Tuesday, December 2, 2008

TWD - Linzer Sables



This week, Tuesday with Dorie is hosted by noskos of Living the Life, who has chosen Dorie's Linzer Sables for us to bake. Linzer sables are named after the town of Linz in Austria, and are a nutty, spicy cookie sandwiched with jam (traditionally blackcurrant jam).



These cookies are very cute, and I have often admired them. I ground my own almonds to make the almond meal for these cookies (admittedly because I forgot to buy almond meal rather than an earnest desire to make everything from scratch), and I used bought fig and ginger jam to sandwich the cookies together.



I had a dickens of a time with the dough, which goes unmanagably soft very quickly out of the refrigerator. At times, because I couldn't lift the shapes I had cut from the dough, I cut them out with scissors, paper and all, and placed them on the baking sheet. Because the dough was so difficult to handle, I had resolved never to make them again.



However, that was before I tasted the finished product. These cookies taste unbelievably good! When making them, I wondered why anyone would go to all that bother with such a soft, hard-to-handle dough. One bite, and I discovered why. All I can say is - make them! (Preferably in a cold room in the middle of a snow storm so that the dough doesn't "melt" before your eyes - but I jest ...)



Thanks to noskos for hosting TWD this week, and you can see all of the other wonderful versions of these simply delicious cookies by checking out the TWD blogroll.
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28 comments:

  1. AnnaDecember 2, 2008 at 7:14 AM

    Ohh I'd love to try these, especially after such a glowing recommendation, haha! They look delicious!

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  2. TammyDecember 2, 2008 at 7:53 AM

    oh, they look so pretty! I loved these too, but agree, the dough needed heaps of chilling - especially on a hot day!

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  3. The Blonde DuckDecember 2, 2008 at 8:20 AM

    They look so pretty, almost like little cookie jewels!

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  4. Jules SomeoneDecember 2, 2008 at 9:26 AM

    Mmmmm. Those look really good. Thanks for the head-up on the dough softness. I tend to roll, then refrigerate, cut, then refrigerate, and then bake. PITA, but good.

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  5. AnonymousDecember 2, 2008 at 1:53 PM

    Well done for persevering, they look perfect! You'd never know that you suffered with the pastry at all!

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  6. PamelaDecember 2, 2008 at 2:18 PM

    The dough was tough, but the cookies were tasty. Great job.

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  7. JaimeDecember 2, 2008 at 3:58 PM

    love the heart shapes! the trick is to freeze the dough - i had no problems at all working with it after i froze it for 45 minutes

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  8. nataliaDecember 2, 2008 at 5:22 PM

    Ciao ! They were actually good ! I kept throwing mine in the freezer !!

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  9. FinlaDecember 2, 2008 at 7:18 PM

    They looks so lovely, you are in a romantic mood :-)

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  10. MaggieDecember 2, 2008 at 7:31 PM

    These cookies look lovely and just like jewels as Blonde Duck said.
    It's snowing here in the UK today so perhaps a good time to make these.

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  11. YDecember 2, 2008 at 8:12 PM

    They look great! Well worth the effort :D

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  12. Engineer BakerDecember 3, 2008 at 2:36 AM

    Fig and ginger jam sounds delicious! Hopefully you've been inspired to try them again :)

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  13. chocolatechicDecember 3, 2008 at 2:42 AM

    These are so great tasting.

    I had a problem with mine softening, so I left them on the pan that I had stuck in the fridge. That seemed to help keep them cool.

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  14. RosieDecember 3, 2008 at 3:45 AM

    Beautiful cookies they remind me of jammy dodgers :)

    Rosie x

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  15. adeleDecember 3, 2008 at 4:39 AM

    I have a friend who wants to throw a Mad Hatter's tea party sometime in February (because February is bleak and boring in New England). I'm bookmarking these - they look like they'd be great for that theme.

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  16. JodieDecember 3, 2008 at 4:44 AM

    I froze my dough and it handled quite nicely. Yours look great!

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  17. CakelawDecember 3, 2008 at 9:05 AM

    Thanks Indigo - I now understand that the trick is to freeze the dough!

    Hi Tammy, agreed - keeping the dough cool was the hardest part.

    What an apt description Blonde Duck - I like it!

    LOL Jules, it was a PITA, but worth it in the end.

    Thanks Lorraine - when I looked at them after all the saga, it kinda surprised me, because the whole exercise felt like it was going wrong.

    Thanks Pamela :)

    Hi Jaime, thanks - I will take this on board for when I try these again.

    Hi Natalia, thanks for the tip - I just refrigerated mine.

    Hi Happy Cook, unfortunately the object of my afefction is oblivious! He wasn't even there when I made these. Typical man ...

    LOL Margaret - I think making them when it is snowing is the perfect time to maker them.

    Thanks Y.

    Thanks Caitlin - I am inspired to tyr again by the amazing taste.

    Hi Chocolatechic, I tried this with some of mine, but the dough was so soft that that I couldn't even move the excess from between them in some cases - grrr...

    Hi Rosie, these are even better than Jammy Dodgers because, rather than a shortbread, the biscuit is nutty and crisp amd spicy - yum!

    Agreed Adele - the Queen of Hearts!!

    Hi Jodie, I think that must be the trick - next time!

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  18. MariaDecember 3, 2008 at 9:35 AM

    I am glad the end results were worth it. They look great!

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  19. Gloria BakerDecember 3, 2008 at 12:38 PM

    Really lovely cookies!! xxGloria

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  20. CakelawDecember 3, 2008 at 5:16 PM

    Thanks Maria - I was happy with the end result, even if it felt like a disaster at the time.

    Thanks Gloria :)

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  21. ShelbyDecember 3, 2008 at 8:46 PM

    I found that putting them in the freezer for the 45 minutes worked best. My dough didn't soften too quickly (but then I live in the great white north!)

    I totally agree, they were worth making. I can't keep out of them though.

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  22. FinlaDecember 4, 2008 at 6:20 AM

    Hi hi I totally agree, sometimes i have to spell it out to my hubby to ;-))))

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  23. CakelawDecember 4, 2008 at 12:39 PM

    Thanks for the tip HoneyB - I do want to make these again and will freeze the dough next time.

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  24. UnknownDecember 4, 2008 at 8:40 PM

    cakelaw, sob sob, I just failed my cookies T_T

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  25. RosieDecember 5, 2008 at 2:44 AM

    Oooh better than Jammy Dodgers I must try these out now ~yum..

    Rosie x

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  26. Anamika:The SugarcrafterDecember 5, 2008 at 5:32 PM

    Hi
    I think the name and background is very interesting and i can imagine the Linzer nutty, spicy cookie sandwiched with jam, when bitten will have a lingering taste in the mouth.

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  27. Anamika:The SugarcrafterDecember 5, 2008 at 5:32 PM

    Hi
    I think the name and background is very interesting and i can imagine the Linzer nutty, spicy cookie sandwiched with jam, when bitten will have a lingering taste in the mouth.

    ReplyDelete
  28. CakelawDecember 5, 2008 at 10:11 PM

    Oh no Rita!

    Do Rosie - you'll love them.

    Thanks Anamika.

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Thanks for dropping by!