These little lemon linzer cookies are the perfect holiday cookie. Sandwich cookies feel fancy no matter what to me, and when you dust the tops with powdered sugar they look kind of magical honestly.
These cookies are lemon sugar cookies filled lemon curd and topped with powdered sugar. My favorite part of linzers is that you can use any cookie cutter shapes that you like here- I’m using simple trees with a little ornament cutter for the center. You can really use anything you like here as long as you have about a 2 inch cutter for the outside, and something a bit smaller for the inside.
How to Make Lemon Linzer Cookies
These cookies start with a cold-butter sugar cookie dough, and it’s easiest to make them in a stand mixer. If you don’t have one, I recommend using softened butter and then letting your cookie dough chill in the fridge for 1 hour before rolling and cutting.
We’re using lemon zest in the dough, added right in with the butter and sugar.
If you’re using cold butter, you don’t need to chill these cookies before rolling and baking. Again, you can use any combination of cookie cutters here, but I recommend using a 2 inch cutter for the bigger outside shape. Then it’s off to the oven to bake until the cookies are lightly golden on the edges.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, take just the top halves (the ones with the tiny holes cut out), and dust them with powdered sugar.
Spread some lemon curd on each bottom cookie and then top them! Lemon curd is usually pretty easy to find in a grocery store these days, but you can also make some homemade if you prefer.
Tips & Tricks for Lemon Linzer Cookies
Here are all my tips to help you along the way:
- Use cold butter so you don’t have to chill your cookie dough before rolling and baking. This is best done in a stand mixer.
- What if I don’t have a stand mixer? If you don’t have a stand mixer, use softened butter instead, and plan to chill your dough for at least an hour before rolling and baking.
- Use any cookie cutter set you like. You can do anything you want here as long as you have a larger cutter and a small one to cut out the centers.
- How do I know when the cookies are done baking? The cookies will look slightly puffy and set, and should be a light golden brown around the edges. You want to avoid over-baking here.
- I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.
Enjoy!
Lemon Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups cold butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tbs. lemon zest
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 2 cold eggs
- 1/2 cup lemon curd
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick mats. Set aside.
-
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt, and set this mixture aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cold butter, sugar, and lemon zest until well combined. Because the butter is cold, this will take a couple of minutes. Beat in the vanilla and eggs until just combined. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, and beat the dough until very well combined and no flour pockets remain at the bottom of the mixture.
-
Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out cookies with a 2 inch cutter. Using a small 1/2 inch cutter, cut out holes in the center of about half of the cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies look just set and are lightly golden around the edges. Bake up all the inside holes too- you can make mini linzers with these!
-
Let the cookies cool completely. Spread the bottom halves with your lemon curd, and dust the tops with powdered sugar. Then, sandwich your cookies and enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
If I make these without the lemon zest, will it change the consistency enough to mess with the rolling/cutting/baking process? Don’t get me wrong – I think the zest sounds fantastic – I just need a standard sugar cookie recipe and think this one might fit the bill. Thanks!
Nope, not a problem at all to leave out the lemon zest!