Linzer cookies get a keto makeover! Tender almond and hazelnut flour sandwich cookies with a sweet raspberry filling. This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
I have a thing for Christmas traditions from other countries. I’ve always had this thing, this fascination, about how people celebrate in distant lands. And I love to re-create some of the beloved traditional treats too, in a keto-friendly way.
Like these Keto Linzer Cookies. I’ve long had my eye on the gorgeous Austrian sandwich cookies, with the bright jewel of jam peaking out the center. So pretty and festive. And so very very tasty!
I love North American traditions too, and I have many popular Keto Christmas Cookies. But at least once per year, I attempt something I’ve never tried. Like Keto Buche de Noel, or Keto Sticky Toffee Pudding. Or my updated Keto Marzipan recipe.
The best part? There is a whole large world of delicious foods to ketofy. I’ll never run out of ideas!
What are Linzer Cookies?
If you’ve never heard of them, you are in for a treat! Linzer cookies are like miniature versions of the famous Linzer torte from Austria.
I actually have a full size keto Linzer torte recipe in my cookbook, The Ultimate Guide to Keto Baking. Linzer torte features a tender shortcake crust with ground almonds or hazelnuts, or both. It also has a raspberry or apricot jam filling and a lattice top crust.
The cookies are made in a similar fashion, with a buttery cookie base, a jam filling, and a top cookie with a little window cut out to allow the filling to peak through. Dusted with a little powdered sweetener, they are as appealing to the eye as they are to the tastebuds.
And since Linzer cookies already rely on some nut flours, I figured they were ripe for a keto makeover. I grabbed my favorite keto flours from Bob’s Red Mill and got to work!
How to make Keto Linzer Cookies
These are a fun holiday baking project so be sure to set aside some time to make them. Here are my best tips for getting them right:
- The cookies in this recipe are very similar to my Keto Sugar Cookies, but I replaced some of the almond flour with Bob’s Hazelnut Flour. You could stick with just almond, if you prefer. You could also do all hazelnut flour but be prepared for a more “rustic” looking cookie because it is less finely ground and has a bit of the husks.
- I also added a touch of Bob’s coconut flour for better texture, as it helps them hold together. You can use oat fibre in its place if you really object to coconut.
- If your dough is quite sticky, be prepared to work in a bit more coconut flour. You want it to resemble traditional roll out sugar cookie dough in consistency.
- Do dust your work surface with some additional flour, as it will make it much easier to lift the cookies out after cutting them.
- This Linzer cookie dough benefits from some chilling prior to baking, as it helps keep them from spreading. Be sure to add that to the time you set aside to make these.
- The main cookie cutters should be at least 2 ½ circles, and then you want some mini ones to cut windows into the tops. I couldn’t find my little mini heart cut out so I used circles, moons, and flours, all about 1 inch in diameter.
- One great tip I read on Stephie Cooks is to bake all the bottom cookies on one sheet pan and all the tops on another, as they will bake at slightly different rates.
- Dust the top cookies with powdered sweetener before assembling.
- The raspberry “jam” filling is simply raspberries, water, sweetener, and a bit of gelatin to thicken it. The filling needs to cool for a while to thicken, but don’t let it gel completely or you will have trouble spreading it on the cookies.
- Place a blob (yes, that is the technical term!) of raspberry filling on the bottom cookie. Use the top cookie to gently press the filling out as it also pushes up a bit through the middle.
Can you make Linzer Cookies ahead?
You can easily make these keto cookies ahead of time but do know that they tend to soften when they sit with the filling inside. This happens with conventional Linzer cookies as well. Some people like them more after they’ve softened.
If you prefer them more crisp, as I do, you can make the cookies and the filling and keep them separate until you’re ready to serve. Your filling will gel but gently re-warming it in a pan over low heat will help it loosen up again.
More delicious keto recipes with hazelnut flour
- Keto Chocolate Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
- Keto Hazelnut Scones
- Keto Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
- Keto Chocolate Hazelnut Mug Cake
- Low Carb Nutella Donuts
Keto Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ½ cup hazelnut flour
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour can also use oat fiber
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon butter softened
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener granular
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Raspberry Filling
- 1 cup raspberries
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 ½ teaspoon grassfed gelatin (see notes for using other gelatin)
Garnish
- Powdered sweetener for sprinkling
Instructions
Cookies
- Prepare a work surface with a silicone baking mat or a large piece of parchment paper. Dust lightly with coconut flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, hazelnut flour, coconut flour, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat in the almond flour mixture until dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface. Pat into a rough circle and then top with a large piece of parchment paper. Roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Line two large baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Using a 2 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible and lift carefully with a small, offset spatula or knife. Collect the scraps and re-roll, cutting out as many circles as possible. You should get at least 32 cookies.
