Valentine's Cinnamon and Jam Heart Linzer Cookies

Cinnamon Jam heart linzer cookies for Valentine's Day. Nut-free and ready to party! This cookie is a crowd favorite!

This is cinnamon jam heart linzer cookie is a Valentine's Day version of a recent recipe, nut-free linzer cookie, that was a huge hit amongst my friends and family during the Christmas holiday season. Every party I had or cookie box I made, that cookie was the one that seemed to get the most attention. It surprised me at first because it was so easy to put together. It's definitely very attractive looking and taste-wise, it's just so delicious with it's buttery cookie base and its sweet and slightly tart jam filling. This version is flavored with cinnamon for the Valentine's season and it's still nut-free, it can be a good choice for parties and school events. Give it a try and let me know how it goes 🙂

XOXO,
Mimi

Why You'll Love this Recipe

Nut-Free- ready for bringing to group events
Big Impact with Minimal Effort - these "stained glass" effect cookies look amazing but requires minimal skills
Make It Your Own - with your own unique cutter design
Tastes Delicious - soft and buttery
Adaptable - fill this cookie with other fillings to make different flavored cookies with just one dough
Simple Ingredients - make this cookie with ingredients that are available year round
Make in Advance - raw dough, unassembled and even assembled cookies can be made in advance and frozen for special events later in the season.

Does Traditional Linzer Cookies Contain Nuts?

Linzer cookies are traditionally made with almonds. In my last nut-free version of this cookie, I omitted the almonds and substituted it with imitation almond extract to obtain a similar flavor profile.

This cinnamon version is also nut-free but without the almond extract. You can say, it has the look of a traditional linzer cookier but it does not contain nuts. It can be a good choice for group events that have restrictions on food containing nuts. Please be careful to source ingredients that don't have traces of nuts and be careful of any cross-contamination that might occur in your kitchen.

What Do These Cookies Taste Like?

These linzer cookies taste like a softer and less crumbly shortbread cookie - buttery but not too rich, soft but not too crumbly. They have the nice rounded flavors of vanilla and subtle flavors of cinnamon. These versatile cookies take on various fillings very well. How they ultimately taste will vary depending on which filling you pair it with. Other fillings or spreads that pairs well with vanilla and cinnamon include: Nutella, chocolate, plum jam, and apple or grape jelly.

Preparing the Ingredients & Substitutions

Unsalted butter - adds richness of flavor. It should be at room temperature for it to cream properly with the sugar. To soften quickly, cut into cubes and microwave on 10 second intervals at 50% power.
Icing sugar - adds sweetness. It must be sifted prior to use.
Egg yolks - tenderizes and adds flavor. Use large size.
Vanilla extract - adds flavor. Use either pure or artificial.
Cake flour - a low protein flour which will help make this cookie softer than if using All-Purpose flour. It usually has a protein content between 6-8% while pastry flour, also a lower protein flour, has a protein content between 8-9%. Grocery stores usually sell a combination of cake and pastry flour at 7-9% protein. Cake flour can be substituted with both types of flour.
Ground cinnamon - adds a subtle cinnamon flavor, it can be replaced with other spices like nutmeg, cardamom, apple spice, pumpkin spice and all spice. If using nutmeg or cardamom, use a lesser amount (about ⅔ to half less) as they are more potent flavor-wise.
Fine sea salt - highlights all the flavors inside the cookies and contrasts nicely with the sweetness.
Jam for filling - can be substituted with chocolate, Nutella, plum jam, grape or apple jelly, and matcha spread or buttercreams.

Step By Step

Roughly mix together by hand, room temperature butter and icing sugar. This will prevent sugar clouds when the mixer is turned on. With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, beat together on medium speed until fluffy.

**Visual cues**: the batter should look well combined and fluffy.

Add egg yolks and vanilla extract. Beat until it's well combined. It should look smooth and no longer glossy.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir to disperse evenly. Add it into the batter. Roughly mix together by hand before turning mixer on. Mix together on lowest speed until evenly combined.

**Visual cues**: the dough is ready when it starts to look like one big mass with no traces of flour left. If there is a little left, you can knead it all together by hand.

