Linzer Cookies (Austrian Sandwich Cookies)
, Updated Nov 23, 2025
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Linzer Cookies – buttery Austrian sandwich cookies made with almond flour, orange and warm spices, filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. The prettiest Christmas cookies you’ll bake this year – perfect for gifting and sharing.
Get to Know Linzer Cookies
Linzer cookies are the little jam-filled cousins of Linzertorte, a classic tart from the Austrian city of Linz. The original Linzertorte is a nutty, buttery pastry made with ground nuts, warm spices and a layer of redcurrant or raspberry jam, finished with a pretty lattice top – and it’s thought to be one of the oldest named cakes in Europe.
Over time, bakers turned that same nutty dough into smaller sandwich cookies: two thin biscuits, a jewel-bright jam centre and a snowy dusting of powdered sugar, with a little “window” cut-out on top. In Austria they’re often called Linzer Augen – Linzer “eyes” – and they’re a staple on Christmas cookie plates, from Austrian bakeries to German Weihnachtsmarkt stalls and beyond.
🌟 Want to create an international Christmas cookie platter this year? Pair these Austrian cookies with German Lebkuchen, Greek Melomakarona, Belgian Speculoos and classic American Sugar Cookies!
Here’s What You’ll Need
- Almond flour (or ground almonds) – Adds a lovely nutty flavour and tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture to the dough
- Powdered sugar (icing sugar) – Sweetens the dough and keeps it delicate and crisp rather than chewy.
- Butter – Use soft unsalted butter so it creams easily and gives that classic buttery shortbread feel.
- Egg and orange juice – Bind the dough and add a subtle citrus note that works beautifully with the jam. You can also use strained lemon juice.
- Cinnamon or cardamom – Just enough spice to make the cookies smell like Christmas without overpowering the almond flavor.
- All-purpose flour (plain flour) – Provides structure so the cookies roll out cleanly and keep their shape in the oven.
- Jam or jelly – Raspberry, strawberry, apricot or redcurrant all work wonderfully here – choose something smooth and not too runny.
Useful Tools – These tools will help you get this Linzer cookie recipe just right!
- Digital scales – I always use these for accurate measuring. If you are using cups, fluff the flour first then spoon the ingredients into the cups and level.
- A rolling pin with spacing rings – makes rolling out cookie dough easier!
- Linzer cookie cutters or any shapes you like (I used these cookie cutters also)
- Heavy cookie sheets (trays) that will not warp in the oven
- This reusable baking liner is fantastic for rolling out the dough on and for baking the cookies. Alternatively you can use silicone baking mats.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Keep the dough chilled: This dough is quite buttery so it softens quickly. Chill it thoroughly before rolling and work with one piece at a time, keeping the rest wrapped in the fridge until needed.
- Roll between baking liners: Rolling the dough between sheets of reusable baking liner or parchment makes it easier to handle and helps prevent sticking. A rolling pin with spacer rings gives perfectly even cookies.
- Work in batches: Cut out as many cookies as you can from each piece of dough, then gather the scraps, chill briefly and re-roll. This helps keep the dough cool and the shapes neat.
- Match your tops and bottoms: Remember you need an equal number of solid bases and “window” tops. Cut all the bases first, then the tops with cut-outs so you can keep track more easily.
- Use the right jam: A smooth jam or jelly that isn’t too runny works best. If it is difficult to spread, warm it briefly then let it cool slightly before using.
- Dust before assembling: Always dust the top cookies with powdered sugar before sandwiching – it keeps the jam centers glossy and avoids sugar sticking to the filling
How to Make Linzer Cookies
Prepare the cookie dough
- Pulse the almond flour and sugar in a food processor to combine or sift both ingredients into a mixing bowl. This will help remove any lumps.
- Place the butter in a medium bowl suitable for a hand mixer or the large bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed for 2-3 minutes until the butter is really creamy – scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add a spoonful of the almond flour mixture, the egg, orange juice and vanilla. Beat to combine then gradually add the remaining dry ingredients, salt and spices.
- Tip the dough onto plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Cut out and bake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Divide the dough into four pieces and keep any dough you are not using wrapped and chilled. Use silicone mats or baking paper to line a large cookie sheet.
- Lightly dust your work surface with powdered sugar (icing sugar). Roll out the dough until it is approximately ¼ inch (0.6cm) thick (a rolling pin with spacing disks is ideal for this purpose).
- Use Linzer cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Half the cookies will be plain round disks and the other half will have a little cut out shape. You can use any shape of cookie cutter, such as a round cookie cutter, as long as you have a smaller cookie cutter to use as the cut out shape.
- Transfer to the cookie sheet, spaced slightly apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the cookies are just coloring at the edges. Cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, then carefully lift onto a wire cooling rack to reach room temperature.
