Vegan Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies. Made with perfectly sweet vegan shortbread cookies, sandwiched between raspberry chia jam. It's one of my favourite cookie recipe to make.
These vegan Linzer cookies are a simple twist on my Vegan Shortbread Cookie recipe. With a cute little heart cut-out and sandwiched between jam it’s sweet, light and delightful!
These vegan Linzer cookies are soft and buttery, perfectly sweet and made with 8 ingredients. All-in-all they are fuss-free and incredibly delicious!
I love to make these Linzer cookies during the holidays or for valentine’s day. Whenever I want to share the love these are pretty much my go-to cookies.
So, let me tell you exactly how to make these vegan linzer cookies, so you can enjoy them pronto!
Where did Linzer cookies originate?
Linzer cookies are a variation of the Linzer torte, a traditional Austrian pastry and is named after the city, Linz. It’s typically made with shortbread pastry cookies sandwiched together with fruit preserves and a dusting of icing sugar. There is another very similar pastry cookie popular in Switzerland and Germany called the Spitzbuben. No matter what you call them, they are the perfect cookie to make to celebrate the Christmas holiday season. I personally love baking these Linzer cookies around Valentine’s day, too!
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5 from 3 votes
“I’ve been searching for the perfect vegan Christmas cookie recipe for a while now, but they’ve never quite met my expectations… until now! This recipe is fabulous. It’s not overly sweet, the vegan butter’s taste isn’t overpowering, and we adore the added touch of nuttiness and the tartness of the jam (we used some homemade raspberry jam from the summer). They are balanced and the texture is fab. I did add a spoon or two of almond milk to our dough.”
-Vanessa
Raspberry jam – I used my signature Raspberry Chia Jam for the filling. It is not only the perfect healthier fruit preserve for these Linzer cookies, but they’re so versatile! I love this jam topped on my pancakes, porridge oats, overnight oats, nice cream, even stuffed between dates. It has much less sugar and you know exactly what’s gone into making it, but you can use whatever jam you have handy. You may be interested in Strawberry Chia Jam for a strawberry version!
Vegan butter – The secret to making a soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie dough is using lots of cold vegan butter. If needed, you can substitute dairy free margarine or a vegan buttery spread. I’ve personally never made these shortbread cookies with refrigerated coconut oil, but I have been told it is a good second choice.
Icing sugar – Icing sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar. In order to make sure your cookies are vegan-friendly, buy organic icing sugar. Non-organic sugars can be bleached white using bone char, making it not even vegetarian-friendly!
Agave – I used agave nectar to lightly sweeten, but you can also use another sweetener such as brown rice syrup, maple syrup, or even simple syrup. Try my Raspberry and Coconut Ice Cream Floats with additional simple syrup!
Almond flour – For the softest smoothest shortbread cookie dough, it is best to use a super finely ground almond flour with blanched almonds. If you love almond flour in vegan desserts, you’ll love my Vegan Lemon Almond Cake and Vegan Carrot Cake.
Sift the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, cinnamon and almond flour and mix gently to combine.
Cut the vegan butter into rough chunks then add it to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Using your hands, massage the butter into the dry ingredients to form a shaggy, loose dough.
Add the agave and vanilla and mix again to combine, forming a dough ball.
Sprinkle a clean work surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough until about ¼” thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut the dough into round circles. Then, using a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut a window out of the middle of HALF of the circles.
Transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet (I used two) and bake for 10-12 minutes at 175C/350F. When ready, the vegan Linzer cookies should be lightly golden in colour. Allow the Linzer cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Once cool, dust the cookies with the heart cut-out with icing sugar. Then take two cookies (one normal and one with a heart-shaped cutout) and place a heaping spoonful of raspberry jam in the center of the normal cookie, then sandwich the heart cut-out cookie over top.
Continue until all cookies are sandwiched over the jam.
Tips for Success
Prep the jam ahead of time! If you’re making my homemade raspberry chia jam, I highly recommend preparing this ahead of time, preferably the night before. This will not only cut down on the prep time, but also gives the jam time to cool and thicken up to the perfect consistency to sandwich between your Linzer cookies.
Avoid overworking the cookie dough. Doing so will not only melt the vegan butter, but will make your cookies dense and hard. Mix until just combined. You can also use a wooden spatula to mix the dough if you are worried the warmth of your hands will melt the butter too quickly.
Cookie cutter options: If you don’t have a round cookie cutter you can also use a juice cup turned upside down. Similarly, if you don’t have a mini heart cookie cutter, use what you have! Any shape will work. You could even skip the second cookie cutter and simply sandwich two circular cookies together. It will taste equally delicious.
