Apple Cinnamon Pecan Linzer Cookies. A tender, buttery cookie with pecans and cinnamon and filled with an apple cinnamon jam. And of course cut in the shape of an apple!
I got this cute apple cutter from I think either Michael's or Joann's earlier this year, and was planning on sharing these cookies when I did my mini series on apple recipes, but time got away from me so I saved them for my Christmas cookie series this year.
I also had ordered an apple core cookie cutter from Etsy and didn't pay attention to where it was being shipped from and that took a little longer than expected. ( The Etsy store is named ImagineaCookie).
But oh so worth the wait because it is absolutely adorable. And it's amazing what people can make with 3D printers.
What are Linzer cookies:
I love making linzer cookies every year around the holidays. A classic Austrian cookie, with a shortbread dough made with nuts - traditionally almonds or hazelnuts, ground into a flour, sandwiched with jam, traditionally apricot or raspberry.
I like using different nuts like pecans or macadamia nuts in linzer cookie recipes to change it up a bit. Linzer cookies can be filled with any kind of jam, curd or spread like nutella. The sky really is the limit with linzer cookies.
Pro tip for cookies keeping their shape:
My trick for keeping cut out cookie's shape is once I cut out I leave them on the wax paper and slide it onto a baking sheet. Pop in the freezer for about 5 minutes. I use a thin spatula to life the cut outs onto the parchment lined baking sheets.
Once the excess dough is thawed I form that back into a disc, chill just until firm but still able to roll and re- roll out and repeat until all the cookies are cut out.
This way the cookies hold their shape even better when baking. If the cookies start to soften after being transferred to the parchment lined baking sheets, I will pop back into the freezer for a few minutes then too. These cookies, and a lot of roll out cookie recipes, benefit the most from being chilled before baking.
The difference in temp - frozen cookie dough to hot oven, helps them keep their shape while still fully baking.
Pecan Linzer Cookie Ingredients:
- All purpose flour
- Pecans - toasteed
- kosher salt
- cinnamon
- Unsalted butter
- Egg yolks
- Lemon zest
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Apple cinnamon jam
- Confectioners sugar
The St. Dalfour apple cinnamon jam is perfect for these cookies. They graciously sent me a few jars to try, no obligations. But I knew they would be perfect for these cookies. And I was right. Cinnamony apple jam with little pieces of apple, so perfect with the buttery pecan cookies.
The cookies are fantastic on their own. You could make them as just a roll out and cut out cookie, any shape you like. Don't even need to make as a Linzer cookie or sandwich cookie. But the cookie and jam together are oh so good.
How do you make pecan linzer cookies?
- Make the dough - The pecan Linzer dough is so easy to work with. If you can't find pecan flour, you can easily make your own.
- Chill the dough
- Roll out the dough
- Cut the dough
- Chill again - most important chilling step since you don't want these cookies to spread at all while baking
- Cool the cookies then fill with jam and dust with powdered sugar.
To make nut flour ( any nuts, not just pecans):
Blend the nuts either in a small blende like a bullet type or a food processor with some of the flour and sugar from the recipe. This will ensure the nuts don't end up turning into a nut butter due to their high amount of oils.
I always toast the nuts first to dry them out a little then cool before making the flour. I love the texture added from making my own nut flours, since I tend to do a little bit of a coarser grind than what I can find at stores.
If you don't want to make your own nut flour, you can find it at stores - I get the most lucky with finding nut flours by Bob's Redmill brand.
More Linzer cookie recipes to enjoy:
Guava Macadamia Linzer Cookies
Almond Chocolate Cinnamon Linzer Cookies
Chocolate Raspberry Linzer Cookies
I hope you enjoy these apple cinnamon pecan linzer cookies Please read through the recipe thoroughly before making as well as checking the blog post for extra hints and tips at Linzer cookie recipe success.
Apple Cinnamon Pecan Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour 292 grams
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup pecans lightly toasted (125 grams)
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar 33 grams
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150 grams
- 1 cup unsalted butter cool room temp (226 grams)
- 2 egg yolks from large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- This recipe has the dough chilling before baking, so don’t preheat your oven just yet.
- In a food processor, combine one cup of the flour (130 grams), confectioners sugar and pecans and pulse until the pecans are finely ground into a flour. Stop before you make pecan butter. Add this to the remaining flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add in the cinnamon and salt and whisk well, set aside.
- In a stand mixer or large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed, 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the egg yolks one at a time, mix until fully combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl, then add in vanilla and lemon zest. Mix for one more minute.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mix and mix until just combined. Check to make sure all the flour is mixed in with a spatula or even your hands.
- Divide dough in half, shape into discs, wrap in plastic wrap then chill 4 hours up to 2 days. Overnight (12 hours) is best.
- When ready to bake heat oven to 350 deg. Set out baking sheets and line with parchment paper. Set out wire cooling racks as well.
- Working with one disc of dough at a time, roll to ¼ inch thick between two pieces of wax paper. Don’t use flour to roll out the cookies - it will add too much excess flour to the dough.
- Cut out cookies with cookie cutter, dipping the cutter into a tiny bit of flour if needed. Cut out the center of half the cookies ( whatever shapes you like or use a Linzer specific cutter). Freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
- If the dough is a little sticky you can slide the whole slab of cut out cookies on the wax paper onto a baking sheet then freeze before lifting the cut cookies out with a thin spatula and placing on parchment lined baking sheets. This helps them keep their shape better. Take the excess dough and reform into a disc and chill again until firm but soft enough to roll out. Repeat until all the dough is cut out.
- Bake each tray of cookies for 8-10 min or until they look dry and set but not browning.
- Cool on baking sheet 5 min. Cool on cooling rack until fully cooled.
- When ready to assemble, dust the cookies with the cut out middle with powdered sugar. Spread a tablespoon of jam on the bottoms of the solid cookies then top with the cut out cookies.
- Use a teaspoon of jam if using a smaller cookie cutter ( an inch and a half or so). These apple cutters are 3 inch cutters.
- Cookies keep well in an airtight container or bag in the freezer up to three months.
Notes
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