Martha just told me that it’s National Bake Cookies Day! There’s actually a special day for that? In my kitchen, everyday is bake cookies day. My Instagram feed is flooded with cookies this month.

Today’s cookie is a Linzer cookie. I have long been an admirer of these pretty jam filled treats, but until this week, I have never baked them. The talented food photographer Bea Lubas frequently bakes and shoots Linzer cookies and her work is so inspiring.

While they may look like just another pretty jam filled sugar cookie, the addition of ground nuts to the dough turns them into a cookie so tender that it just about melts in your mouth. The dough for a traditional Linzer cookie is made with ground almonds. Since I happened to have a surplus of pistachios on hand, from a greedy shopping spree in Sicily, I used those instead. 

The classic filling for linzer cookies is raspberry jam, but I went with sour cherry. The sweet-tart flavour is a perfect complement to the rich tender crumb of the pistachio cookies.

Here are a few tips for success when baking these cookies:

The dough is quite sticky. Make sure to roll it between 2 sheets of parchment and dust with flour. 

Chill the dough well before cutting out shapes. The cookies will keep their nice crisp edges and won’t spread too much if they hit the oven cold.

Dust the tops with icing sugar before covering the sandwiches. That way you won’t hide the pretty jam filling.

If you want to make these ahead, bake the cookies and freeze. Thaw, fill and dust with icing sugar the day you plan to serve them.