Redistribute window scraps to the bases so all dough is used in exactly twelve sandwiches.
Almond-flour shortbread sandwiches reveal raspberry jam through small star windows.
The recipe card lists measured ingredients, numbered steps, storage guidance, and a nutrition estimate when available. Total time includes the listed preparation, rest, baking, and cooling periods for this recipe.
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Almond Linzer Christmas Shortbread Recipe
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Total time includes hands-on preparation, required chilling or resting, whole-batch cooking, cooling and finishing.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- kitchen scale
- two 13 x 18-inch half sheets
- parchment
- 2-inch round cutter
- 3/4-inch star cutter
- rolling pin
- sieve
- wide spatula
- cooling rack
Ingredients
US measures are approximate. Gram weights help keep portions consistent; spice weights vary with density.
Instructions
Mix the dough
- Mix the dough: Beat butter and dough sugar until smooth. Add yolk, then wheat flour, almond flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix just until cohesive.
Shape and manage temperature
- Shape and manage temperature: Divide dough excluding jam and topping sugar into 24 equal portions, about 14 g. Flatten each inside a 2-inch round cutter to 1/4 inch thick. Cut a 3/4-inch star window from twelve tops; press those small scraps evenly onto the twelve solid bases and flatten bases again. Chill 45 minutes.
Bake the whole batch
- Bake the whole batch: Heat oven to 325°F (165°C) conventional or 300°F (150°C) fan. Arrange cookies on two parchment-lined 13 x 18-inch half sheets, 12 cookies per tray, with at least 1 inch between edges. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack, keeping the waiting tray refrigerated for 15–19 minutes, rotating front to back once, until the edges and bases are lightly golden and the centers look dry. Whole-batch cookie baking is 2 trays x up to 19 minutes = 38 minutes. Check windowed tops 2 minutes before solid bases and lift each cookie when its own edges are pale golden.
Cool and finish
- Cool and finish: Rest 10 minutes on trays, then cool 25 minutes on a rack. Dust twelve windowed tops with topping sugar. Divide jam evenly among the twelve solid bases, about 6–7 g each, and gently sandwich. Yield is exactly 12 filled cookies; no additional setting wait is required.
Timing and scaling
- Timing and scaling: Active preparation is 40 minutes; required chill/rest is 45 minutes; whole-batch oven baking is 38 minutes; cooling/setting is 35 minutes. Cooling allowance runs from the final tray; earlier trays may cool during later baking and that overlap is not counted again. Start with butter at the stated consistency; ingredient warm-up and frozen-dough thawing are extra. Oven preheating can overlap shaping or chilling. Scale every ingredient weight but keep piece dimensions, oven temperature and per-tray bake range unchanged; extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Almond flour makes the cookie tender while a yolk binds the thin windowed tops.
Technique & texture
Redistribute window scraps to the bases so all dough is used in exactly twelve sandwiches.
Finishing & serving
Dust the tops before assembly to keep sugar out of the red jam windows.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 2 days | Up to 2 days. Keep filled cookies airtight in a cool room; jam softens the crumb, so fill near serving for crisper results. |
| Refrigeration | 5 days | Up to 5 days. Plain baked halves need no refrigerator. Filled jam cookies may be refrigerated airtight for longer keeping; bring covered to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. |
| Raw freezing | 1 month | Up to 1 month. Freeze unfilled dough airtight; thaw covered overnight in the refrigerator before shaping and chilling. For foldovers, add fresh jam only after thawing the dough. |
| Baked freezing | 2 months | Up to 2 months unfilled. Freeze unfilled baked cookies airtight, separated by parchment; for foldovers, freeze baked filled cookies for up to 1 month. Thaw sealed at room temperature for 1–2 hours; assemble sandwiches with fresh jam. |
| Restoring | 2 hours | 1–2 hours thawing. Thaw sealed, then fill sandwich halves and dust windowed tops as directed. Do not oven-reheat jam-filled cookies or sugar-dusted tops. |
Notes
- Scale ingredients, including US measures, without changing cookie size or oven temperature. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Nutrition
Approximate values per portion from the listed ingredient weights divided into 12 equal portions. Includes required fillings and finishes. Brands, unused coatings and actual portion size affect the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the count mean 12 halves or 12 sandwiches?
Twelve complete sandwiches made from 24 baked pieces.
What happens to star-cutout scraps?
Press them evenly into the solid bases before chilling; do not bake extra cookies that alter the stated yield.
When should I fill for a crisp gift tin?
Fill near serving; jam moisture softens these almond cookies over the next day.
Browse more cookie ideas in the Christmas Shortbread Cookies collection.
