For our home, Christmas isn’t complete without Linzer Tarts! Since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, everything has had to be transitioned to a G-Free diet, and these are no exception! Ah, but they are just as delish as the ones I remember. I hope you’ll try them, and even make them all year through, not just at this time of year. Allot some time, because they need to be chilled several hours, or overnight, before being rolled out….and enjoyed!
Ingredients:
- 3 ¼ cups Sifted All Purpose Gluten Free Flour ( King Arthur, Bob’s, Arrowhead, etc)
- ½ teas. Baking Powder
- 1 cup Margarine -Softened, at room temp
- 3 oz. Cream Cheese -also room temp. (Low fat or whole milk, doesn’t matter.)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lg. Egg
- ½ cup Ground Walnuts. You must grind them, chopped isn’t fine enough.
- 1 jar Seedless Strawberry or Red Raspberry Preserves
- Confectioner’s Sugar for dusting tops
Directions:
In your large bowl of your mixer, cream the margarine and granulated sugar until creamy. Add the egg and combine some more. Into that add the flour mixture. Beat again. Will be sticky. Add the ground walnuts and using a wooden spoon, combine until they seem to be sprinkled throughout.
Take a large piece of waxed paper, or plastic wrap and turn the batter onto it. Shape into a ball. Will be sticky, but you can do it! Wrap very well and perhaps even use a 2nd piece to ensure other odors in the fridge don’t permeate the little packet.
Baking:
Flour your board well, and dust the rolling pin too. Take the chilled dough out and cut in half. Chill the second half while you work on the first half.
Place the half ball on the dusted board and pat it with some flour as well. This is sticky dough, so we’re trying to keep the dough off the rolling pin.
Roll out to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. This isn’t as thin as a pie dough. It needs some thickness.
Using a round cookie cutter, make circles of about 3 in. in diameter. I used a tart cutter that has fluted edges, but any round cutter will work. Even a glass! After cutting, you’ll see extra bits of dough on the board. You can gather them up, roll in your palm, roll out on board, and make more cookies with those pieces.
Place on an UNGREASED cookie sheet. ( I love those Silpat mats) Using some small circular object, like a cap from a small water bottle, now is the time you MUST cut out the circle for the top of the Linzer Tart. Remember the important thing: Half of the cookie rounds will be solid, half will have a hole cut out! These are bottoms and tops. Two pieces for each finished cookie!!
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or so. DO NOT allow to get golden or browned. These are meant to be a beige or light tan color. So, stay near the oven and keep checking. Some ovens may take a few minutes longer. Temps vary, so stay nearby!
Allow to cool. Then dust ONLY the tops with the holes with Confectioners Sugar. Use a tea strainer to get the dusting effect.
Last step: Spoon some preserves on the solid bottoms, then gently place the dusted cookie top on that. Tadah!! Serve these yummy Linzer Tarts and watch the smiles!!!
