Ok, I wanted to make these cookies but, they always seemed daunting to make. I read various recipes and always came back to comparing them to my Mom's butter cut-out cookies... I know traditional Austrian Linzer cookies are made using almond flour. I didn't have almonds in the house but, I know how excellent Rodelle Almond Extract is that I decided to bake my version using their extract added to my Mom's cookie recipe. I also don't have any fancy Linzer cookie cutters but, I have a snowflake set that I was able to use and I like the way they turned out. These cutters made a larger sized cookie then the traditional Linzer. Using my homemade raspberry jam, I am really happy with how these turned out. Enjoy! Diane
Snowflake Linzer Cookies 1 Cup butter 1 Cup sugar 1 egg 1 egg yolk 3 Cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 Cup raspberry jam Cream butter and sugar until light. Blend in Lemon rind, almond extract, 1 whole egg and egg yolk only from a second egg. Sift flour and salt, and gradually work into butter mixture. As dough stiffens, work flour in with hands. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill for several hours. Make sure to keep track of how many whole bottoms you have and how may cut out tops so that you have an even amount. Roll dough out 1/4" thick. Bake 375 for 8 mins but, keep an eye on them - thinner cookies will cook faster and could burn easily. Let the cookies cool, sprinkle cut out tops with powdered sugar, add a bit of raspberry jam to the center of the lower bottoms, then sandwich the two together. Filling: raspberry jam Topping: powdered sugar
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I still prefer making jams in small batches, and today I made a small batch of homemade raspberry jam so that I can bake up some Linzer cookies tomorrow (the jam is a filling for the cookies.) This is a very easy recipe - I hope you give it a try. ~Enjoy, Diane
Small Batch Raspberry Jam Ingredients: 3 cups fresh raspberries 1 cup sugar *divided 1/2 cup local honey 1 Tablespoon lower sugar pectin (I prefer Sure Jel in the Pink Box) 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon butter Directions: Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the berries in a bowl, cover and let macerate in your refrigerator overnight. Add all fruit and its juices to a jam pot the next morning. Warm on low, adding in honey and final 1/2 cup sugar until dissolved, mash the berries when soft. Add in lemon and pectin and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute. You can add 1/8 tsp butter to prevent foaming. Once gel stage is reached, spoon jam into clean jars, to 1/4” headspace and process in a boiling waterbath or steam canner 10 mins or according to your altitude. Let jars cool in a draft free area for 24 hours, check seals, wash, label and store. Kitchen Note: You can take an extra step and pass the jam thru a fine sieve to remove seeds if preferred before jarring the jam and processing. Makes 2 half pints *this recipe can easily be tripled A friend of ours invited me to their home and property to pick grapes and apples...such a wonderful day. Blue skies, light winds, beautiful property and amazing fruit to harvest! I had a wonderful time gathering Concorde grapes inside their beautiful grape laden arbor! Sometimes its good to be tall as I could reach bunches that were perfectly ripe for the picking and the smell inside the arbor (pictured below) was amazing, very floral and grape scented. The grapes themselves are amazing and although they take more work to process for canning, its worth the time and effort. The seeds are almost as hard as rocks so, running through a hand crank food- mill is preferred *even KitchenAid doesn't want you to run the seeds through their food-mill attachment, because it will destroy it! Slipping the skins is a process, don't get me wrong - I was glad when I was DONE! I hope you do try this jam if you have access to Concordes! Enjoy! Diane
Concorde Grape Jam Ingredients:
Yield: About 6 half-pint jars Procedure: Wash your grapes in cool running water, stem grapes and as you stem them - "slip the skins" which means you separate pulp from skins of grapes by pinching the skins off. I placed the pulp/grape ball in one bowl and the skins in another. I measured out 4 cups of grape pulp/balls. Take all the skins and process skins in a food processor/blender or chopper. Cook skins gently 15 to 20 minutes, adding only enough water to prevent sticking (about 1/2 cup). Cook pulp/balls without water until soft; press through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds. Combine pulp, skins, sugar and honey. Bring to medium heat and let mixture cook down, about 30 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. If you feel you won't get a good jam set - add 1/2 package of low sugar sure jel pectin with a bit of sugar to the mixture - bring to a hard boil for one minute, then reduce heat and jar. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner or Steam Canner, 5 minutes and adjust for your altitude. I want to thank The Washington State Fruit Commission for sending me such fabulous fruits as part of my 2018 Canbassadorship! I hope you enjoy this jam as much as I enjoyed creating it. The cherries from Northwest Cherries were exceptional this year! Truly a treat to create with... Enjoy! ~Diane
Diane's Cherry Berry Jam Ingredients: 2 Cups Whole Cherries, cleaned & pitted 1-1/2 Cups Sliced Strawberries 1-1/4 Cups Blueberries; I used a pint of my canned blueberries 3/4 Cup Honey 1-1/2 Cups Sugar; divided 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 1/2 large lemon; the zest and juice 1/8 teaspoon butter; to prevent foaming 1/2 box SureJell Low Sugar Pectin (pink box) Directions: Place all your sliced fruit in a large bowl, add 1/4 cup of sugar, toss to coat, cover and set in fridge overnight. This will macerate the fruit (this releases the juices and deepens the fruit flavor in finished product) Take Macerated fruit, and all the juices in bowl and scrape into a large jam pot. Cook down 15 minutes on medium (keep an eye on it and stir to prevent scorching) Add in 1 cup of sugar, the honey, vanilla bean paste, lemon juice with zest. Stir and cook down the entire mixture another 20-35 minutes (it should start to thicken as it cooks down) Add in butter (helps lessen foaming), then use an immersion blender (or mash with a potato masher) and break up large chunks of fruit until you get the consistency of jam you prefer **do not liquefy the mixture. Take your pectin and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and stir together in a small bowl. Raise the heat on your jam mixture to High. Add in the sugar/pectin mix and stir/whisk constantly until you are at a boil that cannot be stirred away - boil hard for one minute. I look for a 'craggy skin' to start to form around the edges of the pot/mixture...indicating gel stage has been released. Remove pot from heat, do freezer plate test to ensure gel stage has been reached, and prepare to jar jam for processing. Waterbath or Steam Can at 1/4" head-space for 10 minutes, adjusting for your altitude. Remove to a draft free area and let sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Wash & Label Jars. Store in Pantry up to One Year. Once opened, this lower sugar jam can be refrigerated up to 3 weeks. Makes approximately 5 half pints Every year I make Christmas Jam but, since we are invited to a few Thanksgiving Holiday parties this year, I decided to make some Thanksgiving Jam as hostess gifts. This jam is superb! I love it! It's a very versatile jam and really great on turkey too! ~Enjoy! Diane Ingredients: 1 orange, zested and fruit chopped (discard pith) 2 lbs figs, washed and quartered 3 cups brown sugar 1 teaspoon ginger root, grated 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 1⁄4 cup lemon juice, bottled 2 cups cranberries, fresh or 2 cups frozen cranberries, divided Directions:
Yield: 6 half-pints Recipe Adapted from: Saucony Foods Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at home |