Buttery grain-free vegan linzer cookies with yummy chocolate fudge filling (or swap for your favorite jam!) The perfect easy healthy holiday baking recipe!
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I need you to know this upfront: I think this is my first time making linzer cookies. I say “think” because there is one vague memory of making them at my sister’s friend’s house as a kid, but it’s blurry enough to not count. So yes, this is my first time making linzer cookies.
I also need you to know: I adore linzer cookies and don’t know why I waited so long. Buttery soft shortbread squished around jam or chocolate fudge filling, plus the dainty top view with those cute little cutouts. There is just so much to love.
Of course I had to put my own healthier spin on them with a grain-free vegan cookie and dark chocolate ganache inside. Why not jam like the holiday tradition? Because CHOCOLATE.
How To Make Vegan Linzer Cookies
The cookie itself is very versatile, and honestly doesn’t even need the filling it has so much flavor going on by itself. A little spice, a little citrus, a little vanilla bean, and the best just-crispy texture. You can skip any of the spices or additions and opt for a simple shortbread, but personally I think all these flavors pair marvelously with the chocolate filling.
So you will need…
- Almond flour and coconut flour. Its a deliciously buttery grain-free combo, my favorite for cutout cookies.
- Maple syrup to sweeten the cookies.
- Coconut oil, or you can try swapping in nut butter instead but you will likely need a bit more.
- Cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, and vanilla. This is what makes them basically taste like edible Christmas carols.
How To Make The Chocolate Fudge Filling
Again, feel free to go the classic raspberry jam route and just skip this whole section. But if the words CHOCOLATE FUDGE FILLING speak to your soul like they do mine, it’s just 2 ingredients and so decadently worth trying.
Dark chocolate and coconut milk – that’s it! Melt together, stir until smooth, and then allow it to cool for until it thickens to a perfectly dollop-able consistency. I used my favorite Hu Gems which melt like a damn dream and are a gift for the tastebuds too.
Tips for Perfect Linzer Cookies
- Chill the cookie dough. The dough is slightly fragile since it’s egg free, so I recommend rolling, cutting, then chilling on a flat surface for 30 minutes before you transfer to the baking pan. This will make moving them very easy and prevent any cookie bending or breaking.
- Cool the cookies completely before sandwiching. If the cookies are warm the filling will melt and squish out the sides.
- Dust with powdered sugar, or use powdered coconut milk for a sugar-free alternative.
- Spread any extra fudge filling on any and everything, don’t you dare waste a drop of that divine stuff.
Vegan Linzer Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Yield: 8 sandwiches 1x
- Category: cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: America
Description
Buttery grain-free vegan linzer cookies with yummy chocolate fudge filling (or swap for your favorite jam!) The perfect easy healthy holiday baking recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (80g) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (50g) coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Fudge Filling
- 2/3 cup (120g) Hu Gems
- 1/4 cup (60g) coconut milk
Instructions
- Whisk almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, zest, seeds scraped out of the vanilla bean, and salt.
- Add maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix to form a ball of dough.
- Roll out between two pieces of wax paper to 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cutout with a linzer cookie cutter, you should get approximately 16 cookies.
- Transfer dough to a pan and freeze for 30 minutes (this makes transferring to the baking sheet easier.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Use a spatula to transfer cookies to a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool completely.
- For the filling, melt the Gems with the coconut milk. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon a dollop of the filling on each whole cookie, top with the cutout cookies, and chill until the chocolate is firm.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 157mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: holiday, Christmas, ganache, chocolate, shortbread, easy, healthy, almond flour, paleo, gluten free
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What kind of coconut milk do you use? From the can or the carton from the fridge?
I used canned, but either will likely work here!
Can I make this oil free? Thank you. I love your channel!
Applesauce will take away from the crispy-ness so I don’t recommend it. You could try nut butter instead, you will probably need a litte bit more than the coconut oil but should work 🙂
Thank you Natalie for taking time to answer my question.
Of course, anytime Melanie 🙂
can I substitute almond flour with oat flour?:) thank you!
Oat and almond are not great subs for one another, maybe try this cookie dough instead with the oat flour and then just cut them into linzers: https://feastingonfruit.com/sunbutter-sandwich-cookies/ Or this one is good too: https://feastingonfruit.com/easy-vegan-sugar-cookies/
I’ve been waiting to make these since you posted them! Just one question- could I sub the coconut flour with gluten free all purpose flour?
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I haven’t tested it and it will change the texture since all purpose flour is much more sticky than coconut which is very dry, but it could work! I’d recommend a bit more, probably about 1/2-2/3 cup, you want a sticky but roll-able dough. Hope that helps and let me know how they turn out!
Hello Natalie, they seem amazing!
Could you clarify about the coconut oil: should it be at room temp, melted, cold?
Thank you!
Ah my bad, it should be melted! Happy baking and hope you love them Eva😊
Don’t worry, I kind of knew it but just wanted to make sure 😉 I’ll definitely let you know!
Thank you 🙂
Amazing recipe Natalie, will make it again! Really easy, foolproof and delish 😀
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YAY!! I am so happy these were a success Eva🤗
would i be able to make this dough, cut them out, and then keep the cutout dough in the freezer to bake a few days later?
Yep that should be just fine with this recipe Mary 🙂
How many days can they last? what’s the best way to store them?
IN the fridge in an airtight container is best! They can easily last a week that way 🙂
Ahhhhhhh, chocolate, yes! However I love raspberry preserves for linzers as they remind me of a favorite local Parisian bakery I used to treasure until they sold their soul to the devil and cheapened their ingredients to succumb to ‘the American way’ Do you have a recipe for such a filling on the blog? I’d love for it to be refined sugar free if possible! I’m so excited for these!!
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Hi Christina! This is my favorite refined sugar free jam method: https://feastingonfruit.com/blueberry-fig-jam-with-no-added-sugar/ You could swap blueberries for raspberries and try that for the cookie filling!