Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I actually don't like to eat raspberries. They're pretty to look at, to photograph, but I'm not particularly keen on the taste of raspberries. Unless they are in jam or jelly form. Then, raspberry is one of my favorite flavors. It's a texture thing, I think. I exclusively use raspberry jam or jelly: on bagels, on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with brie...
And because every party needs a little sweetness, these Raspberry Linzer Cookies were ideal!
A brief history on linzer cookies: Linzer cookies are derived from Linzertortes (or linzer tortes, depnding on the source). Linzertortes originated in Linzer, Austria and are consdiered one of Austria's oldest recipes. Linzertortes are characterized by a light, flaky, almond-tasting crust, filled with fruity jams or preserves, and topped with a crust of criss-crossed latticework. Linzer cookies are a derivation of this dessert torte, and they come in many forms, shapes, sizes, and flavors. Because of my love of the taste of raspberry, I decided to use that.
Ingredients
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1.5 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup red raspberry preserves
1 cup frozen raspberries
Powdered sugar for garnishing
1. In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, butter, and almond extract. Mix until the dough breaks into small pieces.
2. Pour mixture into a an ungreased 11.5 x 7.5 inch baking dish. With the back of a spatula, press into an even layer to form a crust. Bake until the crust turns golden, approximately 20 minutes.
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| Left: Press the crust evenly on the bottom with a spatula; Right: Bake the crust for 20 minutes till golden. |
3. While the crust is baking, combine preserves and frozen raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the preserves turn to liquid and the raspberries are thawed.
4. When both crust and filling are ready, evenly pour the raspberry over the hot crush. Bake until the raspberry is set (about 25 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into 20 squares, remove from the baking dish, and cool thoroughly on a wire rack.
5. Dust with confectioners sugar garnish.
A few more thoughts about this recipe...
One of the greatest things about this recipe is that you can substitute any flavor you want. Like blueberry? Use blueberry preserves instead, and substitute frozen blueberries for the raspberries.
Since I've started Weight Watchers, I've been using Smucker's Sugar Free Raspberry Preserves. And when I went back and had a teaspoon full of the regular ol' Smuckers Raspberry Jelly, it was ridiculously sweet and I couldn't eat it. Because it's a dessert, though, the cookies may have benefited from the non-Sugar-free variation.
Another lesson I learned: wait to sprinkle the confectioners sugar on top of the cookies. They hadn't cooled all the way, and so it kept melting into the jelly. Then, I didn't want to keep adding it to the top since it would make the sweetness too high, and keep driving up the points.
For more information about linzer cookies or linzertortes, check out this article (complete with a much more complicated recipe for linzer cookies).
PointsPlus value: 3 points (1 cookie per serving)
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