Linzer Cookie Bars

I’ve never had a linzer torte, or even a linzer cookie. Until I made these linzer  cookie bars, I had no idea how delicious the combination of almonds, cinnamon, raspberry jam, and lemon zest could be. Granted, these things are all delicious on their own, but together in bar form you get a whole new level of flavor.

A linzer torte is actually a pastry from the Austrian city of Linz, involving crust made with ground hazelnuts and a jam filling. The linzer cookie is adapted from the tart with similar ingredients. And the bar version, thanks to the geniuses at King Arthur Flour, is an easy, tasty twist on both the pastry and the cookie. I used almond flour instead of ground hazelnuts, but you could swap hazelnuts or even walnuts for the nut flour in this recipe. The end result is a wonderful combination of flavor and texture that is part pastry, part cookie. This is one of my favorite recipes I’ve made in a while, and I look forward to making them again.

Ingredients

For the crust and topping

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• generous 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 2 cups flour

For the filling

• 1 1/4 cups raspberry jam
• zest from 1 medium lemon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

To make the crust and topping, cream the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, baking powder, cinnamon, and almond extract until fluffy. Add egg and beat well, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times. Add almond flour and flour, mixing until just combined.

Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping and spread remaining mix in the bottom of the baking pan, pressing it flat with your fingers to get an even layer. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges are golden and the middle is set.

While the crust is baking, make the filling: place jam and lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth and just hot. Remove the crust from the oven and spread it evenly with the jam. Break up the reserved crust mixture into crumbs with your fingers and sprinkle evenly over the jam layer.

Bake for another 22-25 minutes, until the jam bubbles around the edge of the pan and the topping looks set; the bars won’t brown except at the edges. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Makes 24.