I present you with the nut-free Linzer Cookie.  These cookies do not have the crunch traditionally associated with Linzer cookies (I will have to continue working on that), but they are an aromatic, lightly spiced, jam filled, cakey cookie in the iconic Linzer shape.  I have adapted the recipe from Maida Heatter’s recipe for Swedish Honey Cookies.

Mock Linzer Cookies

Recipe makes about 34 cookies.

Cream together:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) Butter
• 1 1/3 cups Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground Coriander

Beat in:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Gradually shift in until fully combined:

• 4 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Salt

Place the dough in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight to chill.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out the dough about 1/8′ thick, and cut out the cookies.  This is a really soft and sticky dough that can be hard to work with.  Work about a quarter of the dough at a time while keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge.  I also found that it was easier to roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper instead of flouring and rolling the dough out on the counters. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies.  Place the cookies on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  The cookies should only grow slightly, so you can place the cookies about 1/4″ apart.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool.

Set the cookie tops aside, and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

Spread a dollop of seedless Raspberry or Apricot Jam on the bottom cookies.

Sandwich the cookies together.

Enjoy!