Day 2 … Raspberry Linzer Bars

I’m just going to say this right from the start: I like these best. Of all 24 recipes I’ve come up with for this One Dough/Many Cookies project, these Raspberry Linzer cookies are my favorite. It’s why I’m putting them up front, on Day 2, to give you time to work them in. To be fair, linzers have always been a favorite of mine as a good nut-fruit combination never fails to turn my head, much more so than anything chocolate. The lightly spiced, nutty dough sandwiches an intense raspberry jam perfectly. They look like Christmas. They taste like Christmas.

As a bar cookie, linzers share the great advantage of banging out a large quantity in virtually no time. However, if you wanted to go delicate and pretty, you certainly can by rolling out the dough and going with a sandwich cookie method. With a pretty window cutout on the top cookie to show the filling, that’s one direction to go but I’m a bit of traditionalist on these kinds of things, and prefer a bar cookie with a bit of fancy lattice work on top. It’s not really difficult but will take about 15 minutes of your undivided attention.

Linzers are typically filled with festive red jams – red currant or plum but raspberry is the standard. And no seedless versions here – in my opinion, the seeds are necessary for both for the visual appeal as well as the textural crunch. You just gotta do it. Look for all fruit/low sugar versions for the best pure fruit flavor.

Add some ground hazelnuts, spices and egg white to the base dough and you’re off to the races. Press some of the dough into the pan, top with the jam then roll the remaining dough into long, thin ropes that are laid in a criss-cross pattern across the pan. Don’t worry too much if your ropes break during transfer to the pan. Just carefully press them together and move on. The oven and a great dusting of powdered sugar will take care of everything. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, let cool then give the requisite dusting of powdered sugar. A true linzer cookie has got to be covered in powdered sugar. It’s a rule.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: IT’S BEGINNING TO TASTE A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS. Oh, I do so love these. Fruity, nutty and redolent of baking spices; they are delicious. Big fan. As for an objective analysis, they work in a nice mix of flavor (fruit/nut/spice), shape (latticed square) and color (white/red/spicy brown). When you’re putting together a cookie platter/box, these are important things to consider. Or you can just eat them and not think so hard.

2016 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies lineup: Butter Rum Bars, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Coconut Lime Sticks, Cranberry Pistacho Coins, Dark Chocolate Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Hazelnut Buttons, Jam Thumbprints, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Pecan Triangles, Peppermint Crisps, Rosemary Apricot Shortbread, Russian Tea Cakes

2017 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies lineup to date:
Basic Butter Cookie Dough + tips for planning
Day 1 – Cream Cheese Wreaths

RASPBERRY LINZER BARS
I like to these cut into 1″ or 1 ½” squares so the yield really depends on what size you opt to cut the cookies. And then you’ve got two size options for the pans – a standard 9”x9 or a larger 9”x13” pan.

Basic Butter Cookie Dough – recipe here

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the desired pan with a criss-cross of aluminum foil. Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray (make sure to spray the corners well.)
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the room temperature butter cookie dough, ground hazelnuts, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and egg white until well combined.
3. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and set aside for the lattice.
4. Press the remaining 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan into an even layer.
5. Spread the jam on top of the cookie dough into an even layer.
6. For the lattice, cut the remaining 1/3 dough into 16 pieces (32 for the larger pan).
7. Take a piece of dough and roll into a long rope, about ¼ thick and roughly the length of the pan, corner to corner. You may need to lightly flour the work surface if the dough is sticking.
8. Lay the rope on top of the raspberry jam, corner to corner and just off center, trimming if necessary to fit. Don’t worry if the dough rope breaks, just gently press it together and move on. You won’t even notice once bakes.
9. Continue with 7 of the remaining pieces of dough, filling in both sides of the original rope. I use roughly four pieces on one side, four on the other, spacing each rope about ½” – ¾” apart.
10. Now, give the pan ¼ turn and do the same thing with the remaining pieces of dough, laying the second layer of ropes in a criss-cross fashion on top of the first layer.
11. Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly golden brown and the jam is bubbling.
12. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
13. For best cutting results, chill several hours then carefully remove the bars from the pan using the aluminum foil sling. You may have to run a knife around to loosen the hard, caramelized jam bits that may have fused to the side of the pan.
14. Carefully peel back the foil and discard.
15. Sift powdered sugar over the entire surface.
16. With a sharp knife, serrated is best, cut neat squares.
17. If you want to do this one ahead, make the spiced hazelnut dough and freeze up to 2 months. They’re best is assembled, baked and then consumed within 1 week.

 

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