Wild Blueberry Linzer Cookies with Lemon

At the Lello table

Linzer cookies are persuasive because they are both delicate and practical: crisp enough to hold their shape, tender enough to yield cleanly. Wild blueberry jam is especially good here because it tastes concentrated without becoming sticky or heavy.

Method

1. Beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and light. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.
2. Add the flour, almond flour and salt and mix just until a soft dough forms. Divide in half, flatten into disks and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Roll the dough between sheets of parchment to about 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick. Cut out rounds; cut centers from half of them.
4. Bake on parchment-lined sheets for 10 to 12 minutes, until just pale gold at the edges. Cool completely.
5. Dust the cutout tops with confectioners’ sugar. Spread the solid bases with a scant teaspoon of jam each, then place the sugared tops over them.

Cook’s notes

• Linzer cookies are more elegant when the jam layer stays modest and even; overfilled cookies slide and become sticky.
• The almond flour gives tenderness and a faint nuttiness without turning the cookies overtly marzipan-like.
• As with many tea biscuits, the flavor improves slightly after a few hours once the filling has settled the cookies.

Substitutions

• Raspberry or wild strawberry jam may replace the blueberry jam.
• If almond flour is unavailable, use finely ground blanched almonds or replace it with flour for a plainer butter cookie.
• Orange zest can replace lemon, though the final effect will be warmer and less sharp.

To serve

Serve with tea, coffee or after dinner with dessert wine.

Storage & make-ahead

Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Separate layers with parchment.