The Flexitarian Cook

I’ve said before that I am not a baker. Give me any kind of soup, or savory sauce, or vegetable concoction, and I am happy and comfortable making those. Cookies and cakes, however, I find more challenging. So why is it that I’ve found myself baking tarts, cakes and cookies so often lately, when, on top of everything, the weather has been hot and I should probably leave the oven alone? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t really eat all that sweet stuff very often any more, and so I enjoy vicarious indulgences by baking (mostly for others). That, or maybe I’m just enough of a masochist; please don’t tell anyone else.

Today’s Adventures in Sugarland involve a new cookie cutter, and plenty of sticky dough.

I was itching to make this chocolate cookie recipe I found online, but at the suggestion of such, my son (a chocolate agnostic) gave me an unmistakable ‘meh’ look which had me rethinking my plans immediately. My daughter had recently made some very good lemon cookies, and while I wanted a different flavor, I thought that recipe would make a good base from which to create something else. Then, while shopping for something completely different, I happened onto this little guy, and at that moment I knew exactly what I had to do:

Linzer cookie cutter

Linzer Augen (German for Linzer Eyes) are cookies made with ingredients similar to that of Linzer Torte, a jam filled pie that is usually served during the holidays in many of the countries that used to be a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the U.S., linzer cookies are also typically a Christmas cookie, but really, who can wait until December to start making these?

Obviously, not me.

I adapted in two ways the lemon cookie recipe my daughter had found: one, I changed the flavoring to almond, and two, I replaced some of the flour with almond meal, for flavor and texture. The result is a perfect sablé, with just the right crumbly, not-too-crunchy, not-too-soft texture, and nutty flavor. Working with it was a bit of a challenge. I recommend keeping the dough cold as you’re working, which means using only 1/3 of the dough at a time and leaving the rest in the fridge. This should keep it from sticking to your working area too much, something with which I had to deal.

After all was said and done, all I had to do was choose the right flavor for the filling, which was easy enough given the amount of homemade jam I have in the house: I settled on peach and plum; and because I needed to satisfy that need to make something chocolaty, I picked Nutella for the third and last filling.

Judging from the reception they got, I’d say people did fall in sugar love with them there eyes. I hope you will too!

Linzer Augen

Ingredients:
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp each vanilla and almond extracts
2.5 c flour
0.5 c almond meal
2 tsp baking powder

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg and flavorings. Blend together dry ingredients and incorporate to the batter. It will be stiff and quite sticky. Refrigerate for 15 to 20 mn.

Using about 1/3 of the dough at a time and keeping the rest in the fridge while you work, roll out on a well-floured surface to about 3/8″ thickness. Cut out cookies in 2″ rounds. To make tops, cut a small round (or other shape) out of half of the cookies. Keep re-rolling and cutting leftover dough until gone. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes at F400. Remove from oven and let cool 2 minutes before removing from baking sheet onto a rack.

When cool, sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar on cookie tops (the ones with the hole). Spread your choice of filling on the bottom cookie and cover with a top.

Clockwise from top: Nutella, peach, and plum

Makes about 70 2″ cookies (i.e. 3 dozen sandwiches)

It might seem like a lot, but they were gone in the blink of an ..., you know.

Tags: Augen, Christmas, cookie, dessert, linzer

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