In the bowl, knead the dough into one smooth dough ball. Shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until firm, approximately 2 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 325F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ¼" thickness. Cutout desired shapes with a 2" cookie cutter. Place onto cookie pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Optional: to prevent minimal spreading of intricate cutouts during baking, chill the cookies in the fridge before baking, around 20-30 minutes.

**Tip**: chill the cookies in the fridge before baking to prevent spreading of intricate designs.

Bake for 8-11 minutes until the edges start to turn golden. Tip: flip one over with a butter knife, it's done when the bottom is light golden. Cookies with the cutout will be done a bit sooner.* Let cookies sit on pan for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely

How to Store & Make in Advance

These cookies are perfect to make in advance of Valentine's Day. The raw cookie dough should be wrapped with plastic wrap and placed inside a Ziplock bag. If placing in the fridge, use within 1-2 days. In the freezer, use within 3 months.

Assembled linzer cookies can be kept in the fridge for up to one week but please note that they start to soften after a few hours. It's best to fill them the day of serving. They can also be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Place in fridge to defrost overnight. Do not dust cookies until it's time to serve.

Unfilled cookies should be stored in an air-tight container. It will stay fresh for up to one week at room temperature and up to one month in the freezer.

Recipe

Yield: 48 cookies

Cinnamon Jam Heart Linzer Cookies - Nut-Free

Cinnamon Jam heart linzer cookies for Valentine's Day. Nut-free and ready to party! This cookie is a crowd favorite!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Linzer Cookie

225 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
260 grams icing sugar, sifted
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
390 grams cake flour*
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Jam for filling*

Supplies

Regular kitchen tools PLUS
Parchment paper or silicone mat
2" Linzer cookie cutter
Hand or stand mixer
Sieve

Instructions

Nut-Free Cinnamon Linzer Cookie

Roughly mix together by hand, room temperature butter and icing sugar. This will prevent sugar clouds when the mixer is turned on. With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, beat together on medium speed until fluffy.
Add egg yolks and vanilla extract. Beat until it's well combined. It should look smooth and no longer glossy.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir to disperse evenly. Add it into the batter. Roughly mix together by hand before turning mixer on.
Mix together on lowest speed until evenly combined.
In the bowl, knead the dough into one smooth dough ball. Shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until firm, approximately 2 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 325F
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ¼" thickness. Cutout desired shapes with a 2" cookie cutter. Place onto cookie pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat.
Optional: to prevent minimal spreading of intricate cutouts during baking, chill the cookies in the fridge before baking, around 20-30 minutes.
Bake for 8-11 minutes until the edges start to turn golden. Tip: flip one over with a butter knife, it's done when the bottom is light golden. Cookies with the cutout will be done a bit sooner.*
Let cookies sit on pan for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Assembly

Before serving, with a sieve, lightly dust icing sugar onto the cookies with the cutout.
Spread a thin layer of jam filling onto the plain cookie.
Assemble together with the cutout cookie.
Assembled cookies can be kept in the fridge for up to one week but please note that they start to soften after a few hours. It's best to fill them the day of serving. See notes below on how to freeze and make in advance.

Notes

Ingredients Notes

Cake flour is a low protein flour which will help make this cookie lighter than if using AP flour. It usually has a protein content between 6-8%. It can be substituted with "cake & pastry" flour or all-purpose flour.
Jam filling can be substituted with other fillings like chocolate, Nutella or matcha spread and buttercreams.

Recipe Notes

Err on the side of slightly over baking vs under baking as the jam filling will soften this cookie after a few hours.

Storage Notes

The raw cookie dough should be wrapped with plastic wrap and placed inside a Ziplock bag. If placing in the fridge, use within 1-2 days. In freezer, use within 3 months.
Unfilled cookies should be stored in an air-tight container. It will stay fresh for up to one week at room temperature and up to one month in the freezer.
Assembled cookies can be kept in the freezer for up to one month. Place in fridge to defrost overnight. Do not dust cookies until it's time to serve.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 99Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 27mgSodium 28mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 0gSugar 6gProtein 1g

This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although indulgewithmimi.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.