Linzer Cookie Bars Food

RASPBERRY LINZER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon zest. In another bowl, mix flour, ground almonds and cinnamon; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Press 2 cups dough onto bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Spread with preserves to within 1/2 in. of edges. Crumble remaining dough over preserves., Bake until lightly browned, 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. If desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Cut into bars.

MINI LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or spade shaped cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.
• Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.

LINZER COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, place sugar cookie mix. Cut in 1/2 cup cold butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture is crumbly (do not overmix). Press mixture firmly in bottom of pan.
• Bake 15 minutes. Spoon and spread jam evenly over partially baked crust.
• Meanwhile, in another large bowl, place oatmeal cookie mix. Cut in 1/2 cup cold butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture is crumbly (do not overmix). Stir in water and chopped almonds. Sprinkle oatmeal cookie mixture over jam layer; press lightly into jam layer.
• Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until top is light golden brown and bubbling along edges. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

LINZER TORTE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Mix together flour, sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl until crumbly.
• Press 2/3 of mixture into an ungreased 9x9-inch baking pan.
• Spread preserves over crust.
• Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top of preserves, patting mixture down lightly.
• Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Cool completely before cutting into bars.

LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Pulse together flour and almonds in a food processor until the almonds are very finely ground. Add cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and pulse to blend. (Alternatively, whisk together flour, ground almonds or almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.)
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium-high until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, and beat until everything is well combined, again stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary.
• Add in dry ingredients all at once and mix on low speed, just until incorporated.
• Divide dough in 2 equal pieces, and wrap each piece in cling film, patting into a 1-inch-thick disk. Chill at least 2 hours, up to 5 days ahead.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper so it's about 1/8 inch thick. (Because of the almonds, the dough may crack in places while you're rolling it out. This is O.K., just patch it up with scraps.)
• Using a round cookie cutter 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Take half of these circles and cut out a 1-inch circle from the interior of the larger circles, creating a doughnut shape that will become the top of the cookie. If at any point the dough becomes too soft to cut and cleanly remove from parchment paper, slide it onto a cookie sheet and chill for a few minutes in the freezer or refrigerator. Gather any scraps of dough, combine them and roll them out, chilling as necessary. Transfer dough circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart and bake until the edges are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
• To assemble the linzer cookies, spread about a teaspoon of raspberry jam onto the flat sides of the larger circles. Dust the tops of the cutout circles with powdered sugar and place on top of raspberry jam.

LINZER COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg and vanilla. Mix in 1 cup of chopped almonds, then stir in the sifted ingredients. Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of a greased or parchment lined 8x8 inch baking pan. Roll the remaining portion between two pieces of waxed paper, out to an 8 inch square. Refrigerate all of the dough for at least 2 hours.
• While the dough is chilling, place the apricots into a small saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Drain the excess liquid from the apricots and mix in the preserves and lemon juice.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the apricot filling evenly over the chilled crust, leaving a 1/4 inch border on edges. Cut the chilled square of dough into 1/2 inch strips. Place the strips over the filling in a lattice design. Trim edges to fit and press the edges into the border. Brush the top with egg white then sprinkle with remaining chopped almonds and coarse sugar.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.