By Briana Hayes
Staff Writer
Linzer cookies originated from Linz, Austria, and are a very common traditional dessert.
They are also known as thumbprint cookies because of the circular cutout that the cookie is known for. Linzer cookies are a spin-off of the Linzertorte, which is a tart made with black currant jam.
In America, raspberry jam has become the filling of choice for both the Linzertorte and Linzer cookies.
Traditionally, Linzer cookies are two cookies with jam in the middle with the top cookie having the cutout to expose the jam.
However, it has become a popular practice to use your thumb to form a crater in the cookie and to place the jam in it hence the name “thumbprint cookies.”
This recipe requires a total time of 30 minutes and each cookie has only 87 calories with 5 grams of fat (2 grams of saturated fat.)
This recipe is low-arbohydrate, low-cholesterol, and low- sodium. It yields about 30 2-inch cookies.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup hazelnuts
basic cookie dough
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
Preparation:
Toast the hazelnuts in a 350º oven for 6–7 minutes, until fragrant.
Prepare basic cookie dough, combining 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts in food processor at step 2; pulse 20 times or until the nuts are finely chopped.
Transfer mixture to a bowl; add remaining flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt.
Stir to combine.
At step 3 of basic-cookie recipe (with egg white and vanilla), add fresh lemon juice.
Scrape dough into a medium bowl.
Place 1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts in a small bowl.
Roll 1 tablespoon of the dough into a ball. Gently roll the dough in chopped nuts. Place twoinches apart on two baking sheets lightly coated with cooking spray. Make an indentation in center of each cookie, going almost to the bottom.
Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon with raspberry jam.
Follow baking instructions for basic cookie. Store for 2 weeks at room temperature, or several months in the freezer.
