Black Forest Linzer Cookies

Black Forest Linzer Cookies. Buttery, chocolate Linzer cookies sandwiched with white chocolate ganache spiked with Kirsh - cherry liqueur, and sour cherry jam. The tops are drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkled with chocolate shavings. Like the Black Forest cake but in delicious cookie form.

Linzer cookies, a classic Austrian jam filled sandwich cookie, is a must make must eat at Christmastime. I always make a new version every year as a more classic version for my cookie boxes. I love Austrian christmas cookies.

This was inspired by my Black Forest cake on my blog (one of my favorite cakes of all time) as well as all of my linzer cookie recipes. The chocolate cookie base comes from my chocolate raspberry linzer cookies.

Why these Black Forest Linzer cookies are so good?

• Buttery chocolate cookies
• boozy white chocolate ganache
• sour cherry filling
• Tastes JUST LIKE a black forest cake - who doesn't love this cake?
• Makes 40 cookies - plenty to share and save for yourself as well

Ingredients

These black forest linzer cookies start with a basic chocolate butter cookie - no leavening so the cookies don't spread. A white chocolate ganache spiked with Kirsch - a cherry liqueur used in black forest cake, the tops are drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkled with chocolate shavings.

• All purpose flour    
• Cocoa powder - use a higher fat brand
• Kosher salt - I like Diamond brand
• Unsalted butter, cool room temperature (for the cookies and the ganache)
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Large eggs, cool room temperature
• White chocolate - bar, feves, white chocolate wafers ( not chocolate chips or candy melts)
• Corn syrup
• Heavy whipping cream
• Kirsch cherry liqueur
• Sour cherry preserves - can use sour cherry or black cherry preserves. I prefer sour.
• White chocolate for drizzle
• Dark chocolate for shavings

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Making the cookie dough is fairly straight forward. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Cream the butter and sugars, add the eggs, combine the flour with the butter mixture. The dough gets chilled at least four hours. I always chill overnight.

1. Divide the dough into two discs and wrap with plastic wrap before chilling. This makes it easier to roll out.

2. Roll out the dough to ⅛-1/4 inch (4-6mm)thick. Cut out with cutters of choice, cutting out the middles of half.

Cookie cut out tip:

Roll out your dough, cut your shapes then freeze for a few minutes to firm up. Then pop out the cut outs and place on your prepared baking sheet. This will help them keep their cut out shape and ensure there is no spreading while baking.

3. Bake for 9 minutes at 350 Deg F (180c). They will puff slightly and look dry on top when done. Do not overbake.

4. Once cool, drizzle the tops with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Freeze or refrigerate to set up the chocolate.

Make the ganache:

I used to think ganache was this super fancy chocolate that only experts could make in high end bakeries and patisseries. It couldn't be easier to make at home. Chocolate and hot cream. This recipe adds in a little butter and corn syrup. It is cooled and then whipped with a hand mixer ( or stand mixer) to buttercream like consistency. Perfect for piping into the cookies.

Pro tip:

If the ganache has firmed up too much, set a small saucepan on the stove with water, making sure the bottom of the bowl holding the ganache wont touch the water. Heat the water until steaming then place the bowl of the ganache on the pan. Turn the heat off. Once the ganache starts to melt slightly, remove from the pan and whip until creamy. You don't want it to melt completely, just enough to soften to be able to whip.

3. Pipe the whipped ganache around the edges of the bottoms of the cookies.

4. This is the jam I used - I get it from a local German bakery. You can find sour cherry jam at any well stocked store or online.

3. Full the centers with the jam - I like to use preserves so each middle gets jam with a piece of cherry as well.

4. Add the cookie tops and gently press to stick to the bottoms. Chill to set completely.

Hint: I like to keep the cookies frozen so the chocolate sets up faster. You can keep at room temperature, just keep in mind that the chocolate will take longer to set on the top of the cookies.

Substitutions

I make my cookies as is. I have not tested them any other way. If you are familiar with substitutions to fit your needs, such as dairy or gluten free, go ahead and do so.

Equipment

Food scale. Food scale. Food scale. I cannot stress this enough. Weighing the ingredients will always be more accurate than volume. My recipes are in grams and no I will not convert. Please use a food scale.

• Hand mixer or stand mixer. Either work fine
• Baking sheets and cooling racks
• piping bags
• Linzer cookie cutters - you can use a Linzer cookie cutter kit or any size cookie cutters you like. I used a 2 inch round cutter and a half inch cutter for the center.

