Christmas Cookie Box Recipe Collection
A cross between a gluten-free buttery shortbread and a vanilla sugar cookie, amped up using a hint of almond extract. Filled with a vibrant cranberry-orange curd filling for a fruity dessert lover’s dream. I drizzled mine with white chocolate and sprinkled with sliced almonds for some textural and flavor contrast, but feel free to go full classic Linzer with a dusting of powdered sugar!!
The gluten-free linzer cookie recipe is from The Gluten Free Austrian, linked here.
The cranberry curd is from NYT Cooking, linked here.
Full recipe for this cookie is below, enjoy friends!! :)
200 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
100 grams powdered sugar
200 grams Gluten Free Flour (with xanthan gum, I use King Arthur 1 to 1)
100 grams superfine Almond Flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ tsp almond extract (optional)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Additional Flour for rolling out, if needed
To make the dough:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, almond flour, and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Make sure to scrape down the sides.
Add the whole egg and vanilla + almond extract (if using), then beat again until well-combined for an additional minute.
Add flour mixture to the bowl and beat until just combined and a crumbly looking dough has formed.
Remove dough from the stand mixer bowl and place it on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Form it into a disk shape or rectangular with your hands. If your dough is sticky, add a little sprinkle of additional flour. This should help with kneading it together.
Cover the sheet tray with foil or wrap in plastic and allow for it to rest in your fridge for 4hrs and up to 3 days.
To Bake:
Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Place dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. Try not to roll it too thin. I think it’s the easiest to do this on floured parchment paper.
Use a cookie cutter to cut into desired shapes. Use a tiny cookie cutter (or the back end of a piping tip) to cut out the centers in your top cookies. You want to have an even number of tops and bottoms.
Combine all the dough scraps, roll them out again and cut out cookies. Try not to repeat this process more than 2-3 times or you run the risk of the dough becoming tough.
Use an offset knife to transfer your cookies to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to allow the dough to firm up.
In the meantime preheat your oven to 350F.
When your oven is hot, take the pan out of the freezer and place directly in the oven for 10-12 minutes. You want the edges lightly turning brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Repeat the baking with all the cookies you have cut out. Make sure to not use a hot sheet tray to bake them or they will spread out!
For the cranberry orange curd:
12 oz cranberries
1 cup (225g) sugar
Peel (orange part only) and juice of 1 large orange (1/2 cup juice)
4oz (113g) softened butter (1 stick)
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
Put cranberries, sugar and orange juice and peel in a saucepan over medium heat.
Simmer until cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or medium mesh sieve and press cooking liquid and solids into a bowl. (Alternatively, for the most vibrant color, purée the cooked cranberry and orange mixture with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine-mesh sieve.) Whisk the butter into the warm liquid.
Put eggs and egg yolks into a bowl and beat lightly.
Slowly whisk a cup of warm cranberry liquid into the eggs to temper, then combine both and whisk together. Wipe out pot if necessary, return liquid to pot and cook over low heat until nearly bubbling and thickened, about 10 minutes. If using immediately, let cool to room temperature. If working ahead, cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap (press wrap against curd) and refrigerate.
When the cookies are baked and cooled, and the curd is completely cooled, dust your top cookies (with the cut-out centers) with powdered sugar or drizzle with white chocolate. Pipe curd onto the solid bottom cookies and sandwich them together.
Enjoy your cookies or store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. The cookies will become softer over the time of days. Enjoy!!!