Though Linzer Tarts are a little heavy on the construction, they are infinitley worth it – particularly these, where the cookie dough is filled with ground hazelnuts and cinnamon, and then the cookies ooze with wonderful blackberry flavor.  I’ll be bringing this one back for valentines day!

Hazelnut Blackberry Linzer Tarts
Makes about 36 sandwiches.

Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit by Karen DeMasco

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar plus more for decorating
zest of 1 large orange
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups hazelnuts, finely ground in processor (about 1 1/2 cups ground)
powdered sugar
Blackberry jam

to do:

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.

Beat the butter, sugar, orange and lemon zest until fluffy.  Add the egg yolks and beat.  Add the dry ingredients in four parts, then beat in nuts.  Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc.  Chill for 1 hour (up to 1 day)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 thickness.  Cut out 2-inch circles.  Cut the center out of half of the cut circles to make rings.  (I baked off the centers on a seperate sheet just to eat)

Bake cookies until golden, about 22 minutes.  Rotate sheets halfway through. Let cool on racks.

Assemble the cookies – sprinkle the cookies with holes in the center with powdered sugar.  Put a heaping teaspoon of jelly on the solid cookie and gently press the two halves together.

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The 12 Days of Cookies Participants:

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dogs
Renee of Flamingo Musings
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project