Gluten free Linzer cookies are surprisingly easy to bake to perfection. This traditional Austrian cookie has a perfect melt-in-the-mouth blend of sugar cookie and shortbread, with a sweet-tart raspberry jam filling.
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What makes this gluten free linzer cookie recipe special?
One of my absolute favorite holiday cookie recipes, this recipe is so simple to make and the resulting cookies are tender, delicate, full of nutty and fruit flavor, and just gorgeous in appearance.
The jam peaking through the window makes them look kind of like stained glass cookies, and the sweetness of the jam perfectly balances the delectable hazelnut cookie flavor without being overwhelmingly sweet.
And the big difference in this gluten free Linzer cookie recipe is that I use hazelnuts, not almonds in the cookie dough! I break with tradition and use roasted hazelnuts instead of almonds because they bring a better depth of flavor and even more buttery taste.
If you want to stick with the original, then just switch out the hazelnuts in the recipe one-for-one with roasted, blanched almonds.
How to make the best gluten free Linzer cookies
I've got a few tips for you to make sure your gluten free Linzer cookies are always a success.
How to store Linzer cookies
You can store the baked cookies, unassembled, in the freezer. Wrap them tightly or place in a freezer safe container and place gently in the freezer. Then, just grab them and let them thaw for a bit before you add the jam and assemble.
And you can freeze the raw dough itself in a block. Just wrap it tightly and place in the freezer, and give it plenty of time to thaw and soften before proceeding with the rest of the recipe instructions.
The dough lasts for up to a week in the refrigerator as long as you wrap it tightly. Then, when you want to bake the cookies, you just let the dough sit on the side for half an hour to soften up a bit. Then just follow the rest of the recipe.
Store the finished cookies in an airtight glass container at room temperature so that they don't absorb moisture and lose their crisp-crumbly texture. They'll keep for up to a week.
Tips for cutting out Austrian Linzer cookies
Be gentle when rolling the dough as it's pretty delicate. Roll the sheets of dough between pieces of parchment paper.
Roll the dough when it's at cool room temperature until it's about 1/4-inch thick, or a tiny bit thicker. Any thinner and the cookie-to-jam ratio will be all wrong, and the cookies too fragile.
If you're rolling out the dough when it's warm, be sure not to press too firmly with the rolling pin or your dough will become too thin, too fast. If it's too cold, rolling will be too difficult.
Be sure to roll it between the sheets of parchment (plastic wrap will leave too many creases) or your rolling pin will stick to the dough. Your cookies won't have a smooth surface even when they're baked.
Then, after cutting the shapes and before moving the cookies, chill the shaped dough, so it's more stable to move to the baking sheet.
Keep the little center cutouts and use them for your taste testers who must try everything the second it's baked. Or use them as little ice cream toppers.
Assembling these gluten free Christmas cookies
Be careful when you're assembling your new favorite holiday cookie. And not just because this recipe uses gluten free flour. Because of the structure of the dough, the cookies are fairly fragile, so they'll crack if you apply much pressure when you're adding the top cookie.
Grinding the nuts
If you're grinding nuts to make your own flour (which is really easy as you'll see below), watch them closely and don't let them go too far. You want them to be fine but crumbly. If you keep pulsing them for too long, you'll end up with a paste (which makes beautiful praline) and then a nut butter.
Handling the cookie dough
The best way to handle the dough is to roll it out between parchment rounds as soon as the dough is made, at room temperature. Then, cut out rounds, remove the excess dough around the rounds (saving it to reroll), and chill the rounds before moving them to the baking sheet.
Once the rounds reach the baking sheet, if they've only been chilled for 20 minutes, you should be able to cut out the centers easily.
If you've gone too far and the dough is too cold, just let it warm at room temperature a bit. This holds doubly true for cutting out the centers of half of the raw cookie rounds, as trying to cut out small holes in dough that's very cold will result in a cookie that cracks in multiple directions.
Gluten free Linzer cookie ingredients, substitutions, and variations
My recipe for gluten free Linzer cookies is perfect for my family, just the way it is. But you can make your own tweaks to get it to the perfect flavor for your own tribe. You do have to exercise some caution, as the dough itself is temperamental, so you need to be careful what you change.
