Linzer Augen (Linzer eye cookies) with butter and apricot filling

Linzer Augen made with buttery shortcrust, spelt flour, hazelnuts and cinnamon, filled with a purée made from apricots only. A family-friendly dessert, 310 kcal per serving (2 cookies).

At a glance

• Serves 10
• Prep time: 60 min
• Cooking time: 22 min
• Total time: 82 min
• Calories: 310 kcal per serving
• Protein: 5 g
• Fat: 20 g
• Carbs: 27 g

Ingredients

• 200g spelt flour
• 100g ground hazelnuts
• 70g coconut sugar
• 150g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 120g soft dried apricots
• 80ml water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

You’ll need: oven · saucepan · stick blender · cookie cutters

1. Knead the spelt flour, ground hazelnuts, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt with pieces of cold butter and the egg yolk into a smooth dough. Wrap it and chill it for 1 hour.
2. Simmer the soft dried apricots with the water and lemon juice for 10 minutes until soft and blend them to a thick purée. Let it cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 175 °C (155 °C fan). Roll the dough out 3 mm thin and cut out 40 round, fluted cookies. Cut three small holes in half of them.
4. Bake the cookies on two baking trays lined with baking paper, one after the other, at 175 °C for 9 to 10 minutes each, until light brown, then let them cool.
5. Spread the apricot purée over the whole cookies and place the cookies with holes on top.

Good to know

Linzer Augen are filled butter cookies with three little peepholes. Instead of jam they get a homemade apricot purée that tastes of nothing but fruit. Cinnamon and hazelnut are a nod to the Linzer torte.

Swaps

Hazelnuts → ground almonds. Soft dried apricots → prunes. Spelt flour → plain flour. Cinnamon → vanilla seeds.

Cooking tips

The wide end of a piping nozzle is ideal for the three holes. Fill the cookies a day before serving and they'll turn tender.

Storage

Filled, they keep for 1 week in a tin somewhere cool; unfilled, 3 weeks.

Allergens

Contains gluten (spelt), hazelnuts, milk (butter) and egg.