The Linzer Torte is said to be the oldest-recorded 'cake' in the world going back to the early 1600's and is an Austrian torte with a lattice design on top of the pastry. It's named after the city of Linz in Austria.
The torte is a crumbly pastry made with flour, butter, eggs, hazelnuts or sometime other nuts and is traditionally covered with a red current jelly or sometimes raspberry jam if almonds are used. It is then finished with very thin strips of pastry to form a lattice.
The difficulty level in making this torte varies depending on the recipe you use - the Wolfgang Puck recipe calls for piping the lattice on using a pastry bag which is quite difficult.
For a simply exquisite rendition turning these into cookies, I adore my friend Steve's version at oui,chef.
The Linzer bars here are an easy interpretation of the traditional recipe. I have been making batches and batches of these all week as holiday gifts for my son's teachers, bus stop buddies & afternoon treats.
They are simply scrumptious as they are delicious requiring no genius skill level. In fact any one who can follow a recipe, has use of their hands & nimble fingers can make these quite successfully.
They'll be a hit at office pot lucks and because they're so easy to transport around, I think they're an excellent candidate if you're on the lookout for a delicious, un-fussy holiday recipe.
Try these and see for yourself!
Gather the ingredients: 1/2 cup dried cherries, 2 tbs water, 1-3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup chopped hazelnuts (with skin is OK), 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, 1-1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened, 1 large egg, 1 qty 12 oz jar cherry jam or preservesfor garnish - 1-2 tbs powdered (confectioner's) sugar
Also required is a food processor, a 9" x 13" baking pan, Aluminum foil & non-stick baking spray
Preheat the oven to 325 deg F
Hazelnuts: Place the nuts in a microwave safe bowl and toast for about 1-1/2 minutes tossing every 30 seconds for an even light brown. Set aside to cool.
Cherries: In a small bowl microwave safe bowl, combine the dried cherries and water. Microwave for about 2 minutes to soften. Set aside.
Line the 9" x 13" baking pan with foil with overhangs at short ends. Spray with non-stick baking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
In a food processor, add the white and brown sugar along with the hazelnuts. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the softened butter and egg and pulse until creamy. Add the flour mixture and pulse just until mixture comes together.
Good to know: If mixture does look like it is coming together in a few seconds add 1 tbs flour and re-pulse.
Set aside 1- 1/4 cups of the dough in a plastic wrap and freeze till ready to use.
Press the remaining dough into bottom of prepared pan as evenly as possible.
To the softened dried cherries, add the tir jam and microwave for 30 seconds to make the mixture more spreadable. Stir to combine the dried cherries and the jam.
Spread the jam mixture over the crust, up to 1/4 inch from edges.
Remove the dough from the freezer and with clean hands, pinch little portions of the dough and roll chilled dough into 1/4" thick ropes.
Good to know: You do not need long strands of rope and it is OK if the lengths break. Just edge one end of the rope next to another and keep going.
Arrange the dough ropes diagonally, 1- 1/2 inches apart, over jam in one direction and then in the other.
With the remaining dough, arrange ropes around edge of pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until dough is golden.
Cool in the pan. Once cool then carefully peel away the Aluminum foil and transfer to a baking rack to cool completely for several hours.
The bars will be much easier to cut once cooled completely. Transfer to cutting board. Cut into approx. 24 bars.
Sprinkle with powdered (confectioners') sugar to serve.
Make ahead tips: Store in airtight containers, layered with waxed paper, at room temperature up to 3 days or in freezer for several weeks. Defrost completely at room temperature before serving.
Hazelnuts are a wonderful addition to the buttery, crumbly pastry and the combination of dried cherries and preserves is truly perfect.
The end result is one that is one that is deliciously sweet without being cloyingly so.
Recipe for
Holiday Baking ~ Easy Peasy Cherry Linzer Bars
~ Recipe slightly adapted from Good Housekeeping Magazine
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 30-35 minutesMakes approx 24 qty 1-1/2" bars (1 pan 9" x 13")
Shopping list
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 tbs water
1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped hazelnuts (with skin is OK)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened
1 large egg
1 qty 12 oz jar cherry jam or preserves
for garnish - 1-2 tbs powdered (confectioner's) sugar
Also required is a food processor, 9" x 13" baking pan, Aluminum foil & non-stick baking spray
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 325 deg F
Hazelnuts: Place the nuts in a microwave safe bowl and toast for about 1-1/2 minutes tossing every 30 seconds for an even light brown. Set aside to cool.
Cherries: In a small bowl microwave safe bowl, combine the dried cherries and water. Microwave for about 2 minutes to soften. Set aside.
Line the 9" x 13" baking pan with foil with overhangs at short ends. Spray with non-stick baking spray.
Method:
In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
In a food processor, add the white and brown sugar along with the hazelnuts. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the softened butter and egg and pulse until creamy. Add the flour mixture and pulse just until mixture comes together.
Good to know: If mixture does look like it is coming together in a few seconds add 1 tbs flour and re-pulse.
Set aside 1- 1/4 cups of the dough in a plastic wrap and freeze till ready to use.
Press the remaining dough into bottom of prepared pan as evenly as possible.
To the softened dried cherries, add the tir jam and microwave for 30 seconds to make the mixture more spreadable. Stir to combine the dried cherries and the jam.
Spread the jam mixture over the crust, up to 1/4 inch from edges.
Remove the dough from the freezer and with clean hands, pinch little portions of the dough and roll chilled dough into 1/4" thick ropes.
Good to know: You do not need long strands of rope and it is OK if the lengths break. Just edge one end of the rope next to another and keep going.
Arrange the dough ropes diagonally, 1- 1/2 inches apart, over jam in one direction and then in the other.
With the remaining dough, arrange ropes around edge of pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until dough is golden.
Cool in the pan. Once cool then carefully peel away the Aluminum foil and transfer to a baking rack to cool completely for several hours.
The bars will be much easier to cut once cooled completely. Transfer to cutting board. Cut into approx. 24 bars.
Sprinkle with powdered (confectioners') sugar to serve.
Make ahead tips: Store in airtight containers, layered with waxed paper, at room temperature up to 3 days or in freezer for several weeks. Defrost completely at room temperature before serving.
Enjoy!