Making the cookie dough
Can you change the flour?
Yes, you can change the flour, but be careful. Using anything other than a well-balanced all-purpose gluten free flour can change the texture of the cookies.
What nuts can I use to make Linzer cookie dough?
Authentic Austrian Linzer cookies use almonds and almond extract, but I prefer hazelnuts. You can use either.
You could experiment with other nuts, but I haven't tried, and you'd need to find something that works with the jam and has a similar oil content to almonds and hazelnuts. Macadamia nuts are a potential option, since they're buttery like hazelnuts, but they're even softer, so you'll have to be careful when grinding them not to make a paste!
The filling
What you use for the filling is up to you. Traditionally, these gluten free Christmas cookies are filled with apricot or raspberry jam, but if you want something sweeter, go with strawberry jam or, for a tarter flavor, go with black currant preserves.
Just be sure to use something seedless, to avoid any unpleasant texture in these smooth, buttery cookies.
You could also ditch the fruit altogether and go for a chocolate ganache filling, salted caramel, or chocolate peanut butter.
FAQs
Based on the timeless Viennese Linzer torte, Linzer cookies are nut-based buttery sandwich cookies with a cutout on the top. Inside, and peaking through the cutout, you'll find wonderfully sweet preserves, usually raspberry or apricot. And, of course, they're then dusted with confectioner's sugar.
They can be any shape, from a plain round cookie cutter to fluted, snowflakes, hearts, or stars. You're only limited by what cookie cutters you have.
Gluten free Linzer cookie dough, like all linzer cookie dough starts out very soft, which is why you need to refrigerate it for an hour or so. This lets it firm up, so you can work with it and get nice, clean cuts. Refrigerating also helps the cookies hold their shape once in the oven, and makes the rounds easier to transfer to the baking sheet without their stretching and bending.
Linzer cookies need to stay crisp or they lose some of their magic. So, when you're done with the holiday cookie tray, keep the remaining cookies in an airtight glass container at room temperature, since plastic will cause them to absorb moisture.
If kept in an airtight container at room temperature, Linzer cookies will stay fresh for up to a week. Depending on the filling, you can also freeze the filled cookies, then thaw and dust with powdered sugar when you want them.
Yes, you can make gluten free vegan Linzer cookies. Substitute the butter for plant-based vegan butter, but not the soft spreadable kind. Go for a butter block that's more like traditional butter. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen.
For the egg, substitute a chia or flax egg. To make this recipe, I'd use 1 tablespoon of ground chia and 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water. Mix and leave it for 10 minutes to gel, then add it to the recipe in place of the egg. Be sure that your sugars are made without bone char, too, if you'd like to make these strictly vegan.
Gluten Free Linzer Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Cookie cutters 2-inch round + Small for cutout top
Ingredients
- 5 ounces raw hazelnuts (or roasted, blanched hazelnuts)
- 2 ½ cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for info on appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 16 tablespoons (224 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- ½ cup seedless raspberry jam
Instructions
Roast the hazelnuts.
- If your hazelnuts are raw, you must first roast them and remove their skins.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and set aside a clean tea towel.
- Place the hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and place in the center of the preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and place them immediately in the center of the tea towel, cover the hazelnuts with the towel and rub vigorously from the outside of the towel to remove the skins of the hazelnuts.
- Allow the hazelnuts to cool.
Grind the hazelnuts.
- Place the peeled and roasted hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or a blender, and pulse or blend until finely ground (stopping short of creating a paste).
- Lower the oven temperature to 325°F.
Make the cookie dough.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and whisk to combine well.
- Add the ground hazelnuts and brown sugar, and mix to combine well, breaking up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Add the butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix to combine as much as possible. Then, using clean, dry hands, kneading the cookie dough to bring it together. The dough should come together and be soft but thick.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions. Cover one portion in plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out, and set it aside.
Roll out the cookie dough.
- Place the remaining portion of cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll out about ¼ inch thick, if not a tiny bit thicker.
Cut out the cookies.
