Linzer Cookies with Strawberry Jam

👨‍🍳 Method

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 2
   Sift the flour into a bowl.

   SifterBowl
3. 3
   Rub the cold butter cubes into the flour with your fingertips, to a crumbly mixture.

   Bowl

   💡Work quickly while the butter is still cold: butter that melts in your hands makes a hard cookie instead of a crumbly one. Knead only until the dough comes together.
4. 4
   Add the powdered sugar, ground almonds, cinnamon, salt, yolks and vanilla and knead lightly, just until a uniform dough forms.
5. 5
   Wrap the dough in plastic wrap until it holds together and chill 1 hour.

   ⚙ Wrapping and Chilling the DoughPlastic wrapRefrigerator

   💡Chilling firms the butter and relaxes the gluten: the dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick to the counter and doesn't shrink in the oven.
6. 6
   Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 3–4 mm thick, cut out rounds and arrange on the baking sheet, spaced apart.

   ⚙ Rolling Out DoughRolling pinCookie cutterBaking pan

   💡Roll from the center outward and give the dough a quarter turn between rolls: this keeps it even in thickness and stops it sticking to the counter. If it springs back, cover for 10–15 minutes and try again.
7. 7
   Cut a small circle out of the center of half the cookies, for a window.

   Cookie cutter
8. 8
   Bake 12–15 minutes, until the cookies brown lightly.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Take the cookies out while they still look soft: they firm up as they cool, and long baking dries them out.

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
9. 9
   Cool completely on the pan: the cookies firm up as they cool.
10. 10
    Spread the jam on the whole cookies and cover with the window cookies.
11. 11
    Dust powdered sugar over the cooled cookies.

    Sifter