Do you know which Christmas cookie is the favorite in the Czech Republic? The answer is Linzer cookies, or as Czechs we call them, Linecké cukroví!
➜ What are Linzer cookies?
These are small festive cookies made of shortbread pastry filled with fruit jam. They are classically shaped like hearts, flowers, or stars. Czechs bake Linzer cookies a few days before Christmas so that the cookies have time to soften.
The Czech word for Linzer cookies is “linecké cukroví”.
MY TIP: Try these coconut meringue cookies called "Kokosky" in Czech (they taste heavenly!).
➜ Origin
Linzer cookies come from Austria, a state in central Europe, and got their name from the city of Linz. They are also known as Linzer tarts.
The Czech lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918, from where these delicious cookies found their way into Czech cuisine.
See more Austrian recipes
➜ Ingredients
✅ You will find the exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card below, which you can also print out.
To make Linzer cookies, you’ll need:
- All-purpose flour; for the dough (linecké těsto) + for dusting the work surface. Read more about all-purpose flour in the Czech Republic and its substitutions.
- Unsalted butter; cold, taken out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking
- Powdered sugar; for dough, plus for dusting the tops of the cookies with the hole
- Lemon zest; freshly grated
- Vanilla; I used vanilla paste
- Egg yolk
- Jam; for the filling. Seedless red currant jam is the best, optionally raspberry.
➜ Instructions with Photos
STEP 1: Sift the flour in a bowl. Add cold, sliced butter, sugar, egg yolk, lemon zest, and vanilla.
STEP 2: Use your hands to work the mixture into a smooth dough. Be patient—it will take some time. Stop kneading as soon as the dough feels soft; over-kneading can make the cookies too firm. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or ideally overnight.
STEP 3: Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it in half. Return one half to the refrigerator and leave the other on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften slightly. The dough should remain firm but pliable enough to roll out. Briefly knead it with your hands to ensure it is evenly smooth.
STEP 4: Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of ⅛ inch (3 mm), then cut out your shapes. I used a flower-shaped cookie cutter about 2 inches (5 cm) in size. If you are making cookies with a hole in the top layer, be sure to prepare an equal number of tops and bottoms.
Gather the scraps of dough and knead them into a cylinder. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until it firms up slightly. Once chilled, roll it out and cut out more shapes.
Once you have finished working with the first half of the dough, take the second half out of the fridge and prepare the cookies the same way.
STEP 5: Carefully transfer the cut-out Linzer shapes to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a flat knife or spatula.
STEP 6: Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350 °F (170 °C) for 9 minutes.
STEP 7: Dust the cooled tops of the cookies with powdered sugar. Spread a layer of jam on the bottom cookie, then gently place the sugar-dusted top piece on it to create a sandwich.
➜ Useful Tips
- Linzer tarts are made with shortbread dough, so avoid kneading it for too long; otherwise, the cookies may turn out stiff.
- When rolling out the dough, use as little flour as possible on the work surface. Flip the dough once or twice while rolling to prevent it from sticking. Ensure the dough is well-chilled to keep the fat solid, making it easier for the cookies to hold their shape when cut out.
- Try rolling it out between two baking sheets if you feel that the dough is too sticky when you work.
GOOD TO KNOW: The more flour you incorporate into the Linzer dough when rolling it out, the stiffer the cookies will be and the longer it will take to soften.
Read how to master Czech Christmas cookies!
Questions and Answers
The baking time for Linzer cookies is relatively short. Allow 9 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 °C (170 °F). Linzer cookies should be slightly pinkish on the surface, not brown.
Linzer cookies made with this recipe are slightly crispy on the day they are baked but become soft the next day once filled with jam. Properly stored, they have a shelf life of about two weeks. If you are planning to include Linzer cookies on your Christmas table, you can bake them anytime from mid-December up to a day or two before Christmas.
Store Linzer cookies in a paper box with a lid. Since the top is sugared, it has worked for me to store the cookies on a baking sheet freely covered with plastic wrap. Store them in a cool, dry place. The ideal temperature for storage is 50°F (10°C).
More Czech Christmas cookies:
- Vanilkové rohlíčky – vanilla crescent cookies
- Masarykovo cukroví – favorite Christmas cookies of TGM, the first president of the Czech Republic
- Vosí hnízda – no-bake cookies called wasp nests or beehive cookies
Tried this recipe?
Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Linecké cukroví – Czech Linzer Cookies
Tap or hover to scale
Ingredients
Linzer cookie dough:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 stick unsalted butter cold
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest freshly ground
To assemble:
- ½ cup jam e. g., raspberry or red currant
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar for dusting the top part of cookies
Instructions
- Sift 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour in a bowl. Add cold, sliced 1 stick unsalted butter, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste.
- Use your hands to work the mixture into a smooth dough. Be patient—it will take some time. Stop kneading as soon as the dough feels soft; over-kneading can make the cookies too firm. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least two hours, or ideally overnight.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it in half. Return one half to the refrigerator and leave the other on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften slightly. The dough should remain firm but pliable enough to roll out. Briefly knead it with your hands to ensure it is evenly smooth.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a thickness of ⅛ inch (3 mm), then cut out your shapes. I used a flower-shaped cookie cutter about 2 inches (5 cm) in size. If you are making cookies with a hole in the top layer, be sure to prepare an equal number of tops and bottoms.