Recipe FAQs
How long do Linzer cookies last?
These vegan Linzer cookies will last for up to two days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You may also store the in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but this will make them less soft.
Can Linzer cookies be frozen?
Yes! If you’d like to freeze your Linzer cookies, I’d recommend doing so before sandwiching them together with fruit preserves. You can also freeze the raw cookie dough for up to 2 months when tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
When ready to bake, allow the cookie dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then resume with recipe step 3.
How do I keep my Linzer cookies from getting soggy?
The best way to prevent your cookies from becoming soggy is to work with room temperature ingredients. Wait to sandwich the cookies together until the cookies are cooled completely and the jam is cool.
Be sure to check out myVegan Christmas Cookie Recipes for more holiday themed cookies to add to your cookie box this year!
If you’re planning your holiday feast coming up, you may also love my Vegan Christmas Dinner Menu. It will take all the guesswork out of your holiday menu and planning and is the best 7 recipe plan the whole family will love.
I hope you love this vegan Linzer cookie recipe as much as we do! If you do make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think! I truly love hearing from you, and I’m always here to answer any questions you might have.
And of course, tag me on Instagram with your pictures using the hashtag #twospoons. Nothing makes me happier than to see your recreations.
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Vegan Raspberry Almond Linzer Cookies. Made with perfectly sweet vegan shortbread cookies, sandwiched between raspberry chia jam. It's one of my favourite cookie recipe to make.
If using raspberry chia jam*, start by preparing this.
Sift flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add salt, cinnamon and almond flour and mix gently to combine.
Cut vegan butter into rough chunks and add to mixing bowl. Massage dough with hands to combine the flour and butter, until dough is shaggy and loosely combined. Add agave and vanilla extract, and mix to combine. Then bring together to form a dough ball.
Sprinkle work surface with flour and roll dough into a thin sheet, approx. 1/4 inch thick. Cut round circles into the dough using a cookie cutter.** Then, using a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter to a window out the middle of ONLY HALF of the cookies.
Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place the cookies on sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden in colour. Let cool completely. Optional to dust with icing sugar.
Take two cookies (one normal and one with a heart-shaped cutout). Place a heaping spoonful of jam in the centre and sandwich cookies together. Continue process until all cookies are sandwiched over jam.
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Notes
*Get recipe for Raspberry Chia Jam*If you don’t have a round cookie cutter you can also use a juice cup turned upside down. This is what I did.For this recipe I used a vegan butter (bought at the organic store), you could also use margarine. I’ve never made shortbread with refrigerated coconut oil, but I’ve heard it’s also a good substitute. My recommendation is to use a vegan butter. It’s a more reliable solid than coconut oil, which will melt quickly as it warms.
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I’ve been searching for the perfect vegan Christmas cookie recipe for a while now, but they’ve never quite met my expectations… until now! This recipe is fabulous. It’s not overly sweet, the vegan butter’s taste isn’t overpowering, and we adore the added touch of nuttiness and the tartness of the jam (we used some homemade raspberry jam from the summer). They are balanced and the texture is fab. I did add a spoon or two of almond milk to our dough.
Delicious & easy recipe! Everyone really enjoyed these cookies😍 Recipe is straightforward and cookies turned out amazing! The raspberry chia jam is yummy as well & definitely going to make it and these cookies again! Recommend this recipe☺️
Hi Robin! Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention. It’s much appreciated! The recipe has been updated to showcase where these ingredients are added. Thank you again 🙂
I’ve been searching for the perfect vegan Christmas cookie recipe for a while now, but they’ve never quite met my expectations… until now! This recipe is fabulous. It’s not overly sweet, the vegan butter’s taste isn’t overpowering, and we adore the added touch of nuttiness and the tartness of the jam (we used some homemade raspberry jam from the summer). They are balanced and the texture is fab. I did add a spoon or two of almond milk to our dough.
Vanessa this warms my heart to hear! I am so glad that these worked out so well! And that homemade jam sounds yum ☺️
Delicious & easy recipe! Everyone really enjoyed these cookies😍 Recipe is straightforward and cookies turned out amazing! The raspberry chia jam is yummy as well & definitely going to make it and these cookies again! Recommend this recipe☺️
Eva thanks for the lovely comment! I’m thrilled to hear they were such a hit!
Hi!
In the ingredients there is Agave, cinnamon and vanilla but I don’t see any mention of those ingredients in the instructions? When do they get added?
Thanks!
Hi Robin! Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention. It’s much appreciated! The recipe has been updated to showcase where these ingredients are added. Thank you again 🙂