These are rich, chocolate almond linzer cherry cookies. The cherry jam filling is easy to make and full of bright and tart cherry flavor. The cookies themselves are super chocolatey, slightly salty, buttery, and crisp with the perfect melt in your mouth sandy texture. The almond flour and cocoa powder in the cookie dough makes them extra tender, almost shortbread like.
Chocolate and cherry is one of my favorite flavor combinations, especially for Christmas and the holidays! These cookies are perfect for cookie boxes. Not only are they super chocolatey and delicious, but they also stay crisp and sandy for many days after assembly.
This recipe is in partnership with the Utah Red Tart Cherry Marketing Board.
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🍪 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Chocolate almond cookies: Crisp, sandy, melt in your mouth, cookies that taste like rich dark chocolate and almonds. They're incredible.
- Tart cherry homemade jam: Sweet, tart, with a rich cherry flavor. So easy to make too!
- Linzer cookies: The combination of rich dark chocolate cookies and a tart and sweet, thick cherry jam is one of my favorites. Instead of a classic hazelnut cookie, I used almond flour and almond extract for that classic nutty flavor.
- Best cookie for cookie boxes: These cookies stay crisp and sandy for days! They're perfect to make ahead and gift for the holidays. These peppermint sugar cookies and my Christmas thumbprint cookies are also perfect to make for cookie boxes!
🍒 Why tart Montmorency cherries?
Montmorency cherries are the most commonly grown tart cherry variety grown in the United States. Because they're quite delicate and don't store long when they're fresh, it's much easier to find them frozen in the freezer section all year round. I've found U.S.-grown Montmorency cherries at my local health food store, at larger grocery stores, and at baking suppliers because they're most commonly used for pies in the baking community.
Tart cherries are amazing for cooking and baking because they're more flavorful and have and a higher acidity level than sweet table cherries. The vibrant cherry flavor really comes out when you bake or cook the cherries. The distinctive sour-sweet taste and deep red color of U.S.-grown Montmorency tart cherries are because of the high concentration of anthocyanins. Nearly all of the health research on tart cherries has been conducted on the Montmorency variety. Research suggests that Montmorency tart cherries may help aid exercise recovery heart health, sleep, arthritis, and gout.
Support your local farmers and look for U.S.-grown tart Montmorency cherries. They have a brighter red color, and don't bleed like the commonly imported "Morello" variety. Local Montmorency cherries are picked at peak freshness and frozen quickly so that we can enjoy farm fresh cherries all year round.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
Tart Montmorency cherries: Easily found in your grocery store, health store, or farmer's market freezer section all year round. Look for "red tart U.S. cherries" or "Montmorency cherries." They're bright red and have a bright, sweet and tart, intense cherry flavor. Try my chocolate cherry black forest pie or my cherry meringue pie if you have leftover cherries!
Cinnamon: Adds a touch of warmth into the cherry filling. You don't taste the cinnamon, but it does bring out the cherry flavor and works beautifully in combination with the rich chocolate cookies.
Cocoa powder: Dutch processed cocoa powder gives these cookies a rich, chocolatey flavor. I recommend using Dutch processed over natural cocoa powder. Dutch processed has a darker brown color and richer, less tart chocolate flavor.
All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
Almond flour: This makes these cookies extra buttery, crisp, with a tender and sandy texture. It also adds a beautiful almond flavor.
Almond extract: A touch of almond extract in the cookie dough gives amplifies the almond and cherry flavor.
Butter: I used unsalted butter but you could use salted butter. You may have to reduce the salt if you use salted butter. I love a salty, buttery, shortbread cookie so I added quite a bit of salt to these. It really does amplify the flavor.
👩🍳 How to make chocolate cherry cookies
Tart cherry jam step by step
Step 1: Chop the cherries into smaller pieces. Place them into a medium saucepan.
Add sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Place on low heat and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Step 2: As the cherries release their juice, continue stirring to prevent burning. After 10-15 minutes, the cherry juice will thicken up considerably and you can see the pan for a second when you run a spatula along the bottom. It will thicken up even more after it cools down. Transfer the jam into a heat safe jar and let it cool to room temperature.