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper, and cut out 24 rounds of dough with a 2 inch diameter cookie cutter.
- Peel away the excess cookie dough around the rounds, and set it aside to reroll.
- Without moving the cutouts, place them, still on the parchment, on a flat surface and place it in the freezer until firm enough to handle without tearing (about 20 minutes).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the rounds on it 1-inch apart from one another.
- Repeat with the second piece of dough, cutting out 24 more rounds. From these 24 rounds, cut out and remove a small shape from the very center of the dough (here I used a small star cutter).
- Be sure to cut out the holes in the center when the raw cookie rounds are not cold, or the dough will crack when you attempt to push the small cutter through.
Bake the cookies.
- Place the first baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until lightly golden brown (about 10 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool until firm on the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Place the second baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until lightly golden brown (about 9 minutes for the cookies with the center shapes cut out). These are the tops of the cookies.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool until firm on the baking sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assemble the cooled cookies.
- Once the cookies are completely cool, place the cookie tops (with the cutout centers) face up on a clean sheet of parchment paper.
- Place the confectioners’ sugar in a fine mesh sieve, and dust the tops of the cutout cookies evenly with a fine layer of the sugar.
- On a separate sheet of parchment paper, lay out the whole, bottom cookies, face down.
- Place 1 teaspoon of jam on the underside of each cookie, spreading the jam carefully into an even layer.
- Top the jam with the sugared cookies. Do not use much pressure in assembling the cookies or the tops will break.
- These cookies, even once fully assembled, with be relatively fragile, so take care in serving.
Notes
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Jeff says
What is a prepared baking sheet? I ended up just using the parchment paper they were on although this seems wrong as there would be no need to freeze them.
Nicole Hunn says
I apologize for the confusion, Jeff. I’ve clarified the instructions to include a direction to line a baking sheet with parchment paper. It’s fine to use the paper they were already on.
Kim Bowers says
I can’t wait to try these! I noticed you have the nuts measured in ounces, and the other ingredients in grams. Is there a reason for this? (Just want to be sure I get it right!) Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
There are 28 grams in an ounce. They are both weight measurements. Ounces are often used to express the amount of an ingredient when it’s larger or when the ingredient itself is sold in ounces.
Laura Partington says
Hello Nicole! Thanks for sharing this recipe — my sister has Celiac, and I’d love to make a version of the Linzer Heart cookies (Silver Palatte Cookbook) that I’ve made for many Christmases. Question: Could I save time by buying a hazelnut flour such as Bob’s Red Mill? If so, what would be the measurement? Thanks much! Laura :)
Nicole Hunn says
Sure you can buy hazelnut flour, Laura. Just follow the weight measurement. I don’t know the volume, but volume measurements are not accurate.
Laura Partington says
Thank you so much for your quick and helpful reply, Nicole! Happy Holidays! :)
Nicole Hunn says
You’re welcome, Laura. Happy holidays to you, too!
Seton Mutch says
Can the dough be made without any nuts? My nephew has a nut allergy and I want to make these to bring to a party.
Thank you
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid you can’t make this particular cookie without any sort of ground nuts, no, Seton. But there are a lot of other rolled out cookie recipes that you could make in a similar style. I’d recommend our basic cut out gluten free sugar cookies as a starting point.
Sharon says
Hello. Please will you tell me the cookie baking temp? I see the hazelnut roasting at 350 then lower to 325. Eventually it says to place cookies in preheated oven. Thanks for your help. Sharon
Nicole Hunn says
Yes, Sharon, the cookie baking temperature is 325°F, as stated in the recipe, and as you said.