Sandwich the cookies together
- Dust the cookies with the cut out windows with powdered sugar (icing sugar).
- Spread jam or jelly on the bottom half of the cookies and sandwich together. Serve immediately or keep in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Linzer Cookies FAQs
Yes. You can make the dough up to 2–3 days ahead. Shape it into flat discs, wrap well in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes so it’s just soft enough to roll, but still cool and firm.
Absolutely. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then pop it into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to a cool room temperature before rolling out.
You can freeze the unfilled cookies once baked and cooled. Layer them in a container with baking parchment between the layers and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature, then fill with jam and dust with powdered sugar before serving. Filled cookies are best stored in the fridge rather than frozen.
Because of the jam filling, Linzer cookies are best assembled 1–2 days before serving. They’ll soften slightly over time but are still delicious. If you want them extra crisp, keep the cookies and jam separate and assemble the same day.
Use a smooth, not too runny jam or jelly. Raspberry, redcurrant, strawberry and apricot all work well. You could also use nut butters, smooth Biscoff spread or Nutella!
This usually means the dough was too warm. Make sure you chill the dough well before rolling and consider chilling the cut shapes on the baking sheet for 10–15 minutes before baking so they hold their edges.
HAVE YOU MADE MY LINZER COOKIE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram with @supergolden88 and the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Linzer Cookies
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 cup (100g) almond flour or ground whole almonds
- 1 cup (120g) sugar powdered / icing sugar
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter , softened
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 1 tbsp orange juice , freshly squeezed and strained
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon or ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 2 ⅔ cups (330g) flour , all-purpose / plain flour
To assemble
- sifted powdered sugar (icing sugar) as needed, to dust
- ½ cup (160g) smooth jam or jelly
Instructions
Make the cookie dough
- Pulse the almond flour and sugar in a food processor to combine or sift both ingredients into a bowl. This will help remove any lumps.1 cup (100g) almond flour , 1 cup (120g) sugar
- Place the butter in a mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Beat until the butter is creamy, a couple of minutes.1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- Add a spoonful of the almond/sugar mix, the egg, orange juice and vanilla. Beat to combine then gradually add the remaining dry ingredients, salt and spices.1 large egg, 1 tbsp orange juice, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cinnamon , 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, 2 ⅔ cups (330g) flour
- Tip the dough onto plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap tightly and rest in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Cut out and bake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). You will need to roll out the dough in batches as it can easily soften. Divide into four pieces and keep any dough you are not using wrapped and chilled. Use silicone mats or baking paper to line a large cookie sheet (you will need to bake the cookies in batches).
- Lightly dust your worktop with powdered sugar (icing sugar). Roll out the dough until It is approximately ¼ inch (0.6cm) thick (a rolling pin with spacing disks is ideal for this purpose).
- Use cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Half the cookies will be plain round disks and the other half will have a little cut out shape.
- Transfer to the cookie sheet, spaced slightly apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the cookies are just coloring at the edges.
- Cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, then carefully lift onto a wire rack to cool. Roll out the remaining dough, gathering any scraps and rolling as you go.
Assemble the cookies
- Dust the cookies with the cut out windows with powdered sugar (icing sugar).sifted powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- Spread jam or jelly on the bottom half of the cookies and sandwich together. Serve immediately or keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days.½ cup (160g) smooth jam
Notes
- Linzer cookies are a pleasure to roll out and bake as they don’t spread and keep their shape beautifully. Since the dough is quite buttery and soft it will need to be kept chilled. Divide into small pieces and work in batches.
- You can buy special Linzer cookie cutters to make the traditional Austrian Linzer cookies but any cookie cutter will work as long as you have a smaller cutter to use for the cut-out shape. I often bake a batch of heart-shaped Linzer cookies on Valentine’s day 🙂
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
These look adorable, I've always wanted to make Linzer type biscuits/pastry etc. I bet these make a wonderful gift.
Never to early for Christmas recipes in my world! These would be a hit in my house all year round anyway x
Lovely cookies, my kids would like these all year round. I bet the flavours are wonderful!
Never too early in my opinion! these look so pretty too
Never too early for cookies. I have already made Linzer cookies for a dessert at the weekend, they tasted great but were not as pretty to look at as yours are. Maybe I should try yours, mine spread way too much on the tray…
Oh yes! I don't think it's too early for these. The jam sounds delicious and I love the fact you've used cardamom, my current favourite spice to bake with, haven't tried roasting it before though, will try that soon 🙂
I was going to make some of these the other day. They may be Christmassy but I could eat them anytime. Lovely shots too, as always Lucy! Caprera has some wonderful produce on their site, I can't wait to try this jam. Pinned! x