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Delicious vegan Linzer cookies filled with raspberry jam! These jam sandwich cookies are one of the most popular Swiss Vegan Christmas cookies!
Raspberry Linzer Cookies
Linzer Cookies are one of the most loved Christmas cookies, at least here in Switzerland, where I live. We also call them Spitzbuben cookies! These delicious and buttery cookies are filled with raspberry jam and stick together like a sandwich; that’s why they are also called jam sandwich cookies.
The combination of these butter cookies with raspberry jam is simply delicious! Plus, it looks so pretty with the red jelly dripping out in the middle of the cookie.
Perfect if you like fruity sweet treats!
By the way, you can vary the jam according to your taste. I personally love raspberry Linzer cookies the most, but the traditional recipe calls for red currant jam. Any red berry jam or even apricot jam is tasty with this recipe.
How to make Linzer Cookies vegan?
Baking vegan Christmas cookies dairy-free and egg-free is much easier than you think.
The original recipe calls for egg white, which you can easily substitute with plant-based milk to make it vegan. I use oat milk or soy milk for baking, but you can use any plant-based milk. One egg white is about 2 tablespoons, which corresponds to 2 tablespoons or 30ml of dairy-free milk.
Furthermore, you need butter, which can easily be replaced with vegan butter or margarine.
Vegan Linzer Cookie Recipe
The recipe is easy to make and suitable for Christmas baking with kids.
Kitchen appliances: You either need a stand mixer or hand mixer to knead the ingredients into a smooth dough. Furthermore, a rolling pin is necessary to roll out the dough.
Dough Cooling: You must cool the dough in the fridge for one hour after kneading. The best way to do this is to wrap it in a plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out. Cooling the dough allows you to roll it out easily on a floured surface without sticking too much. If the dough is to warm, you will have a hard time rolling and cutting it out.
Floured Working Space: Use enough flour to flour the worktop before rolling out the dough. The more flour you use, the easier it will be. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour or let it cool for a bit longer. Extra-Tip: Dip the cookie cutter into the flour before you use it!
Linzer Cookie Cutter: You need a special cookie cutter for these jam sandwich cookies. I use THIS Linzer cookie cutter. Make sure that you have an equal amount of bottom and top cookies.
If you love heart-shaped cookies, make sure to use a heart shape to cut out the inner part of the top cookie. Look how cute they look in heart shape in the gallery below!
Baking: The oven should always be preheated when baking Christmas cookies. Bake them for 8 to 12 minutes. The baking time depends a bit on your oven and how many baking sheets you bake at the same time. The cookies are ready as soon as the rim starts to turn into a light golden brown. The rest of the cookie should still be white. → You don’t want brown cookies. Place them on a rack to cool completely before filling them, which takes about 30 minutes.
Fill Linzer Cookies: Using a spoon or knife, spread about ½ tsp jam on each bottom cookie, and slightly press the lid cookie on top, so that you have sticky jam sandwich cookies.
Jam: I love making this recipe with raspberry jam. Traditional Spitzbuben cookies are filled with red currant jelly. But it honestly tastes delicious with any red jam or even apricot jam. Just use the jam you love most!
Powdered Sugar: Last but not least, sprinkle your cookies with powdered sugar before serving!
Recipe FAQ
How to store the cookies?
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
How long does it keep fresh?
Baked vegan Linzer cookies keep fresh for a good week. But once filled with jam, they start to soften very quickly. I personally prefer them baked fresh and eaten within a few days. If you love them crispy, store the cookies in an airtight container and only fill them with jam right before serving! This way, they keep their crispiness way longer.
More Christmas cookies recipes you’ll love:
- Vegan Almond Crescent Cookies (German Vanillekipferl)
- Cinnamon Star Cookies (German Zimtsterne)
- Austrian Linzer Tart Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Linzer Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar see notes
- 0.5 lemon only zest
- ¾ cup (170 g) vegan butter or margarine (1 stick = ½ cup)
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) oat milk
- ½ cup (165 g) raspberry jam or red currant jam
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Mix flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl.
- Add the butter and oat milk and mix using a stand mixer or hand mixer, until you have a smooth and well-combined dough.
- Form into a ball or disc (using your hands), wrap with plastic wrap, and store for one hour in the refrigerator.
Cutting, Baking, Filling
- Preheat the oven to 355°F/180°C.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and roll out, using a rolling pin, to about 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) thin.
- Cut out Linzer cookies using a Linzer cookie cutter (*see recommended products). Make sure that you have an equal amount of bottom and top cookies.
- Transfer on a with parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake it for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. They are good as soon as the rim is lightly browned.
- Place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before filling them, which takes about 30 minutes.
- Using a spoon or knife, spread about ½ tsp jam on each bottom cookie, and slightly press the lid cookie on top.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- The amount of finished cookies varies on how thin you roll out the dough. You will get anywhere between 30-40 cookies.
- Vanilla Sugar: Vanilla sugar is a very common Swiss baking product. If you don’t have vanilla sugar, substitute it with: 1 tbsp granulated sugar + 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Jam: The traditional recipe calls for red currant jam. However, I prefer to use raspberry jam. Choose any red berry jam you like the most.
- Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Keeps fresh for a good week. But once filled with jam, they start to soften very quickly. If you love them crispy, store the cookies in an airtight container and only fill them with jam right before serving!
They look amazing. Can the reicpe be halved?
Sure – just use the serving slider to half the ingredient list! 😉
Made these for my sister who is vegan. My brother, who is not, said they were amazing and my dad agreed. Took longer to bake for me, maybe because I cut the first batch thicker than I was supposed to. Used cashew milk instead and they came out great regardless. Super easy recipe. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks!!
So glad to hear, Kerry! Thank you for your lovely comment! 💕
I agree with you
I made these as heart valentine cookies, and they were amazing! This recipe is a winner, thank you for sharing it!
What a beautiful idea, Evelyn! Thank you for your kind comment! 💕
Made these for my boyfriend – hopefully he will like them! My brother and I have eaten a couple, and they taste so amazing – such a fab recipe! Thank you so much.
(I didn’t have the correct cutters, so had to make do with the top of a milk carton, and it worked! May not have been as pretty!)
Glad to hear it, Willow! You are such a kind girlfriend 😉! And thank you for your kind comment! 💕
My friends call these "jam jams." Yours are gorgeous! They look almost too pretty to eat.
"Jam Jams" sounds beautiful for them ? Thank you so much – But I ate them anyway ??
Loved your recipe. The cookies look amazing in the pics. Not good at baking myself, so all this looks too perfect.
Thank you so much for your lovely words. I am sure if you start to practice a bit, once you will be an excellent baking chef ?
It’s funny! Every culture seems to have them but call them something different. I know Latin America has one and my (ancestrally british) family call them "empire biscuits. So excited to make some!
littlewhytebook.com
That’s indeed funny. I do know them just from Switzerland – Good to know that other countries have their own "Spitzbuben". They are one of my favourite Christmas Cookies ?