Nancy says
Wow these look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. It’s tradition to make Monkey Bread for Christmas morning so I was very happy to see a recipe in Bakes Bread cookbook. When reading through the recipe I noticed that in one place it says to preheat oven to 400 F and later in the recipes it says to preheat to 350 F. Not sure which to use?? Do I preheat to 400 then turn it down to 350 when I put it into the oven? Thanks for this amazing cookbook. 😊
Nancy
Speedysue59 says
God bless you and your family. When I need to cheer up. I always do my baking. it reminds me of when my five kids were little. And the fun we had! My heart goes out to all those families in CT. Ihave been GF for 2 years now. So my baking has changed. Since I am also dairy free. I find it hard to find a butter replacement. my stores sell earth balance in the soft tub. But not the baking sticks. Any other suggestions for a butter replacement? Have a beautiful Christmas! sue
gfshoestring says
Hi, Speedysue,
I don’t generally bake dairy-free, but when I do, I use nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum brand), not a nondairy butter. Nondairy butter has a pretty distinct flavor, and a much higher moisture content than butter. It tends to make cookies spread quite a bit.
Merry Christmas!
xoxo Nicole
Bren says
On my blog I said that we shouldn’t necessarily NOT feel our joy because if we allow the horror and grief and sadness over what happened to those heartbroken families in CT force all the good out of the season, we are letting the evil win. BUT – while we are feeling some of our joy and gratitude – I believe if we could each send a wish, a prayer, a blessing to the heavens we might be able to buoy the spirit for them.
That said, ITA about hazlenuts! I “rediscovered” them recently – WHY did I stop buying them??? – and roasting them sort of changes them in a way I don’t experience with other nuts. I always have to roast double because I know that half of what I do roast will be SCARFED up or crushed and sprinkled over a salad, grilled chicken or some brussel sprouts! My mom is sort of passing out because I listed for her all the cookies I am bringing – I guess I should maybe keep these a secret?
gfshoestring says
I really agree, Bren. It isn’t disrespectful to live our lives, but every single person who is a parent or a child (so, all of us) can’t help but be affected by what happened. And our hearts ache. How could they not?
I say keep the linzers a secret!
xoxo Nicole
Sloluckystyle says
Hello, I was fearful that you might be close to that area and am glad you and yours are safe. Praying for all, and there can never be enough love or cookies.
Thank you for the chocolate chocolate chip and Nutella cookies….family, friends and husband’s work mates love them and most have no idea they are gluten free….they just know they are delish.
Thank you.
kclark says
Good blog Nik. I do feel a little guilty about enjoying the Holidays with so many families suffering. But you are right, it is ok. In fact, maybe it honors them in some way. I don’t know. I will stop now.
I made the Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies yesterday and they were delicious. My little neighbor (6 years old) came knocking on my door to see if I was “cooking” anything special. He said I am the best “cooker” ever and asked me to make cinnamon rolls for him again. How in the world do you say no to that? The Linzer Cookies look so good! Thanks!
Mylesjacobsmom says
Oh Nicole…you are my GF Rockstar. Hugs to you and your family…MY little one is gonna love these!! (Me too)!!
Margaret S. says
Thank you for the distraction of my favorite cookie. Its lovely and promises to be fun to make…love and peace and cookies forever.
Jennifer S. says
I love your kids too! : ) The more love the better, right? like it will form a shield around them or something. Thankfully my oldest (8 yrs) doesn’t have a clue about it and I hope it stays that way. Though I did tell her on the way to the before school program that we would no longer let anyone in the locked with a code doors unless we knew them. She just said, “ok”. Hugs to you all and happy holidays – it is ok to celebrate – in times like these, it is necessary.
Jennifer S. says
I love your kids too! : ) The more love the better, right? like it will form a shield around them or something. Thankfully my oldest (8 yrs) doesn’t have a clue about it and I hope it stays that way. Though I did tell her on the way to the before school program that we would no longer let anyone in the locked with a code doors unless we knew them. She just said, “ok”. Hugs to you all and happy holidays – it is ok to celebrate – in times like these, it is necessary.
Jennifer S. says
oh and thanks for all the cookie recipes! : )
gfshoestring says
Well said, Jennifer! And thanks for handling that nuts question below. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
xoxo Nicole
Jessica says
I’m allergic to nuts, how do you think these would be without nuts and would I need to sub in butter or oil to make up for the lack of nuts?
Jennifer S. says
Jessica: I’m thinking these cookies are not for you as they are based on a “nut” (and no I’m not calling Nicole a nut). But there are SOOOOOO many other cookie options on here….like the chocolate thumbprints and cutouts, etc… give those a try!