Delicious Chocolate SunButter Linzer Cookies - Buttery black cocoa shortbread cookies, filled with creamy chocolate SunButter and lightly dusted with powdered sugar! Definitely, one for chocolate lovers!
What is a linzer cookie?
Linzer cookies originally hail from the country of Austria and are usually served around Christmas time! Traditionally, linzer cookies feature a sandwich of buttery shortbread cookies made with almond flour, and are then filled with jam. Nowadays, linzer cookies can be eaten anytime of the year and are made with different kinds of nuts and various fillings. My version is made without any nuts or eggs!
Why you will love these chocolate linzer cookies
- They are absolutely delicious! The combination of the intensely rich black cocoa with the creamy chocolate Sunbutter, is the BEST combination.
- They are nut-free and egg-free, making it perfect for those with these specific allergies.
- They will melt in your mouth! The shortbread cookies are so tender and light.
- There are only 7 ingredients and most are probably already in your pantry.
- They are not too sweet. If you are not a huge fan of super sweet and sugary cookies, these cookies are IT!
Chocolate Sunbutter Linzer Cookies Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter - Make sure your butter is at room temperature butter, which is around 68ºF (20ºC). You can quickly bring butter to room temp by cutting into small cubes and leaving on the counter.
- Vanilla Paste or Extract - Adds extra flavor
- Confectioners' Sugar - The key to soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies is using confectioners' sugar.
- All-Purpose Flour - Use a high quality flour, such as King Arthur for best results.
- King Arthur Black Cocoa Powder - Black cocoa powder is wonderfully intense in chocolate flavor. Black cocoa is highly processed and it made by heavily alkalizing the cocoa. This process strips the cocoa of any bitterness and gives the cocoa powder its intense black color. If you're unable to find black cocoa, you can use regular Dutch-process cocoa powder. Just keep in mind that the color of the cookies won't be black.
- Salt - Use fine salt for best results.
- Chocolate SunButter - What is SunButter you may ask? SunButter is a company that produces sunflower butter, which is made from carefully sourced sunflower seeds. Their products are made in a nut-free facility, so those with a nut allergy can enjoy with confidence. Use in place of peanut butter and almond butter. We will be filling our linzer cookies with delicious chocolate SunButter.
Chocolate Sunbutter Linzer Cookies Instructions
Detailed instructions are in the recipe card below!
Step 1 - In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix room temperature butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes on medium. Then add sifted confectioners' sugar and mix until incorporated. *You can also use a hand-held mixer.
Step 2 - Next, sift in flour, black cocoa and salt.
Step 3 - On the lowest setting, mix until just combined.
Step 4 - Transfer dough to cling wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. I like to shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness to make it easier to roll out later.
Step 5 - Roll your dough out to ⅛ inch (3.1 mm) thickness. Lightly dip your cookie cutter into cocoa powder and cut out your cookies. With a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to 2 to 3 lined baking trays, placing them 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies. I used a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) fluted cutter and got 32 cookies, giving a total of 16 sandwiches. If at any point the dough gets too warm from handling, don't fret, pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to firm up!
Step 6 - With a round 1-inch (2.5 cm) cutter, punch a hole in the center of 16 cookies, while leaving the other 16 whole. Place the trays of cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. This is a very important step and cannot be skipped.
Step 7 - Bake at 350ºF (176ºC) for 10 minutes, one tray at a time. Allow to sit on the tray for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Optional - Bake the small center cutout cookies for 6 to 7 minutes.
Step 8 - Combine chocolate SunButter and confectioners' sugar. Once the cookies are cooled, lightly sift confectioners' sugar on top of each cookie. Flip the bottom cookies over and spread about 1 ½ teaspoons of the chocolate SunButter mixture, stopping ⅛ inch from the edge. Place the cookie (with the hole) on top of the chocolate filling and press down lightly.
Serve and Enjoy!!
Expert Tips
Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. Baking in grams rather than in volume, is the best and most accurate way to bake! All my recipes include gram conversions based on King Arthur's Weight Chart.
Chill, chill and chill! The best part about shortbread cookies is that it's full of butter. To prevent the cookies from spreading and losing its beautiful shape, we will need to chill the dough several times.
After rolling out the dough, I like to put it back in the fridge to firm up for 15 minutes. It makes it easier to cut out your cookies.
When cutting the cookies, you can also dip the cutter into cocoa powder to help them release easier.
You can make the dough 5 days in advanced. Just wrap tightly in cling wrap and store in the fridge. When you are ready to roll out your dough, allow to sit on the counter to soften a bit before rolling out.
Do not underbake these cookies. They should be cooked through and somewhat crisp.
You can get pretty creative with linzer cookies. Use any cookie cutter shape and size and have fun with the center cutout of the top cookie. Hearts, stars, holiday shapes and more! Keep in mind that if your cookie is larger, they may take longer to cook then specified in the recipe card.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Sunbutter Linzer Cookies
INGREDIENTS
Black Cocoa Shortbread Cookie
- ½ Cup + 6 Tbsps (198g) Unsalted Butter room temp
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Paste or Extract
- ¾ Cup + 1 tablespoon (92g( Powdered Sugar sifted
- 2 Cups (240g) All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup (42g) Black Cocoa Powder sifted
- ½ teaspoon Fine Salt
- SunButter Filling
- ½ Cup (128g) Chocolate Sunbutter, or more depending on how much you fill them
- 3 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Black Cocoa Shortbread Cookies
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix room temperature butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes on medium. Then add sifted confectioners' sugar and mix until incorporated. You can also use a hand-held mixer.
- Next, sift in flour, black cocoa and salt. On the lowest setting, mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Transfer dough to cling wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. I like to shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness to make it easier to roll out later.
- Roll your dough out to ⅛ inch (3.1 mm) thickness. Lightly dip your cookie cutter into cocoa powder and cut out your cookies. With a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to 2 to 3 lined baking trays, placing them 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies. I used a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) fluted cutter and got 32 cookies, giving me total of 16 sandwiches. If at any point the dough gets too warm from handling, don't fret, pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to firm up!
- With a round 1-inch (2.5 cm) cutter, punch a hole in the center of 16 cookies, while leaving the other 16 whole. Place the trays in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is a very important step and cannot be skipped!
- While it's freezing, set a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350ºF (176ºC).
- Bake for 10 minute, one tray one tray at a time (keep the other trays in the freezer or fridge until the oven is available). Allow baked cookies to sit on the tray for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Combine chocolate SunButter and confectioners' sugar. Once the cookies are cooled, lightly sift confectioners' sugar on top of each cookie. Flip the bottom cookies over and spread about 1 ½ teaspoons of the chocolate SunButter mixture, stopping ⅛ inch from the edge. Place the cookie (with the hole) on top of the chocolate filling and press down lightly. Serve and Enjoy!!
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy for up to 7 days!
- If you do not have a kitchen scale - When measuring flour, fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.
If you have made this recipe, I would love to know how it turned out for you! Please consider leaving a star rating and review below and tag me on Instagram @shortstackkitchen. Thank you so much!
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