GLUTEN-FREE LINZER BISCUITS
Small, sweet and spicy, our gluten-free Linzer Biscuits are a variation on the traditional Austrian cake, the Linzer Torte, a latticed topped, jam-filled tart made with hazelnut pastry.
Our biscuits are flavoured with cardamom and cinnamon and filled with our homemade sour cherry jam but any jam, homemade or not will be delicious.
Unfilled, they will keep for weeks in an airtight container ready to be slathered with jam and consumed with feet up and a cuppa.
Rosie
LINZER BISCUITS
Makes 12 x 6cm pairs
200 gm Revenge Gluten-free Almond Plain Flour Mix
70 gm hazelnut meal
100 gm caster sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
65 gm unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 egg
1 recipe Sour Cherry Jam, see below (or any jam you prefer)
Icing sugar to serve
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the butter cubes and process until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
Add the egg and process until the mixture almost comes together. If it is too dry, add some cold water a teaspoon at a time.
Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap, pat into a disk, cover with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.
In between two sheets of baking paper, roll the mixture out to a depth of 7mm. Cut out rounds using a 6cm (or any size you like) biscuit cutter. Transfer to the prepared baking trays. Using a smaller biscuit cutter, cut a small shape from the centre of half the rounds.
Repeat with the offcuts until you have used all the pastry.
Bake at 170°C fan forced (190°C conventional) for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Allow to stand on the baking tray until cool enough to handle then transfer to a rack to cool.
When cold, spread the bases with a generous dollop of jam, cover with the tops and carefully add a little bit of extra jam into the hole.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.
The unfilled biscuits, if stored in an airtight container in a cool place, will keep for several weeks. The filled biscuits will be good for a few days.
SOUR CHERRY JAM
1 670 gm jar pitted sour cherries, drained to yield around 340 gm
70 gm raspberries (fresh or frozen)
300 gm caster sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Place cherries and sugar in a heavy based saucepan and stir to mix. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook, stirring often until the mixture reaches 110°C.
If you don’t have a digital thermometer, place a saucer in the freezer and when very cold, spoon a small amount of the jam onto the saucer. If the mixture holds together like jam, it is ready. If not, continue to cook and re-test until you have achieved the right texture.
Add the lemon juice and stir to combine.
Transfer to sterilised jar/s and cover with the lids. The jam will keep in a cool dark place for months.
TIP:
The pastry and jam work equally well to make a Linzer Torte. Lightly grease a 20-22cm tart tin and line with some of the pastry, fill with the jam and cover with the remaining pastry in a lattice pattern if you’re into tradition, or top with decorative shapes. Bake for 30 minutes or so in a preheated 160°C fan forced oven until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve at room temperature with or without whipped cream.