- Gather the scraps of dough and knead them into a cylinder. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until it firms up slightly. Once chilled, roll it out and cut out more shapes.
- Once you have finished working with the first half of the dough, take the second half out of the fridge and prepare the cookies the same way.
- Carefully transfer the cut-out Linzer shapes to a parchment-lined baking sheet using a flat knife or spatula.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at
350 °F for 9 minutes. - Dust the cooled tops of the cookies with ⅓ cup powdered sugar. Spread a layer of jam on the bottom cookie, then gently place the sugar-dusted top piece on it to create a sandwich.
Notes
- The basic recipe makes about 25 Linzer cookies.
- In the case of Linzer tarts, it is a shortbread dough, so do not knead it for a long time, else the cookies will be stiff.
- When rolling out the dough, try not to sprinkle too much flour on the work surface. The dough should be chilled so that the fat in the dough solidifies and you can roll out the dough well.
- Try rolling it out between two baking sheets if you feel that the dough is too sticky when you work.
- STORAGE: Store Linzer cookies in a paper box with a lid. Since the top is sugared, it has worked for me to store the cookies on a baking sheet freely covered with plastic wrap. Store them in a cool, dry place. Ideal temperature for storage is 50°F (10°C).
- When to bake Linzer cookies? Linzer cookies are crispy when freshly baked but soften the next day with jam. They keep well for about two weeks, so you can bake them anytime from mid-December to just before Christmas.
Valerie says
My dad comes from the Czech Republic, and we always had different shapes of these cookies for Christmas. Their taste is synonymous with Christmas. Unfortunately, he passed away and I lost the family recipe. Thankfully, I found a worthy replacement!
Lex says
This makes me feel closer to my roots. Thank you!
Petra Kupská says
You are very welcome and thanks for your kind words!
Jen Vejvoda says
The recipe states to put half of the dough back in the fridge - but then what? It doesn't say to take it back out and use it?
Petra Kupská says
Thank you for your comment, Jen! Make cookies with the second half of the dough in the same manner as the first, please. I put the dough I'm not working with in the fridge so it doesn't soften at room temperature. In that case, it would be difficult to work with, it would tear and stick while rolling up. I will add this step to the recipe description to make the procedure more obvious. Thank you for the helpful reminder!
Maruska Petrasova says
I love your recipes. I made Lizner Cookies ( We call them Zalepovane Sushenky) and Vanelkove Rohlicky and entered them in the Arizona State Fair years ago. I won first and second prize. The cookies were delicious even after sitting in the display window at the fair for over two weeks. Czech cookies are the best. Thank you for your recipes.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Ahoj Maruska, thank you so much for your comment! I am delighted to hear the recipes were such a success! Congratulations! 🙂
Greetings from the Czech Republic.
Maruska Petrasova says
Love all of your recipes. I have a Czech cook book that I inherited from my mother but your instructions are so much easier to follow. Love it.
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Thank you so much for your comment, Maruska! Happy to hear you enjoy the recipes!
Eduard Rehorik says
Is in the printed version please.?
Petra Kupská says
Hi Eduard, you can find the printed version here: https://www.cooklikeczechs.com/wprm_print/1589
Please, click on the Print button (in the top right corner). Good luck with the cookies!
Jodie says
Looking forward to trying the recipe! I was wondering where the lemon zest goes because it is not mentioned in the method? Thanks!
Anicka Cooklikeczechs.com says
Hello Jodie, thank you for asking - lemon zest should be added directly to the dough when kneading. Hope this helps!
Chris McBride says
I had a crack at making these today and was really pleased with the end result.
Again, Petra’s recipe is clear and easy to follow, which gives me the confidence to embark on more baking and cooking using her recipes and techniques in the future as I know that they work.
I’m a massively inexperienced baker and I noticed that the time that I took to knead and roll the dough adversely affected it, I guess because it became too warm but I was just about able to get the job done.
Another brilliant recipe to help me Cook Like Czechs. Thank you Petra.
Petra | Cook Like Czechs says
I’m so glad to hear that the recipe worked well for you! It’s great that it is helping you feel confident in the kitchen. As for the kneading and rolling, it’s totally normal for dough to warm up, especially if you’re handling it for a bit longer. A good tip is to chill the dough for a little while if that happens—it can make things a bit easier next time. It shouldn´t be done for too long at max. 20 minutes. Of course, every dough is a bit different, but it’s a handy trick for many types!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and happy baking
Lenka says
Every Thanksgiving, I buy a lot of cranberries and make marmalade. This one is the closest to the red currant jam used in Linzer cookies. Besides, it’s just really good. I haven’t seen red currant jam in stores here anywhere. It is probably available online, but this works best for us.
Nomi says
I could only get 16 cookies from this but they are delicious.
Petra Cook says
Fabulous website with an excellent details. I made Linecke since December at least 4 times in double measures and always brilliant result. I haven't done any Czech Christmas cukrovi baking before discovering this website. It is a gem and brings me back to my childhood in Czech. Petra (England)
Vera says
To jsem rada, ze jsem vas nasla! Uz jsem v Americe dlouho, a porad nekdy nevim, jak tu co najit. Treba tu hrubou mouku...
Diky moc. Nase jidlo je jedno z nejlepsich na svete. 🙂