The Hungary Buddha Eats the World

Passport & Plate - Linzer Cookies

Germany | Friday, February 20, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
½ cup butter

½ cup shortening

The zest of 1 lemon

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 egg yolks

1 cup almond meal (you can use hazelnut as well)**

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

½ cup your favorite flavored jam, as needed

Powdered sugar, for dusting

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the almonds, flour, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest. Add this to the egg mixture.

3. Divide the dough in half, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, an hour or up to two days.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F.

6. Remove one ball of dough from the fridge at a time to roll, otherwise it will get too soft. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about ¼” thick. Using a 3” cookie cutter, cut out the cookies, cutting a smaller hole in half of them. **If the dough gets too soft, put them in the fridge for about 10 minutes. This will prevent the dough from spreading too much in the oven.

7. Place about 1” apart on a cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until they are lightly browned. Cool on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

8. Once the cookies have cooled, spread one whole cookie with jam and top with a holey cookie. Dust with powdered sugar. Eat.

 

The story behind this recipe
In every one of my German travels, one friend in particular has been by my side. Our first trip was back in 2005 when Munich was a stop on our crazy six-countries-in-two-weeks backpacking tour. Upon arriving in the downtown Hauptbahnof, we took some time to survey the scene and happened up on a little bakery/food court type kiosk where we each grabbed something to eat. She grabbed a Linzer cookie, and it was love at first bite. She was hooked, and every time we go back, whether it’s getting lost biking through remote towns tucked into the Bavarian Alps or dancing on tables at Oktoberfest (twice…) she is drawn to that train station bakery like a piranha to a skinny dipping missionary. It’s not only the train station, but she scours bakeries throughout the country, looking for those buttery, jam-filled bites of heaven wherever she can find them, and then hoards them like a chipmunk readying for winter. The last time we were in Munich the Hauptbahnof didn’t have them, which was weird because they ALWAYS have them, and I thought she might cry.

Since it’ll be some time until we head back to Germany, I figured I’d better learn how to make these for my dear friend. These aren’t exactly easy, but then neither are the best friendships. Like any butter cookie, they take time and patience, and the inevitability of having yourself and your kitchen covered in flour. But then again, so do the best friendships.