yolks
pinch of kosher salt
To finish:
130 g raspberry jam
2 T confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
Place all cookie ingredients into a food processor, and pulse until it begins to come together. Once that happens, turn it to high speed until a completely homogenous dough is formed. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 3 days.
When ready to roll/bake: Take dough out of the fridge and let temper for about 1 hour; preheat the oven to 325 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Lightly flour a counter surface and roll dough out to 1/8”-1/4” thickness. Use a 3” round biscuit cutter (or a cup with 3” diameter) to cut rounds. Re-roll scraps for more cookies. Use a 1” round cutter (I use small patterned cookie cutters) to cut out the centers of half of the rounds. Transfer the cookies without a cut-out to one prepared cookie sheet, and the ones with a cut-out to another.
Bake for around 10 minutes, or until the cookies take on a golden color around the edges, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies with the cut-out will take a bit less time than the ones without. When ready, remove from oven and slide the cookies (still on parchment paper) onto a cooling rack.
Once they’re just cool enough to handle but still quite warm, flip the base cookies over and place 1 tablespoon of jam onto each. Spread the jam gently toward the edges, and return to a baking sheet and into the warm oven. Leave in for about 1 minute, to let the jam loosen up. Meanwhile, lightly dust the tops of the cookies with the cut-outs with 2 T powdered sugar.
Take the base rounds out of the oven, and top with the finished tops. Let set for about 20 minutes and enjoy! The sandwiched cookies will become softer as they sit overnight, which I honestly love just as much as when they’re fresh and still crispy!
