Chocolate Linzer Cookies made with a 4-ingredient shortbread sandwiched with a creamy fudge. These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth, free of refined sugar and oil, and higher in protein.
My chocolate linzer cookies are healthier with a buttery shortbread made with only 4 ingredients.
Linzer cookies are often filled with raspberry filling. I filled mine with chocolate. Either way, these are an easy beautiful cookie to bake at home and unlike the commercial variety, mine have no sugar or oil. Plus they are high in protein and fiber! Each cookie has 2 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein.
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Why You'll Love These
Easy one-bowl recipe: Just throw the four ingredients in a bowl, chill, roll and cut. These are perfect for holidays, and make the best Christmas cookies, or for Easter. They can be on the table in under 30 minutes.
Perfect for all diets: These shortbread cookies are refined-sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free.
Two protein-rich ingredients: Almond flour is especially high in protein and full of healthy fats [source]. And instead of oil or butter, I used nut butter which means even more protein.
Ingredients
almond flour - use finely ground, not almond meal
nut butter - I used cashew butter, but almond butter or sunflower seed butter is fine too.
maple syrup - has essential minerals that cane sugar does not.
vanilla - give the shortbread that buttery flavor
chocolate chips - use at least 70% to offset the sweet cookie flavor
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Steps to Make
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
1. Mix up the flour, nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in a bowl. Stir with a spoon until you have a dough. Set it covered in the refrigerator for 10-30 minutes until it reaches a rollable texture.
2. Roll the dough out about ¼ inch thick between the two sheets of parchment paper.
3. Using linzer cookie cutters - cut 9 plain rounds, and 9 with a center hole cut out. Use a heart, star, flower, diamond or any shape.
4. Bake the cookies. While warm, sprinkle the cookies with center holes with cane sugar.
5. Once cookies are cooled - about 30 minutes - prepare the chocolate filling.
6. Microwave the chocolate and stir until all chips or chunks are melted.
7. Add the chocolate to a piping bag and add about 1 tablespoon to the solid cookie round. Top each chocolate-covered round with a cookie with a center cut out and sugar on top.
Recipe Tips
1.Use a natural nut butter or seed butter to ensure nutrition.
2.The dough should look like my images so feel free to add more flour or more liquid to get it to that state.
3. If necessary, chill the dough for another 20 minutes to achieve rollable texture. Sprinkle almond flour if needed to assist in the rolling.
4. Be sure to sprinkle sugar on the cookies straight out of the oven. The heat will help the sugar stick.
How to Store
These chocolate linzer cookies will soften over time, but they keep in a sealed container for about 4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a week.
FAQS
Linzer cookies are buttery, jam-filled sandwich cookies based on the classic Viennese Linzer torte, a nutty jam-filled pastry with a lattice design on top. The cookies have a shortbread-like texture and nutty flavor that comes from finely ground almonds and almond extract in the dough.
Austria. These cookies are also a year-round staple at some of Philly's most enduring German bakeries, but they actually originated in Austria and have been adapted for American tastes.
The Linzer torte is a traditional Austrian pastry, a form of shortbread topped with fruit preserves and sliced nuts with a lattice design on top. It is named after the city of Linz, Austria.
These Linzer Cookies are best eaten right away, but can also be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for a week.
More Healthy Cookies
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoon nut butter
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
chocolate filling
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
Prep
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and have another sheet standing by so you can roll out your dough between two sheets.
- Preheat oven 350 F.
Make Cookies
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir with a spoon until you have a dough. Pro tip: You want a putty like texture, so if it's still crumbly, add a few tsps of milk until you have a batter that leaves an imprint when you press a finger.¾ cups almond flour, 2 tablespoon nut butter, 3 tablespoon maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon vanilla, pinch of salt
- Chill the dough 10-30 minutes if needed to roll it out.
- Roll the dough out about ¼ inch thick between the two sheets of parchment paper. Sprinkle almond flour if needed to assist in the rolling.
- Using linzer cookie cutters - one round and one with a center hole cut out - to cut 18 cookies. This will make 9 sandwich cookies.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until edges begin to turn toasty. Sprinkle the cookies with holes with cane sugar.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Once cookies are cooled - about 30 minutes - prepare the filling.
- Microwave the chocolate for 60 seconds, and stir until all chips or chunks are melted.1 cup chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Add the chocolate to a piping bag and add about 1 tablespoon to the solid cookie.
- Top with the sugared cookies with holes.
Store
- The cookies will soften over time, but they keep in a sealed container for about 4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a week.
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