Holiday Gluten Free Gingerbread Linzer Cookies

The holiday season is coming so fast. Am I the only one who is still wondering where fall went? This year has just flown by! There is one special thing leading up to the holidays that I love… cookie-making!

Want another delicious gluten free cookie? Try these AMAZING Gluten Free Christmas Cookies!

What are Linzer Cookies?

Have you tried linzer cookies? Linzer cookies have a pretty exciting history! Believe it or not, these cookies were originally a torte that originated in Linz, Austria. Linzer is said to be the oldest cake recipe there is. Over the years, the recipe was adapted into a “cookie-sized” version.

If you love filled cookies, you will definitely want to try my other gluten free linzer cookie recipes like these Gluten Free Nutella Stuffed Linzer Cookies.

Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Use a whisk to blend all of the ingredients.

To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale.

Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.

Step 3: Mix the wet and dry ingredients together to make a semi-stiff dough.

Step 4: Chill the dough for 30-45 minutes so that the cookies will hold their shape when baking.

Step 5: Roll the dough between two pieces of wax paper to flatten.

I rolled this gluten free gingerbread cookie dough to 1/4 inch thickness. You can do a little thinner if you prefer a thinner linzer cookie or gluten free cut-out cookie.

Step 6: Make your tops and bottoms with a linzer cookie cutter (or gingerbread man cookie cutter!). Here is the full disclosure…I wouldn’t say I like the red linzer cookie cutters I have. The dough sticks to them, and getting the middle section out is a pain.

I plan to buy these linzer cookie cutters soon. They have good reviews. If you have a linzer cookie cutter you like, please send me a note or add a comment and let me know which you use.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Cookie baking tips:

• Use room-temperature butter and eggs. I know that it sounds crazy to use butter and eggs at room temperature, but it dramatically helps how your cookies will turn out. You’ll thank yourself later if you try it.
• Take special care to measure correctly. If you add in too much gluten free flour or other ingredients, it can mess with the cookies as they bake. If they don’t have the proper ratios of ingredients, you may end up with a disaster.
• Chill the dough when possible. I know you are probably ready to eat your cookies right now, but taking a few minutes to chill the batter makes them less likely to spread.
• Your oven temperature may be off. Periodically, check your oven temperature to make sure it’s right. Otherwise, the cookies will, for sure, spread if it’s not accurate.
• Use a cooled cookie sheet when baking. Don’t take a hot cookie sheet and put the batter on it, or I promise the cookies won’t turn out. They start baking immediately, and it messes with the shape of them. Use a couple of sheets and rotate them out when making large batches of cookies.
• Don’t let the cookies sit on the pan too long. After they have baked, only let them sit on the baking sheet for up to 5 minutes. The pan will still be hot; continue baking them otherwise.