Sourdough Linzer Cookies
Sourdough linzer cookies are perfect for Christmas. These buttery shortbread sandwich cookies filled with raspberry jam are so much fun to make and a great gift to bring to your loved ones.
Why you will love our recipe for sourdough linzer cookies
- The sourdough discards add a mild, tangy flavor to the cookies. Afding discard not only adds flavor but also all the benefits of baking with sourdough!
- They are so much fun to make. This is also a great cookie to bake with smaller children. Let them add the jam and place the second cookie on top!
- Sourdough Linzer Cookies are the perfect treat this holiday season. And not just around Christmas. We love to serve them for Easter too!
Ingredients
Flour: To make sourdough linzer cookies, you want to use all-purpose flour. This type of flour has a lower gluten content, and that is what gives the cookies their crumbly texture. This is also why cookies like these are the perfect treat to make with gluten-free flour.
Sugar: We love the warmth of the mild caramel flavor that brown sugar gives to cookies, but feel free to use any sugar you want.
Sourdough discard: One of the things we like about adding sourdough discard to sweet baking recipes is that it adds a mild, tangy flavor that balances out the sweetness of the sugar. While you can add an active sourdough starter, using discard gives the dough a stronger flavor. It also means that you don’t have to feed your starter before you begin!
Variations
Vegan: This recipe is perfect for vegan Linzer cookies. We’ve tried making them with vegan ingredients, and they turned out just as delicious! You can leave out the egg or use your favorite egg replacement.
Different types of jam: We love the classic raspberry filling, but you can use any jam flavor you like! Try strawberry jam in the summer, and swap the raspberries for apricot jam in the fall.
Chocolate: Add two tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and replace the raspberry jam with Nutella or your favorite chocolate spread to make chocolate linzer cookies. If you want, you can also use your chocolate sourdough starter for this recipe.
Valentine’s Day cookies: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and replace the jam with chocolate ganache. Bonus points if you use ruby chocolate to create a pink filling!
How to make sourdough linzer cookies
For the dough, you want to start by creaming the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. You do this to trap as many air bubbles as possible to create the best texture.
Next, you add the egg, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract. Make sure everything is well combined before folding in the dry ingredients.
We like to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl to ensure everything is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Once you’ve folded in the dry mixture, knead it into a smooth dough, then wrap it in plastic wrap.
Place the dough in the fridge and let it chill for at least an hour. This will improve the texture of your cookies, but chilled dough also holds its shape better in the oven and won’t spread as much as unchilled dough would.
To shape your cookies, you roll out your dough into a 1/4-inch-thick sheet. It is best to do this on a well-floured surface to prevent the dough from sticking to your counter. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out your Linzer cookies, but remember to cut a small circle out of half the cookies. Transfer them to a lined baking tray and bake your cookies until golden.
Once your cookies have completely cooled, you can add the jam filling. Add a teaspoon of raspberry jam to half the cookies and place the cookies with a hole on top of the jam. Dust them with powdered sugar before serving, and you’re done!
Our tips for the best results
- Use a kitchen scale. Because most of our readers come from the USA, we give the measurements in both cups and metric, but your baking will improve once you start to use a kitchen scale. If you want to try but don’t know where to start, feel free to ask; we love to help!
- Chill the dough. This is a crucial step in creating crisp edges. Chilled dough won’t spread as much, allowing it to relax and giving the cookies a better texture.
- Pick your favorite jam. We love raspberry jam, but you should try different flavors to find your favorite filling.
Frequently asked questions
Sure. You can use an active starter, but the flavor will be less strong.
Leftover dough can be frozen for later use. Wrapped in plastic wrap, it will keep for up to six months! Let it thaw overnight when you’re ready to bake, and follow the steps as you normally would.
When your cookies spread in the oven, it often means your dough was too warm. Try letting the dough rest in the fridge for a little bit longer next time.
Storage
Freshly baked sourdough linzer cookies will keep for about three to four days stored at room temperature. It is best to store them in an airtight container or cookie jar to prevent moisture from getting to the cookies. This will make them soft. Because you add jam as a filling, they won’t last as long as other cookies, like our Christmas sugar cookies, gingerbread man, or sourdough shortbread cookies.
More of our favorite cookie recipes
Sourdough Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sourdough discard
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons raspberry jam
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until it becomes light in color and has a fluffy texture.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and sourdough discard and mix until combined.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and fold them into the butter mixture.
- Knead the dough until you have a smooth, soft dough and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator and let it rest for at least one hour.
- Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out on a well floured work surface until you have a 1/4-inch thick disk.
- Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out your cookies, and use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a small hole in half of your cookies.
- Place your cookies on a lined baking tray and bake them in the center of your preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
- Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before adding the jam filling.
- Once your cookies have completely cooled, add one teaspoon of jam to the center of half your cookies.
- Place the cookies with a hole on top of the jam and dust them with powdered sugar before serving.
What temperature do you bake these at? Recipe does not say…thank you!!!
Hi Apryl! You should bake them at 350 F.