Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Blueberry Preserves
The holiday season is well and truly upon us and my oven is seeing even more action than usual, which is really saying something. I love to bake any time of the year, but December is an especially fun time to make up some festive treats to share, and these rosemary shortbread Linzer cookies with blueberry preserves are my current favorite. Right up there with my other favorites - Peppermint Truffles and Christmas Morning Cinnamon Buns (more on those later).
Rosemary shortbread Linzer cookies with blueberry preserves, lightly dusted with powdered sugar
Shortbread cookies in any form have always been a favorite of mine, but making them in Linzer form was new for me. Linzer cookies have never really appealed to me because I’m not crazy about almonds in general, and while I love raspberry jam, I’d rather eat it on toast than a cookie. So I’ve always bypassed the Linzer recipes, in favor of other kinds of chocolate or butter cookies, but I’ve always admired the look of the Linzer cookies and wanted to make some without almonds or raspberries.
Earlier this season, I was contemplating ideas for a Christmas cookie that had a real Maine feel to it, and I realized that blueberry jam would be the perfect filling for a sandwich cookie. Then it was a natural progression to a shortbread base (I was making shortbread at the time, so not a big mental leap there) with the addition of rosemary (I was staring out the window at a snow-dusted pine tree and that made me think of woodsy flavors) to bring a savory element, and create a well-rounded, not-cloyingly-sweet, Maine-themed, holiday Linzer cookie. And there you have it - this recipe was born.
Some highlights of the recipe - it requires relatively few ingredients, is not fussy to make but looks fancy when you’re done, and is delightfully sweet and savory. It’s a perfect foil for the overly sweet and decadent treats we often get this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, I adore those decadent treats! But it’s refreshing to have a cookie option that is a little less heavy and sweet in the mix too.
A dusting of powdered sugar completes the rosemary shortbread Linzer cookies with blueberry jam
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Sugar-dusted Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Tarts with Blueberry Jam
Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Blueberry Preserves
Makes approximately 25 filled cookies
What you need:
1 c. softened butter
2/3 c. sugar
2 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary, stems removed
½ c. blueberry preserves or jam *
Powdered sugar for dusting the tops
Linzer cookie cutters, or similar
*a note about the blueberry filling – I tried several kinds and suffice it to say that they are not all created equally. The shortbread for this cookie is not very sweet, so a lightly sweet preserve, preferably made with wild blueberries, is the perfect balance of sweet to the more savory flavor of the cookie. If you happen to have homemade, lucky you! Use that. But if not, my preferred store-bought blueberry jam is Bon Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves. The flavor and sweetness of the wild blueberries can’t be beat, and the color and texture of this preserve is a photographer’s dream. And no, I’m not being paid by the company to say these things, I just happen to really like this kind of jam.
What you do:
Gently cream together the softened butter and sugar. Unlike a chocolate chip cookie, you don’t want to add any air into the mixture, so mix on a low speed until thoroughly combined. Add the flour, salt, and rosemary, and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together. Gather the dough into a ball, pat it gently into a disc, wrap in plastic, and pop it into the fridge for half an hour.
Heat the oven to 325° and get out two baking sheets. No need to grease them, as the dough has plenty of butter to prevent sticking.
Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Working with half the dough at a time, roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness and cut your tart shapes, making sure to prepare an even number of bottoms and tops with a cutout window. Gather and re-roll the unused dough as many times as needed, just take care not to work it more than needed to bring it together again, and avoid working in too much flour. It’s fairly forgiving, so don’t worry too much about making the cookies tough, just try not to add in tons of flour or really knead the dough.
Bake cookies for 17-20 minutes – you’re looking for the cookies to be set, not raw, and just getting golden on the edges and bottom. Allow the cookies to cool on a rack, then place a teaspoon of blueberry jam in the centers of the bottom cookies. Gently place the tops on, pressing evenly so the jam spreads and the cookie adheres, but be careful not to press too hard and crack the cookies. It’s very frustrating when that happens, but if it happens, eat that one and move on. Dust the cookies lightly with powdered sugar, if you like. The sugar will absorb into the jam, so it’s okay to dust right over the jam centers.
Cookies are best the day they’re made, but they will keep for a couple of days, tightly covered. The jam will start to get soggy on the bottoms, so if you need to make them in advance for a party or a cookie swap, bake up the shortbreads a day or two ahead, store them tightly sealed, and fill the cookies the day you need them.
Christmas Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Blueberry Preserves
Enjoy!
Warmly,
Kate
Rosemary Shortbread Linzer tarts, waiting to be filled with blueberry preserves
A light dusting of powdered sugar tops these rosemary shortbread Linzer tarts
A Maine-themed holiday cookie - Rosemary Shortbread Linzer Cookies with Blueberry Preserves
A very Maine holiday cookie
