When I look at the recipes I had bookmarked to try this year, I wonder if I will ever be able to reach the end of my list. Actually, is there an end…will there ever be one! No…not for me! I feel I am just getting started. The holiday season is bringing plenty of excitement to my baking repertoire and my oven is doing a bit of over time already.
Can you believe it, I have not posted a single Nutella recipe till now. So without wasting a moment, I made these Nutella Linzer Cookies. I love everything about these cookies..the nutty texture, the chocolale-y centre and the various shapes and sizes you can do with them. You can also fill them up with jam, the way it is done traditionally or any other filling like lemon curd, ganache etc.
I have used ground hazelnuts in the mix to complement the Nutella filling. Any nut meal will work. These are put together pretty much like any other cookie. The only tricky part is to get the shapes out intact after rolling out the dough. To ease the process, I roll out the dough on a baking paper and then place my cookie cutter all over the dough to make the cookies. Then I remove the balance dough from around the cookies and place the baking paper on a baking tray to bake. I do this twice. Once for the bottom cookie and a second batch for the tops with the centres cut out.
This post is also my contribution to my favourite Chocolate Party with the theme for December being Chocolate Cookies. Do check out the other creations at the end of the post.
Nutella Filled Linzer Cookies
Makes 20 sandwiched cookies
1 cup hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup Nutella, for the filling
Icing Sugar, to dust
In a bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract and egg yolks. Finally, beat in the ground hazelnuts and then the flour mixture. Divide the dough in half, cover each half with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (30-60 minutes, or up to two days).
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove one ball of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (.5 cm) thick. Using a 3 inch (7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the cookies. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Re roll any scraps and cut out the remaining cookies. Repeat with the second ball of dough. (Note: If you find the cookies are soft, place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill the dough. This will prevent the cookies from spreading and losing their shape when baked.) Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
Place the cut out cookies on a baking sheet and lightly dust the tops with icing sugar. Spread a thin layer of Nutella on the bottom surface of the full cookie. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together.
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Oh! These cookies look perfect…perfect for the holidays as well.
Have a great week 😀
Thank you Juliana. Hope you have a great week too.
These look so amazing and I love, love, love your photos! I have that same sifter =)
Thank you so much Karen. Ha ha..glad we have the same choice:-)
So pretty I love linzer cookies but never made them myself. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Cindy. I do hope you give them a try..they are so worth it!
Stunning as usual. You just have it to chunk out beautiful sweets/desserts. I am loving it all the way.
Btw, my domain when missing due to the technical failures on Google apps. Been seating up till 5 in the morning to sort it out with Google. Hopefully, as they have assured, it will be up tomorrow.
So glad to hear the good news. Can’t wait to see those gorgeous curries again. Thank you for the lovely words Nava.
I love linzer cookies…In general, I have mine filled with raspberry jam but I’ll have to try with nutella in the future. They look gorgeous and quite delish, Sonali!
Thank you so much Denise. Glad you liked them.
Hi Sonali – ’tis the season for sure! I love your linzer cookies! They look beautiful and you know I love the addition of Nutella instead of jam/ “Traditional” linzer cookies are one of those I’ve wanted to make but have still yet to…but sometimes I’m not sure if maybe I have done it since so many cookies go under different names but are essentially the same. I made a hazelnut sandwich cookie recipe from Ina Garten that is similar to this and it was delicious. I wish I could go to a cookie swap with you!! Happy Holidays and enjoy all your beautiful & delicious baking!
True Monica! Most cookie recipes can be traced back to a few ‘Father’ recipes and are just different variations to the primary one. I’d LOVE to cookie swap with you. Yay for Nutella!
Linzer cookies and Nutella are a great match. nice to put hazelnut meal in there too. I would devour a plate pretty fast, yep I have that interminable long list of bookmarked recipes!
Thanks Evelyne. I know, that list is what keeps us going:-)
I do love the traditional linzers but this a wonderful twist! I like it! Yours came out so perfectly, so pretty. A few years ago, I made shortbread ones in heart shapes for Valentines day for Laith to take to school, they were so cute 🙂
The possibilities with linzer cookies are endless, deliciously endless! Can’t wait to see your list of baking to dos!
I love the traditional Linzers and they are on my list too…with a twist (again). I can imagine how much Laith and his friends would have loved them…how cute!
Hazelnuts are so good. Special too so they are perfect to enjoy as a nice treat for the holidays. These cookies are beautiful.
I love hazelnuts Emily. Just need an excuse to add them. Thank you so much for visiting!
Beautiful photographs of wonderful cookies. I must make these for the holidays.
Thank you so much Maureen. I do hope you make them…they are delicious!
this is just the perfect treat to celebrate the season….loved the addition of hazelnut meal in these nutty cookies…it provides a lot of flavor….and the nutella inside….glorious food,thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you Kumar. Yes, hazelnuts just make everything better. Loving the cookie season!
Linzer cookies are always our favorite.I made these last week with nutella and jam fillings and my daughter finished the whole batch in two days.
True Balvinder! They are such a hit with everyone…love them!
I tried these and they were much too sweet, even with less sugar than specified, without nutella and powdered sugar. They are tasty, but next time I’ll use no more than 1/3 cup of sugar. I used two sizes of heart cutters and they came out insanely pretty. Thanks for the idea!
Thank you for trying out the recipe. I really appreciate the feedback and would look into the sugar aspect again when I make this.
WOW. These look amazing. Like…where’s the Nutella when you need it?
Seriously! I have the same problem. Thanks for stopping by:-)
HI how can I make them eggless?