Nothing could be better than a tray of these buttery soft, vegan Linzer cookies, sprinkled with powdered sugar and jam-packed with sweet strawberry jam. A beautiful treat for Valentines, Mothers Day, or any special occasion.
How adorable are these heart-shaped linzer cookies!? They are bright & white and when filled with that pretty red jam, they give me all the feels. A perfect treat for Valentine’s Day!
And once you try them, you’ll be making them all the time, no matter the holiday. They’re soft, tender and simply irresistible. Not to mention, SUPER easy to make! I love them, my kids love them, the hubs love them and basically EVERYONE who has tried these vegan Linzer cookies were begging me to make more and get them on the blog ASAP!
What is a linzer cookie?
Linzer cookies are basically a miniature version of the Linzer Torte, a pastry that has a dough lattice over a jam filling, that originated in the Austrian city of Linz. The cookie version, known as Helle Linzer Plaetzchen, means “bright Linzer cookies”. It’s made up of two buttery cookies sandwiched together with a jam that peeks out through the cutout in the top half.
Linzer Cookie Recipe without Nuts
Although nut flours are used in the traditional recipe, this Linzer cookie recipe is nut-free, keeping it allergy-friendly. And you know what? No one missed the almonds AT ALL and you won’t miss it either! The dough is light and tender, like a soft shortbread cookie, and balances out the jam beautifully. If you don’t have an allergy and crave a little nuttiness in your life, simply replace some of the vanilla extract with almond extract. It’s an easy swap and quite a yummy one too.
How Do You Make Nut-free Linzer Cookies?
Detailed instructions for how to make vegan Linzer cookies are included in the recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the process:
- Make the cookie dough. Prep as directed below.
- Chill the shortbread dough. Flatten dough into disk or rectangle then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30-60 minutes. Don’t skip this step.
- Roll to 1/4”. Roll our dough into a more uniform thickness on a lightly floured surface. Then use cutters to cut dough into desired shapes. Half of the cookies remain solid and the other half have center “window” cutouts (this is where the jelly will pop through).
- Bake: Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet until light in color. They won’t spread much but the ones with a cutout may bake quicker than the solid cookies, so keep an eye on them or better yet, bake those on the second tray.
- Assemble! (Anyone else think of the Avengers when you see the word “assemble”?). Anyways…. Dust the cutout cookies with powered sugar. Spread a teaspoon or so of jam on the base cookies then gently place the window cookies on top. Soooo cute!
Vegan Linzer Cookies FAQs
Why is my dough crumbly?!
This is a drier dough, but it shouldn’t crumble apart. I promise the recipe works as written! However, sometimes the warmth of my hands helps to press the dough together as I’m forming into the disc.
Can I use gluten-free flour?
This recipe should also work with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend if you need gluten-free Linzer cookies. I haven’t made these this way, but I have used GF flour with my shortbread cookies with wonderful results!
What Kind Of Filling Do You Recommend for Linzer Cookies?
You can use just about any flavor of jam/jelly you like! My kids preferred strawberry jam, but here are some other ideas:
- Black Currant (the traditional choice)
- Raspberry
- Apricot
- Peach
- Cherry
- Biscoff (ummmm, any excuse to use this spread and I’m in!)
- Chocolate Ganache
- Buttercream Frosting (omit the center cutout and simply sandwich the cookie between a layer of vegan buttercream. Color it pink or red for Valentine’s day.
Can You Freeze Baked Linzer Cookies?
Yes, absolutely! You can freeze the finished vegan linzer cookies airtight for up to a month. You may need to re-dust the tops with powdered sugar when they thaw, but beyond that, these are amazing to freeze!
Can You Freeze the Dough of Vegan Linzer Cookies?
Yep! Make the dough, flatten it into a disk, wrap tightly and freeze! I recommend thawing it in the fridge since the dough needs to be chilled before cutting anyways.
Vegan linzer heart cookies will be eaten up in no time but just in case you are wondering, they will keep for about a week when stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Good luck with trying to make them last a week though!
More vegan cookie recipes to try:
- Soft Batch Sugar Cookies
- The Best Allergy-friendly Sugar Cookies
- Tag along Cookies for Valentines Day
- Chocolate Dipped Red Velvet Cookies
These Heart shaped cookies are a Valentines must. Give them to someone you love, or enjoy them slowly with a cup of coffee by yourself, because you deserve to enjoy them too.
Vegan Nut-Free Linzer Cookie Recipe
Linzer Cookies
Nothing could be better than a tray of these buttery soft, vegan Linzer cookies, sprinkled with powdered sugar and jam-packed with sweet strawberry jam. Easy, Delicious, Nut-Free
Ingredients
Cookie Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (*for GF substitute with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 vegan egg (I used 1 TB Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer + 2 TB water )**
- 3/4 cup vegan stick butter
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For Linzer Cookies
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons jam of choice (strawberry, raspberry, mixed berry)
Instructions
Make cookie dough:
- Make vegan egg in a small bowl and set aside. Then, in a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
- Use a stand up mixer and cream vegan butter and sugar, about 3 minutes. Add remaining wet ingredients, including vegan egg and mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients and combine until dough is formed. If dough is too crumbly, it could be a result of the butter used or if GF flour. You may need to add another TB of water to help if come together. I find that once I place it on the surface and pull it all together with my hands, that is all it needs.
- Press dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/4" thick then chill in the fridge 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
To make the hearts/cutouts:
- Grab 2 cookie cutters (medium sized circle and the smaller heart which will be the center). Cut out all circles, then separate half of them and use the tiny heart cookie cutter to cut out the center of the remaining half.
- Lay on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 7-10 minutes, until they are slightly golden on the bottom.
- Re-roll remaining dough until its used - you may need to chill again to make it easier to work with. Then bake.
Assemble cookies:
- Use a fine mesh sifter and sprinkle powdered sugar on cooled cookies with heart-shaped cutouts. This is your top cookie.
- On the solid cookies, place about 1 teaspoon of jam in the center and just spread slightly to use as "glue" for the top cookie to stick to. You just don't want the jam oozing out of the sides. Top with the sugar coated cut-out cookie and repeat with remaining.
Notes
*I like to bake my solid cookies and my cut-out cookies on two different baking sheets since I find the cut-outs tend to bake up about a minute sooner.
**Flax egg or chia egg will also work BUT since they have dark flecks, you will see those in your cookie.
***Number of cookies made is based on how thick you roll your cookie dough. This recipe makes approx 24 cookie sandwiches (or 48 total rounds).
Cookies will keep 1 week when stored at room temperature in a sealed container.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY for more details.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 139Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 83mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information is only an estimate based off of using an online calculator. Numbers will change depending on brands used.
NOT a vegan recipe
Sugar is not vegan
Depending on the sugar you use, yes it is vegan. Or at least it is with my sugar. You can check PETA for what brands are free from bone char. Wholesome Sweet and Florida Crystals are just a couple. Check these out