These are light, crisp, delicious gluten-free Linzer Hearts, perfect for celebrating the ones you love!
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free flour blend
⅔ cup almond flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup seedless raspberry jam
Powdered sugar for finishing
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine flour, almond flour, and cinnamon. Whisk to incorporate well; set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together softened butter with granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla, and mix on low until fully incorporated. On low speed, add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. The dough will be very soft.
Divide dough into 2 pieces and press the dough into small disks about 1 inch thick. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours and until very firm.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
On a floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough to ⅛ inch thick. Keep all remaining dough refrigerated until ready to use. I use heart-shaped cookie cutters for this but use whatever you like. Cut out half the dough with a large heart-shaped cookie cutter and carefully place cookies on a parchment-covered cookie sheet using a spatula dipped in flour. Put all scraps in the fridge to keep them cold as you work. This is a delicate dough, so I roll it out between 2 sheets of parchment paper. It's much easier to work with that way.
Bake the first batch of cookies for 12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through the baking time.
Now cut out the other half of your dough with your large cutter and then use a smaller one to cut out the middle of the cookie. (When it's time to assemble, these are the ones you will dust with powdered sugar and place on top of your solid hearts.)
NOTE: Dough scraps may be formed into a disk, wrapped and chilled for several minutes, and then re-rolled and cut.
Bake your second batch of cookies for 10-12 minutes until they're a light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 3-4 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Make an even number of tops and bottoms.
To assemble, invert fully cooled bottom cookies and spread each with about a teaspoon of jam. Dust each of the top cookies with powdered sugar. Very gently, place the top cookies on top of the bottom cookies to form a sandwich. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Recipe by Kate Battistelli at https://katebattistelli.com/food/gluten-free-food/linzer-cookies-gluten-free/