- Use a smaller 1 inch cookie cutter in any shape to cut out windows in half of the cookies. (Try keeping all the bottom cookies on one cookie sheet and all the tops with the windows on the other, as they will bake at slightly different rates).
- Chill the cut outs for 1 hour. Then preheat the oven to 325F and bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through baking, until lightly golden brown. Remove and let cool completely on the pans.
Raspberry Filling
- While the cookies are cooling, make the raspberry filling. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the raspberries and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the berries can be mashed easily with a fork.
- Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sweetener, then whisk in the gelatin. Let cool until thickened but still spreadable, about 20 minutes.
To assemble
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the window cut out with powdered sweetener.
- Spoon about 2 teaspoons of raspberry filling onto the bottom of the cookies with no center cut out. Gently press a cookie top so that the raspberry filling spreads and pushes up a bit through the window of the top cookie.
Daphney says
I know… they are supposed to be Christmas cookies 😃. But they are also perfect for the summer. Delicious!
Janet says
I just made these beautiful cookies today. They look just like the picture except I used a 3/4″ star cookie cutter to cut out the centers. They have a wonderful texture. They are crispy and delicious. They are not crumbly. They are perfect. I love the raspberry filling. It has a nice tang to it as you would expect raspberries to have. Thank you Carolyn for this recipe. I had so much fun making it. My family love the cookies and can’t say enough about how pretty they are. I took pictures of them.
Laura says
These sound (and look) amazing. Do you chill the cut cookies on the baking sheet? Curios because that will definitely affect how quickly they will bake.
Carolyn says
Yes, they are on the cookie sheets.
Geneviève says
Hello
I would like to know how you store the cookies. May I leave them on the counter for a few days and then put them in the fridge of they need to go in the fridge right away?
Thank you for making my keto life so pleasurable!
Carolyn says
They are fine on the counter for a few days.
Holly Scott says
How might I alter this recipe to make Keto Linzer Elderberry Bars?
Carolyn says
If it’s fresh elderberries, then I would imagine you do it exactly the same way.
Melissa says
Yum – everyone in my family loved your recipe!
Katie says
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one with my family.
Lily says
These cookies are so cute, we could not stop eating them, absolutely delicious!
Violet says
Hi Carolyn, I can’t wait to try this cookie. I’d been trying to experiment with fruity keto cookies. Today, I came across this incredible mulled wine fruit cake bar at Joy the Baker’s page. I was wondering if you might have some tips on how to make a keto inspired mulled wine cake bar or even cookie, better still if you’d be interested in trying a keto mulled wine based dessert this holiday season :). No rush or pressure of course. I just think it would be fantastic to have some way of incorporating a bit of fruit and something intensely flavoured like mulled wine in a keto dessert.
Paula O says
Making these today. The dough is quite fragile, and benefits from cooling before cutting. Haven’t tasted them yet (I know all too well the perils of tasting before completely cooled!). They look festive, and I hope they taste as good as they look!
Carolyn says
So if they were super fragile, they may have needed a touch more flour before cutting.
King says
Omg I love this !!
It is a tradition that we bake Linzer cookies for Christmas and now I can make it keto friendly!!
Thank you so much for sharing it with us ❤️❤️❤️
Roberta says
To avoid the difficulties searching the right consistence ofthe filling using gelatine, I had the idea to enhance “nuttiness” and spread a keto hazelnut spread (a nut-ella cream with cocoa powder, and in some biscuits also tossed with crunched hazelnuts) in the center: I konw this way it becomes another kind of recipe, but it taste good too and my family liked it. Thank you for always being a resource of inspiration for healthy and wonderful recipes with tips and great instructions that make feel “doable” even what may frighten the most of us “normal people” without baking degrees 😉
Danielle says
I am so happy you posted this recipe today!! I was planning on making these tomorrow with another person’s recipe I found, but will definitely be using your recipe instead since you are the queen of keto baking! I was planning on using your raspberry chia seed jam recipe as the filling and already bought the chia seeds. Do you think that would work as the filling, or is the smoother filling recipe in the post better with this cookie?
Brigitte says
I made these today and they are wonderful! I made mine with almond flavouring instead of vanilla, and apricot jam because that has been the tradition in our family for decades. They were a hit today and I got a thumbs up! That says it all! Thank you Carolyn ….your recipes allow us to keep our traditional ones but are much healthier versions!
I have also made the pecan crescents which are also delicious!
Cheryl Alvino says
Carolyn, these are a LOT if steps for Longer cookies, and a lot of special ingredients!! Have a great idea.. why don’t you make these and sell them!! I would buy in a heartbeat!! Especially if they say “All Day I Dream About”. Then I would know they r yours, and I would purchase gladly! Just a thought…
Linzer, not Longer!!
Anthony Allen says
See notification in my mail for a new recipe. I love your recipes as usual and of course, need to make them and share them with my family. I believe they will enjoy it a lot. Thank! you for sharing
Cheryl Alvino says
Where is your recipe??