Have you ever had a Linzer cookie? Typically, they’re filled with a raspberry jam and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Today I wanted to put a little twist on the classic Linzer cookie and make Nutella Linzer cookies!

The buttery shortbread paired with the hazelnut and chocolate spread is a match made in heaven and I’m beyond excited to share this cookie recipe with you!

What exactly is a Linzer cookie?

Linzer cookies originated in Austria and they were inspired by a Linzer Torte (AKA one of the oldest known cakes in the world – crazy to think about)!

This Torte is made with a delicious buttery pastry dough and filled with fruit preserves (and sometimes, chopped nuts). Linzer Tortes typically come with a lattice design on top to show the preserve filling.

Unlike a Linzer Torte, Linzer cookies are made with a buttery shortbread dough and are cut in the center of the top cookie to show the preserve filling. In this recipe, however, you have a Nutella filling!

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Almond flour
• Sugar
• Unsalted butter
• An egg
• Vanilla bean extract
• Salt
• Nutella & powdered sugar for filling and dusting

I’d go as far to say that you would typically have everything you need to make a Linzer cookie in your pantry besides the almond flour and Nutella!

Keep in mind, you can swap the Nutella for a raspberry jam (or your favorite jam)! Nutella might not be your favorite – and that’s perfectly okay. Nothing within this recipe would need to be changed in order to swap it out!

How do I make Nutella Linzer cookies?

To make these Nutella Linzer cookies, you need a stand mixer (or a handheld mixer). Because I used my stand mixer for this recipe, I’m going to share how to make them within a stand mixer, though a handheld mixer is pretty similar!

First, place the paddle attachment onto your stand mixer. Cream the butter and sugar together until it’s smooth and light in color. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes – but make sure they’re perfectly creamed together! If using a hand mixer, this may take a bit more than 5 minutes to complete.

Once the butter/sugar is smooth and combined, add the vanilla bean extract and the egg and mix well. Scrape down the sides and add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides as needed.

Once the Linzer cookie dough is combined, place the dough onto a pice of parchment paper and shape it into a disk. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

When you’re ready to bake the Linzer cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the Linzer cookie dough until it’s about 1/8th to 1/4th inch.

You should have enough dough to cut out 60 cookies with a cookie cutter of your choice. After you’ve cut out all of your cookies, use a smaller cookie cutter and cut the inside of 30 cookies. This will be the top cookie that allows you to see inside of the Linzer cookie!

Gently transfer your Linzer cookie dough onto a baking sheet. You might need to use a very thin spatula to help pick the cookie dough up!

Pro Tip – Linzer cookies can be very fragile. If you’re worried about them breaking after cutting a hole in the center of them, feel free to transfer the cookies onto a baking sheet and then use your smaller cookie cutter to cut the inside of them. This way, you won’t need to transfer them and will avoid breakage!

Bake the Linzer cookies for around 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are starting to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and completely cool.

Now comes the really fun part – filling the Linzer cookies with Nutella! You really don’t need a lot of Nutella in the center, 1/2 TSP should be plenty! You could top the Linzer cookies with the cut out cookie here, but I highly recommend lightly dusting the cut out cookie pieces with powdered sugar before placing them onto your cookie!

And that’s it! This recipe is so dang easy and the results are beyond amazing!

How to store & freeze Linzer cookies

Because Linzer cookies are filled with Nutella (or in most cases, jam), they don’t have as long a shelf life as other cookies. These cookies will last up to four days in an air tight container on the counter. Any longer than that and they can become a bit too soggy.

One option you can do to preserve the life of these cookies is place the Nutella (or jam) on the cookies when you’re in the mood to eat them. In other words, leave them plain for up to 12 days in an air tight container on the counter and fill as needed!

If you want to make the Linzer cookie dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator, it will last for up to 5 days. However, Linzer cookie dough freezes extremely well. You can make the dough and freeze it for up to nine weeks! If you go this route, make sure you let the dough rest on the counter to thaw a bit before rolling it out!

Incredibly Easy Nutella Linzer Cookies

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Take a break from your average jam-filled Linzer cookies with these Nutella Linzer cookies! The buttery shortbread and Nutella is truly a match made in heaven!

• Author: Kayla
• Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour & 20 minutes
• Yield: Around 30 sandwich cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 TSP vanilla bean extract
• 1/4 TSP salt
• Nutella for filling
• Powdered sugar for dusting the cookies

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Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together until smooth and light in color. This should take no more than 5 minutes. Once the butter/sugar mixture is light in color, scrape the sides and add in the egg and vanilla bean extract. Mix until well combined.
2. Add the salt, all-purpose flour, and almond flour to the stand mixture along with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. You’ll most likely need to scrape the sides as needed during this part of the process!
3. Once your Linzer cookie mixture is combined, place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and shape it into a disk. Allow the dough to cool in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the Linzer cookie dough out until it’s 1/8th to 1/4th inch. Cut out 60 cookies with a cookie cutter of your choice and, with a smaller cookie cutter, cut out the center of 30 cookies.
5. Gently transfer the Linzer cookies onto a baking sheet. You may need to use a thin spatula to pick the Linzer cookie dough up off of your work surface to ensure they don’t break*.
6. Bake your Linzer cookies for about 10 minutes, or until you notice that the dough is starting to turn a nice golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Once cooled, take the cookie with the center cut out and lightly dust it with powdered sugar. Then, place 1/2 TSP of Nutella onto the center of the whole cookie and gently place the cookies with the center cut on top of the Nutella. Enjoy!

Notes

* Alternatively, you can place the Linzer cookie dough onto a baking sheet and then use a small cookie cutter to cut out the middle of your cookies. This way, they’re already on the baking sheet and you don’t need to transfer the dough!