Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies

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If you frequent this site, you might have noticed I don’t post cookies often. Sure, as a tastebud-possessing individual, I like a good cookie. What’s not to like about hand-held delights made primarily of butter and sugar? But I don’t tend to have a lot of cookie-related ideas. They seem to be my culinary blindspot. It might be because I don’t find them particularly beautiful. And I am a visual learner and schemer. Now, before you direct me to the plethora of perfectly gorgeous sugar and gingerbread cookies on the Internet, I know they exist. My other Achilles heel is royal icing. So yeah, I can’t even approach cookies from a design standpoint. But every now and then the baking gods come through and bless me with a good cookie idea I can actually pull off. And these Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies are a fine example of such an idea.

So what are we looking at here? Well, you’re looking at two classic Linzer-style cookies accented with freeze-dried apple and apple pie spice with an apple cider caramel sandwiched between them. There’s edible gold glitter in there but that’s just flash. It’s not like gold leaf, it doesn’t add a dose of minerality, it just looks pretty. The cookies are finished with a fine dusting of powdered sugar for that just snowed-on look.

What I like best about these Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies is they look magical, elegant, and a little kitschy. Basically, everything I look for in a holiday anything. And they achieve this look rather effortlessly. Yes, there are a couple of components to make and chilling times to be aware of. But these cookies are not difficult. They are at least not royal icing difficult. So let’s talk about how to make them!

We’re going to kick things off with the cookie dough. Now, a traditional Linzer cookie is made with both all-purpose flour and almond flour. And I have heard good things about swapping the flour for all-purpose gluten-free flour but that’s where I would draw the line at experimentation. What makes a Linzer cookie so good is how tender it is. And that tenderness comes from the moisture in the almond flour. So while it is fairly expensive, don’t sleep on the almond flour.

Start by beating a couple of sticks of butter until fluffy. We’re just loosening up the butter at this point. To the butter sift in some powdered sugar. This is where the cookies will get that melt-in-your-mouth quality from. Mix the sugar into the butter and then add two egg yolks, some salt, apple pie spice, and some blitzed freeze-dried apples. Once everything is integrated, add the all-purpose and almond flours and mix everything on low until a crumbly dough forms. Start streaming in a 1/4 cup of heavy cream until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a ball, cut it in half and press each half into discs. Wrap and chill the dough for an hour.

The dough is a good candidate for making ahead of time. You can leave it wrapped in the fridge for up to two days prior to rolling, cutting, and baking. But if you do chill your dough for longer than one hour, make sure you let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes before you try rolling it out. She will be stiff and prone to cracking if you aren’t patient.

While the dough is chilling, make the caramel. Now, apple cider caramel takes a little more time because there’s an extra step and that’s reducing the apple cider. Luckily it’s very hands-off. Unluckily, it’s very hands-off until it isn’t. It will take a while to reduce which can lull you into a false sense of security. So make sure you check in on it frequently and make sure the pan isn’t at risk of running dry.

Once the apple cider is reduced to a quarter of its original volume, add sugar, butter, and cream. I used demerara sugar so my finished caramel was on the darker side. If you would prefer a more tawny or cognac shade use light brown sugar instead. Cook the caramel until it registers 238°F on a candy thermometer. Transfer the caramel to a heat-proof jar and set it aside to cool. I prefer to leave it at room temperature and let it cool naturally but if you’re in a hurry, you can use the fridge to help speed up the process. Just make sure you don’t immediately put the caramel into the fridge. Let it cool to a lukewarm temperature before sealing the jar and storing it.

While the caramel is cooling, roll one disc of your dough out to a 1/8 of an inch thickness. Cut out your cookies using a Linzer cookie cutter set or one cookie cutter and one a third of its size. I do recommend getting cutters for this purpose. It’s just so much easier. Arrange your cut cookies on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Chill the cut cookies for 30 minutes prior to baking. This last blast in the fridge will further encourage them to hold their shape when introduced to heat. While the first round of cookies is baking, get to work on cutting out the second disc. I like to dedicate one disc of the dough to the cookie bottoms and the other to the tops.

Once the cookies are baked, let them cool in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack and leaving them to cool completely. Once the cookies are cool, your caramel should cool enough to assemble the cookies. It should be quite thick but still spoonable. If it’s really set up, you can give it a quick blast in the microwave, but don’t abandon it there. If you heat it up too much it will be far too liquidy to work with.

Dust the top cookies with powdered sugar and set them aside. Take one of the bottom cookies and spread a teaspoon of the caramel on top. I know it’s tempting to pile the caramel on there because who doesn’t love caramel? But if you add too much caramel, the top cookie will just slide around and the edges will get very messy. If you don’t mind the mess, go for it. But if you want to tuck these beauties into a cookie box or tin as a gift, I would be conservative with your caramel application.

And that’s everything you need to know about these Caramel Apple Linzer Cookies. They’re festive, shiny, and just a little bit tacky. And they give a very good impression of a caramel apple. What’s not to love?

Enjoy!