Chocolate Linzer Cookies

The stretch between January and March can be a bit brutal with short days and cold nights. What can we do to get through it? I am fighting the blues by pinning inspiring wintery pictures and eating these: Chocolate Linzer Cookies!

They provide a touch of Christmas-like winter magic during this cold, blustery January.

Chelsea made these cookies after the holidays with the new cookie cutters she received for Christmas. You can use any cookie cutters you like – be sure to use your favorite shape to fully enjoy these linzer cookie sandwiches! You’ll be delighted by the faintly spiced cookies with the taste of dark chocolate sandwiched in. It all works really well with the ground almonds! Enjoy them with a cup of hot cocoa or a glass of cold milk to really add to the indulgence.

Chocolate Filled Linzer Cookies 
Print Recipe (Slightly adapted from Wilton Linzer recipe)

1 cup Organic Butter
2/3 cup Coconut Sugar
1 Large Organic Egg
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 cups Spelt Flour
2/3 cup Ground Almonds
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2/3 cup chopped Dark Chocolate, melted

Cream together butter and coconut sugar in a large bowl. Mix in the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients except the chocolate. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just incorporated. Divide the dough into two equals portions, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove a dough portion from fridge. On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the dough balls to be about 1/8 inch thick. Use open cookie cutter to cut out cookies (these will be the top of your cookie sandwiches). Quickly re-roll scrapes to cut out the bottom half of your cookies. Make sure to cut out even numbers. Place on parchment lined baking trays and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from tray. While cookies cool, melt chocolate and repeat the above steps for the second portion of dough in the fridge. Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of melted chocolate over each cooked bottom cookie and cover with top cutout cookie. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month.

Makes about 18-22 cookie sandwiches, depending on cookie cutter size.

NOTE: If you do not have cookie cutters with any kind of cutout center, you could use an extra small cookie cutter to cut out the centers of a larger cookie cutter. These cookies would also be delicious just dipped in chocolate!

Or if you would like the taste of Linzer cookies without special cookie cutters or chocolate, take a look at these Linzer cookies.