Chestnut Cranberry Linzer Cookies are a holiday jam of cranberries, orange blossom, cloves and cinnamon peeking through a chestnut flour butter cookie.
These cookies are the most festive holiday cookie ever and always kick off my Holiday Cookie Baking Season!
Linzer Cookies
A favorite family Christmas Cookie, has long been the Linzer Cookie. Why? I think because it encompasses Christmas colors peeking through a window and holiday essence and spices, better than any other cookie I make.
Origin Of Linzer Cookies
Linzer Cookies were first derived from Austria, with almond meal in the cookie dough and raspberry or current jam as the filling.
While these are delicious and traditional flavors, my taste buds most prefer the Christmas flavors we have created here in America.
I have recreated these cookies to my liking, with flavors of chestnut meal and orange rinds are in the cookie dough and a cranberry jam scented with orange blossom water, cloves, and cinnamon in the filling.
Such special flavors all wrapped into a memorable bite of Christmas traditions!
Chestnut Flour Linzer Cookie Dough
Chestnuts are not the nut you will find most often in a cookie, but they should be because the flavor of a roasted chestnut is unlike any other nut we cook with.
Making chestnut flour for the holidays, or to store in your freezer for recipes later in the year, couldn’t be easier.
Either roast a batch of chestnuts, seemingly sold only around the holidays, shell and grind the nuts, or they can be found in many grocery stores already roasted and shelled.
However you obtain these coveted nuts of November and December, simply put them in the food processor and grind to a flour. Use immediately or bag and freeze for anytime.
Cranberry Alternative In A Linzer Cookie
Most likely, the first Linzer cookie recipe you will find, has raspberry jam as the filling inside of the window of the top cookie. A raspberry filling definitely makes these Linzer cookies a year-round cookie.
However, if you would like to try something without a fruit filling, you’re sure to love this same cookie dough but with Salt Caramel and a drizzle of Chocolate!
Cranberry Jam In My Linzer Cookies
Have you ever bought cranberry jam in the store? Me either! Why the heck someone isn’t making this fabulous berry into a jam, is beyond me.
Making my own cranberry jam, or Cranberry Compote for this Linzer cookie Christmas treat is so easy, so I do just that; make it every year!
Boil the cranberries in a little orange juice, sugar, cloves and cinnamon until they are soft and have absorbed the essence of the spices.
Remove the spices and drizzle a little Orange blossom, puree and the jam is ready!
Cranberry Compote
If you’re like me, and you’ve made way too much cranberry compote, I’ve got another fabulous recipe for the leftover compote; Cranberry Orange Blossom Pie.
Another great use of the leftover cranberry compote is to make Cranberry Orange Blossom Muffins! This recipe can also be found along with 51 other fabulous muffin recipes, in My Muffin Madness Cookbook!
How To Assemble Linzer Cookies
The cookie dough has been baked, making certain to cut a decorative window in the top cookie before baking.
The jam has been made, cooled and pureed. Now we simply schmear a little cranberry jam on the bottom cookie, place the cutout top cookie and dust with confection sugar.
Ingredients Needed
- Whole cranberries
- Whole orange
- Orange blossom water
- Sugar
- Whole cloves
- Whole cinnamon
- Salt
- Butter
- Mascarpone
- Chestnuts
- Flour
- Confection sugar
Equipment Needed
- Baking sheep pan
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters – 1 large, 1 smaller
- Sifter
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Tea infuser
- Food processor
- Spatula
- Oven
Chestnut Cranberry Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- Cranberries – 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
- Orange juice – ½ cup
- Orange zest – 1 tablespoon
- Orange Blossom Water or Orange Extract – 1 teaspoon
- Sugar – ½ cup
- Whole Cloves – 1 teaspoon
- Cinnamon Stick – 1/4
- Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
- Butter – 2 sticks, 16 tbsp
- Cream cheese – 8 oz
- Sugar – ¾ cup
- Chestnut flour or other nut flour – 3 tablespoons
- Flour – 3 ½ cups (more for rolling out the dough)
- Orange zest – 1 tablespoon
- Salt – 1 teaspoon
- Powdered Sugar – for dusting on top of the finished cookies
Instructions
- Place cranberries, orange juice, orange zest and sugar in a sauce pan. Place the whole cloves and 1/4 stick of cinnamon in a tea infuser and drop the infuser into the cranberry ingredients.
- Bring to a slow simmer. Simmer until the liquids reduce and the consistency thickens. Cool. Remove the spices in the infuser. Puree.
- Unused jam can be stored in fridge for a week or frozen.
- Bring the butter and mascarpone to room temperature while making the jam.
- Place the cookie dough ingredients in a food processor. (This is the easiest way, but you can use a large fork, and then your fingers to work the dough together)
- Once the dough becomes a pliable pastry, roll out onto a floured surface. Roll it to a little less than one-quarter inch thick.
- Press out the shapes with a cookie cutter or a round glass. Then go back with a smaller cutter or smaller round glass, press out what will become the top cookie with a window cut out.
- Place on cookie sheet and bake 325 until they just begin to change color but not brown. About 20-minutes
- Spread the jam on top of the cookies without windows, then place the windowed cookies on top.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar and serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.
