You won’t find a more tender, melt in your mouth confection than the Linzer. So delicate and sweet, I especially enjoy making these buttery little beauties for Valentine’s Day.

Linzer Cookies

Ingredients (makes 10-12 cookies)

1 cup Butter

2 cups sifted Cake Flour

1 teaspoon orange extract or orange liqueur

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Raspberry, strawberry or cherry jam

Linzer cookie cutters

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, orange extract and sugar.  Add in 1 cup of flour at a time, mixing well. Remove dough from mixing bowl, shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough at least 2 hours.

Roll out 1/2 of the dough on a floured board to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the bottom cookie using the linzer cutter without the insert. Roll out the remaining  dough and cut the cookie tops with the Linzer cutter with insert.

Bake cookies for 12 minutes. Cool completely. Generously dust tops with powdered sugar. Spread about 2 teaspoons jam on each cookie bottom. Place cookie tops over bottom cookies to create a sandwich cookie. Store in a single layer in covered container.

If you don’t have a linzer cookie cutter you could use a 2 inch fluted cookie cutter and a 3/4 inch cookie cutter to cut out the center of the top cookie.