Linzer cookies are a popular Christmas treat in Austria and possibly other regions of the former Austrian Monarchy, including Poland and Hungary. Normally, these sandwich cookies are baked and filled with either strawberry or apricot jam. I decided to experiment with raw pastry dough and raw cranberry jam. The jam is rather easy to make but the pastry dough requires some work. You might have to adjust the amounts of ingredients used to get the right texture.
If time allows, make your own almond flour. However, if you or your loved ones are allergic to tree nuts, you can use tiger nut flour (made of roasted tubers not nuts, but not raw) or the raw rolled oats flour.
Getting the dough right is not easy but doable. Keep in mind that too much flour will make it too crumbly. Adding too much fat could make it too sticky. Test as you go and adjust the amounts of ingredients if necessary.
I used xylitol and raw honey in my recipe. You may want to use some other sweetener but pay attention to the texture of the dough. Use raw cane sugar instead of xylitol. The dough needs some binder. In traditional Linzer cookies recipes eggs are used as a binder. I used gellified chia seeds in my raw recipe but you may want to use psyllium husks.
The cookies can be made and served in two ways - you can either dehydrate them or chill them. If you decide to use a dehydrator, work carefully since the cookies may become quite fragile and crumble or break easily. They are more stable when chilled and they taste better the next day. Using a mixture of coconut oil and raw cacao butter makes them more stabe at any temperature.
You can store these beautiful cookies for up to five days in the fridge in a closed glass container, however, the longer you store them the more moist they could become. Adding a food grade silica gel pouch to the container may prevent excess moisture from forming. Freezing the cookies could be another option but they are actually meant to be eaten as fresh as possible so don't do it.
I used 2 inch (5 cm) Linzer cookie cutters. This recipe yields 18-20 sandwich cookies and there is plenty of cranberry jam left for other recipes.
Tools:
- food processor
- spatula
- rolling pin
- non-stick pastry baking mat and/or dehydrator sheets
- Linzer cookie cutters
- small offset spatula
- small sieve
- dehydrator - optional
Ingredients:
for the cranberry jam
- 2 cups fresh raw cranberries
- 1 cup dried cranberries (crazins)
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp xylitol or 2 tsp raw honey, add more as needed
- pinch pink Himalayan salt to balance the flavors
for the chia seed egg substitute
- 3 tsp chia seeds
- 6 tsp filtered water
for the pastry dough
- 2 2/3 cups raw almond flour plus some more for working surface dusting
- 4 Tbsp powdered xylitol or powdered raw cane sugar
- 4 Tbsp mesquite powder
- 1/2 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup raw honey, use maple syrup to make it vegan but keep an eye on the texture of your dough
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp melted raw cacao butter
- 2 Tbsp almond butter
- freshly pressed juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 Tbsp chia seed egg substitute
- 1 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt to balance the flavors
for dusting
- powdered xylitol or confectioners' sugar
Method:
- Start your project by making cranberry jam. Macerate dried cranberries (crazins) in filtered water overnight. Once done, drain the soaking water and rinse. Wash and clean the fresh cranberries. Using a food processor, blend the soaked cranberries and the fresh cranberries until well combined. Add orange zest, ground cloves, xylitol or honey, and a pinch of salt, and process into a thick, smooth puree. Transfer the ready jam into a glass jar, close tightly and place it in the fridge overnight. Note: If you are using frozen cranberries to make this jam, you may have to use a dehydrator to thicken it a bit. Use a large flat bowl. Place the bowl with cranberry puree in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 115°F for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Once you are satisfied with the consistency, transfer the jam into a jar, close tightly and place the jar in the fridge. Allow the flavor to develop overnight. Remember to take the jam out of the fridge at least one hour before you decide to make the cookies.
- Make the chia seed egg substitute. Add the chia seeds to a small glass bowl. Pour the water and mix well. Allow it to sit and thicken for at least 15 minutes. Mix again before using.
- In a food processor, using the S blade, combine almond flour with xylitol, mesquite powder, cinnamon and salt. Add all the other ingredients one by one and pulse blend to combine. Add the chia seed gel, and process until the dough starts coming together and forms a ball. Be patient. This might take a few minutes. The dough should be sticky, smooth and firm, but not too hard. Add a little water if the dough feels too crumbly, and process again. Add more melted coconut oil if the dough feels too hard.
- Transfer the dough onto a non-stick working surface. You may want to dust the surface with a little almond flour. With clean hands start kneading the dough. It should feel smooth and rather firm. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and allow it to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into two or three chunks. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. It should be about 1/4 inch (a little more than 1/2 cm) thick. You can roll out the dough between two non-stick dehydrator sheets.
- Start cutting out cookies with your favorite Linzer cookie cutter. Knead the remainig dough and roll it out again. Keep cutting out cookies till the whole dough is used up.
- Now you can choose to either dehydrate the cookies or leave them the way they are. To dehydrate, place the cut out cookies on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at no more than 115°F for 2-3 hours. Once done, using an offset spatula, gently turn the cookies upside down and dehydrate for another 2-3 hours. The cookies may crumble and break easily so be gentle.
- Whether you decide to dehydrate the cookies or not, assembling them is quite easy. Cover each bottom part with about 1 teaspoon of the cranberry jam. Place the top part of the cookie on it and press gently. Continue until all sandwich cookies are made. The dehydrated cookies just need some sugar dusting and are ready to eat. The not dehydrated cookie sandwiches taste better if refrigerated for an hour before serving but the flavor improves even more after a night in the fridge. Put the cookies into a glass container with a lid and store them in the fridge till you are ready to serve.
- Once it is time to serve, dust the cookies with powdered xylitol or the confectioners' sugar. Use a small sieve and a spoon to do this.
- Serve the cookies for breakfast or as dessert at the end of your Christmas brunch. Enjoy them in best company!
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful Holiday Season. In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique
Dominique Allmon©2025