These gluten free linzer cookies are one of our family's very favorite cookies. Linzer tart cookies are popular Austrian holiday cookies that I know you will love too! These cookies are easy to make and you can fill them with jam, Nutella, frosting, or anything you like!
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Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year...and not just because I get to make and eat a lot of cookies! 🙂 This cookie idea is also perfect to use as a Christmas cookie exchange recipe.
Linzer cookies are also perfect to use as a Christmas cookie exchange recipe. Your friends will love how pretty these cookies are! It is my favorite time of year and today we are celebrating with linzer tart cookies. If you are a cookie fanatic like me, you will want to check out all of my gluten free cookie recipes.
What are linzer cookies?
Gluten free linzer torte (or linzer tart or linzer schnitten) is a fancy way to say gluten free linzer cookies. (I love how many names this cookie has, depending on where in the world you are!)
Linzer tart cookies are popular Austrian holiday cookies. They're a cookie variation of a linzer torte, a traditional Austrian holiday dessert.
Linzer tart cookies have a fun history because many years ago, they used to be more like a cake, or torte. Over the years, the dough was made smaller into cookie shapes with jam. We love to make these German cookies and love flavored jams to fill them too.
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour blend - I tested this recipe using Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur's Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan gum - If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum you will need to add it.
- Almond flour - I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
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. To make a scale even trickier, every gluten free flour blend has a different weight.
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.
You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. This linzer cookie dough mixes up really quickly. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate the cookie dough for an hour.
Step 4: Put the dough on a piece of wax paper and then cover with another piece of wax paper. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness between two pieces of wax paper.
Step 5: Use linzer cookie cutters to get the tops and bottoms. You can find linzer cookie cutters online via Amazon, and at local stores like Sur La Table.
Make sure the cookie cutters you use make it easy to get the middle shape out. I had a set where the shape was difficult to push the dough out of, which caused a lot of tears in the cookie dough.
Step 6: Place the cut-out cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350º F for about 7-8 minutes.
Step 7: When the cookies are cool, frost the bottoms with Nutella, jam, or any filling you like! Optional: sprinkle with powdered sugar.
More fun fillings:
- Fruit jams and preserves.
- Frostings.
- Peanut butter
- This one may seem a little odd, but chocolate mousse is also delicious in this linzer cookie.
These cookies are perfect for holiday cookie exchange parties! Here are more of my favorite Gluten Free Cookies for a Cookie Exchange Party!*
I have wanted to use Nutella in a recipe for a long time. Every time I buy a small jar, it seems to vanish before I can create something with it. I have always loved linzer cookies and it was time that I made a version filled with my favorite chocolate, Nutella.
Put the tops on, then dust with powdered sugar. (Dusting with powdered sugar is optional.) Enjoy these gluten free linzer cookies with a glass of milk!
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 hotcookie 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 up to 5 minutes on the baking sheet. The pan will still be hot and continue baking them otherwise.
Recipe FAQ:
A lot of people wonder "Is Nutella is gluten-free?" I am happy to say it is, so grab a jar and enjoy!
These linzer cookies are thin and will not need much time to bake. Bake for 8 minutes and check the cookies. If they are looking slightly golden, they are finished baking. They should take no longer than 10 minutes.
These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container. I highly recommend not using the Nutella or any filling until you are ready to eat the cookies. Sitting for a few days with Nutella or jam will make the cookies soggy.
These cookies freeze really well. Add to a freezer-safe plastic bag and freeze. They will keep up to 4 months in the freezer.
Reader Review:
I struggled a bit with the dough being sticky but worth the effort they are delicious!"
Denise, Pinterest User
More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes:
- Gluten Free Strawberry Linzer Cookies
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Magic Bars
- Gluten Free Cranberry Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe
Gluten Free Nutella Linzer Tart Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup almond flour * see note
- ½ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
Dusting:
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Filling:
- ⅓ cup Nutella
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients.
- Whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add butter, sugar, and egg.
- Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix and put dough onto plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Remove dough and place on wax paper.
- Put another sheet of wax paper onto the top and roll to ½ inch thick.
- Use a linzer cutter to cut the shapes.
- Bake 8 minutes, remove to cooling rack.
- When cool, top the bottom with Nutella and add the top.
- Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF, Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend, and Authentic Foods Multi Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- These cookies will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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This post was updated from an older June 2015 post with more details and easier-to-follow directions.
Gabriela Martinez
Hi! This cookies look amazing!
I was wondering if I could substitute butter for coconut oil. And in what proportion?
Thanks
Gaby
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Gabriela, I haven't tested this out with coconut oil, but I would say you will need to refrigerate the dough to get the coconut oil very cold before rolling out the dough. Please come back and let us know how it turns out.
Gabriela Martinez
Thanks Sandi, haven't try it yet with coconut oil, but I just got vegan butter. For us outside the US how many grams do you mean by a stick of butter? Thanks
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Gabriela, one stick of butter equals half a cup. I hope you have a great weekend 🙂
Gaby
Thanks Sandi, I finally used vegan butter and I found out that the dough was too sticky to work with, so I added more flour and almond flour. It is too wet... I have a cookie in the oven right now as a test
Fingers crossed
Sandi Gaertner
That is interesting Gaby. I wonder why vegan butter would behave differently? I hope the test cookie came out. If it works, please let me know how much additional flour so I can make a note in the recipe for other readers 🙂
Kate
I noticed that there is a discrepancy between your blog post instructions and the official recipe instructions—one says to roll the dough 1/4inch thick, the other says 1/2inch. Which is correct? Half an inch seems very thick.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kate, 1/4 is correct. Thank you so much for noticing! Have a happy holiday!
Cammi
Sandi can you use coconut flour for these instead of almond flour? We have to be but free in our house!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Cammi, coconut flour absorbs a lot more liquid than almond flour and I haven't experimented with that flour in this recipe. To avoid nuts, I recommend using 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour blend (I love Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend best.) You may need to adjust the liquids slightly...I haven't experimented with only flour, but you will be able to tell if you need more liquid if the dough is crumbly. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
Sandra
I just made them...they are delichious . Although I didn’t have the almound flour and as a substitute put white rise flour. After taki g from the frezze added a tsp of coconut oil. Went great.
Thank you for the recipe.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked this recipe, Sandra...you completely made my day 🙂
demi
can I use oat flour-cornstarch-rice flour blend for gf all purpose flour?or sth else?also use more honey for sugar?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Demi, I have not tried your suggested blend so I don't know how this would turn out. Oat flour needs more liquid than rice flour so you will probably need to do a lot of experimentation to get it right. Let us know how it turns out.