Storage

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week. Up to 3 months in the freezer. How amazing do these Black Forest Linzer cookies look?

Related

Looking for other linzer cookie recipes like these Black Forest Linzer Cookies? Try these:

Black Forest Linzer Cookie Recipe:

Black Forest Linzer Cookies

Shanna

Chocolate Linzer cookies with Kirsch White Chocolate Ganache and Sour Cherry Jam Filling.

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 day d 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Ganache making time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 1 day d 8 hours hrs

Servings 40 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

  

• For the cookies:
• 390 g all purpose flour
• 66 g cocoa powder
• ½ kosher teaspoon salt,, I use Diamond
• 226 unsalted butter,, cool room temperature
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 100 g brown sugar
• 2 large eggs,, cool room temperature
• For the White Chocolate Ganache:
• 420 g chopped white chocolate,, bar, feves, white chocolate wafers ( not chocolate chips or candy melts)
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 30 g corn syrup
• 125 g heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons kirsch cherry liqueur, (Kirschwasser)
• Filling:
• Sour cherry preserves
• Topping:
• 150 g White chocolate for drizzle
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• Dark chocolate for shavings

Instructions

 

• Times are an approximation since the dough and ganache need making and cooling time. I make the dough and ganache a day before baking and assembly. Please use a food scale to weigh out the ingredients. Do not measure by volume.
• I used a 2 inch round cutter. You can use any size or shape you like - the final yield will depend on the size cutter you use.
• For the cookie dough:
• The cookies are chilled for a few hours up to overnight so the recipe is made first way before heating an oven is necessary.
• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour. Cocoa powder and salt.
• In a larger mixing bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until lighter and fluffy, a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then add in the eggs one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides after each egg is added.
• Add in the flour mixture and mix until fully combined, no flour streaks remain.
• Divide the dough in half and shape into two discs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap then chill for a minimum of 4 hours up to overnight.
• Ganache:
• While the dough is chilling, make the ganache
• In a medium stainless steel or glass bowl, add the white chocolate.
• In a sauce pan combine the butter, corn syrup and heavy cream. Heat until steaming and a few bubbles appear around the edges, stirring a few times to mix everything completely.
• Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate and let sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate. Start stirring or whisking slowly to fully melt the chocolate and make a completely smooth mixture. Once smooth, add in the kirsch and whisk again. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top, pressing against the ganache and let cool completely. You want it thick enough to whip to a buttercream like consistency. You can make this a day ahead of time and keep chilled, bring to room temp before whipping. See notes on how to soften if too hard to whip.
• Bake the cookies:
• When ready to bake the cookies - preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Set out baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Let the dough soften slightly and roll out between sheets of wax paper to ⅛-1/4 inch (4-6mm) thick. You don’t want them too thin.
• Cut out your shapes, half with the centers cutout. Slide the cut outs still on the wax paper on to a baking sheet and pop in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. This makes it easier to pop out the shapes and make sure they don’t spread during baking.
• Bake the cookie cut outs for 9 minutes. They will puff slightly, do not over bake. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough, kneading the remaining dough back together, chill slightly, re-roll between wax paper, cut out more cookies.
• Decorate and assemble the cookies:
• Once the cookies are cool, place the tops with the cut outs on a baking sheet. Melt the white chocolate with the teaspoon of coconut oil until runny, then drizzle over the tops of the cookies.
• Shave a chocolate bar with a vegetable peeler then sprinkle the shavings over the cookies. Pop in the freezer to set up the chocolate.
• Take the bottoms of the cookies and place on another baking sheet. Pipe a ring of ganache around the edges. If the ganache has hardened too much to whip, set the bowl over a pan of steaming water until it starts to soften. Whip until creamy.
• Fill the centers of the ganache circles with a spoonful of the preserves. Add the tops and press down slightly to attach to the bottoms. Set in freezer to set up.
• Keep in airtight containers at room temperature up to a week, up to three months in there freezer.

Notes

Keep cookie shapes when cutting out:

Roll out your dough between sheets of wax paper, cut your shapes then freeze for a few minutes to firm up. Then pop out the cut outs and place on your prepared baking sheet. This will help them keep their cut out shape and ensure there is no spreading while baking.

 

Ganche tips:

If the ganache has firmed up too much, set a small saucepan on the stove with water, making sure the bottom of the bowl holding the ganache wont touch the water. Heat the water until steaming then place the bowl of the ganache on the pan. Turn the heat off. Once the ganache starts to melt slightly, remove from the pan and whip until creamy. You don't want it to melt completely, just enough to soften to be able to whip.