Linzer Tart Cookies

This post has been created in collaboration with neat, all opinions are my own.

Looking for the perfect treat to make your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day? You have to make these linzer tart cookies. Not only are they extremely adorable, they are delicious and made with lots of love. These cookies are easy to veganize with the use of the neat egg, an amazing vegan egg substitute that is only made of 2 ingredients! The cookies are sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.

So let’s talk about neat and the neat egg. Neat offers shelf-stable baking mixes and meat-replacement mixes that are vegan, gluten free, soy free and non GMO. There’s a variety of different products to try, such as their black bean brownie mix, cowgirl cookie mix, and meat replacement mixes.

Of course they also have the neat egg. I discovered this product about a year into being vegan and found it pretty amazing that it is only made of two ingredients: garbanzo beans and chia seeds. How incredible is that? The product is an easy-to-mix, all-natural egg replacement and it is the perfect, dry-mix baking companion that acts as a binder. It is very versatile and can be used as an egg replacement in all your favorite baking recipes such as cakes, brownies, cookies, muffins and more. This product is so easy to use and makes for a wonderful egg replacer.

Prior to this recipe I had never made Linzer tart cookies. I’ve always admired them though because they look so pretty with the bit of jelly peeking through the middle. The cookies are traditionally made with almonds so if you have a nut allergy feel free to omit them. You can use any jelly you like, I went with strawberry because the color is just perfect for Valentine’s Day. To make these cookies you can use a Linzer tart cookie cutter or you can use a regular cookie cutter and a smaller shaped cookie cutter to press out the shape in the middle.

INGREDIENTS

1 neat egg, [1 tbsp of neat egg + 2 tbsp water]
2 cups all purpose flour [240g]
½ cup ground almonds [160g]
1 cup vegan butter, softened [224g]
1 cup powdered or icing sugar [120g]
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
¼-1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jelly

METHOD

1. Prepare the neat egg according to package directions. Add 1 tbsp of the neat egg and 2 tbsp of water into a small bowl, mix together and set aside to thicken.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar. You can do this in a stand-mixer, with a hand-mixer or using the back of a spoon.
3. Once it is creamed together and resembles a thick frosting add in the neat egg and vanilla or almond extract. Mix together again.
4. Into the bowl sift the flour and ground almonds. Then mix the dough, either by hand or with the stand-mixer, until small dough crumbles have formed.
5. On a clean surface knead the dough until it comes together it should come together easily and hold it’s shape well.
6. Split the dough into two halves. Wrap them and refrigerate for at least a half hour.
7. Right before you take the dough out preheat the oven to 350F (176C).
8. Work with one half at a time, leaving the other in the refrigerator to stay cold.
9. Between two pieces of parchment paper roll the dough out to be about a ½ inch thick.
10. Using your Linzer tart cookie cutter without the shape in the middle cut out as many cookies as you can and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Reroll the scraps and repeat the process until you have used all the dough.
11. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
12. Prepare the second half of dough by rolling it out just like in step 9. Then use the cookie cutter with the design insert and begin to cut the cookies out. You can bake the center design or just add it into the scraps and roll it out again. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used.
13. Bake for 8-9 minutes. These require less baking time because there is less dough.
14. Allow them to cool for 30 minutes.
15. Take one of the whole cookies without the design and add a small amount of jelly (about ½ tsp) to the bottom. This helps to ensure the cookies sandwich properly. Add a cookie with a cut out on top and press to squeeze the jelly through the center.
16. Repeat this with all the cookies until you have made all the cookie sandwiches.
17. You can dust them with powdered sugar if you like before serving. Makes 18-20 cookies.

Makes 18-20 cookies.