Chocolate almond cookies step by step
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Step 1: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine softened butter and sugar. Beat until creamy and combined. Add salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix to combine.
Step 2: Then, add almond flour, cocoa powder, and all purpose flour. Stir to mix together gently.
Step 3: Once evenly combined, transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll it out to ¼" thick.
Step 4: Use a cookie cutter to cut out round cookies and a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the middles of half of the cookies. I used a linzer cookie cutter with a heart center. Arrange them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, leaving 1 inch of space between each cookie.
Step 5: Place the parchment lined baking sheet with the cut out cookies into the freezer for 5-10 minutes for the cookies to firm up. Then, bake in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes until the cookies are fragrant. Be careful not to burn them because you won't notice them browning!
Step 6: Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack carefully with a spatula and let them cool completely. Bake the rest of the cookies in batches, rerolling the scraps until you baked them all.
Step 7: Use a sieve to sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cut out middles with powdered sugar.
Step 8: To assemble, flip over the cookies without cut out centers so that they're bottom up. Place about a teaspoonful of cooled jam into the centers. Carefully place the cut out cookies with powdered sugar on top, holding onto the edges and gently press them down so that they don't break.
✔️ Expert chocolate cherry linzer cookie tips
- Cook the cherry jam down until thick: It's important that you make the jam really thick so that there isn't much moisture left to make the cookies soggy. Cook until syrupy and it will thicken more as it cools.
- Use softened butter: Having the butter creamy (but not melted) helps make the cookie dough easy to mix together.
- Don't overmix or undermix the dough: Once you add the flour, stop mixing as soon as the dough doesn't look streaky anymore.
- Chill the chocolate almond cookie dough: The cookie dough has a high butter content so it's a good idea to pop the cut out cookies in the freezer to chill briefly before baking them in the oven. It helps them keep their shape.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
These chocolate almond linzer cherry cookies store well, I left a filled cookie on my counter in an airtight container for 4 days and it was still crisp and sandy - not soggy at all. To store them and keep them fresh, pop the filled cookies into the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. These cookies are perfect for including in Christmas cookie boxes or holiday cookie exchanges.
You can make ahead the jam and cookies separately, and store them until you're ready to assemble. The jam will keep great in the fridge for 10 days or even longer. You may need to let it come to room temperature before spreading because it is a very thick, syrupy jam. The thickness of the jam prevents the chocolate almond cherry linzer cookies from getting soggy once assembled.
📖 Recipe FAQs
I haven't personally tried it but if you substitute the all purpose flour with 1:1 gluten free flour it should work! If you try it let us know how it goes in the comments.
Yes you could. The cookies won't have as rich of a brown color and as rich of a chocolate flavor as with Dutch processed cocoa powder but it will work.
This recipe doesn't have any added pectin and involves cooking the cherries down until syrupy so that when it cools it's very thick and low on moisture. This creates a sweet, sticky jam perfect for sandwiching cookies and with a sweet, intense tart cherry flavor. The lemon juice is key to adding a touch of brightness and preserving the deep red color of the jam. It also helps the pectin in the jam set.
Yes you can, although making your own jam is so easy and tastes even better!
Yes it does since it's not canned in a water bath. However, I've had filled cookies out at room temperature for 4 days and they tasted great. Just in case, it's best to store the filled cookies in the fridge.
I chop them so that the jam isn't too chunky and it's easier to add to fill the cookies. Cherries are very large and if you keep them whole then it will be difficult to sandwich the jam between the cookies. It's easiest to chop them while frozen or slightly thawed.
I don't recommend doing this because I formulated this recipe to create a very thick jam to prevent it from seeping into the cookies and making them soggy. The jam is very sweet, but the sweetness is balanced by the tartness of the cherries and the rich chocolate, slightly salty flavor of the cookies. Additionally, the sugar in the jam helps preserve the jam in case the filled cookies are left out at room temperature for a few days.
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Almond Cherry Linzer Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Tart cherry jam cookie filling
- 2 cups sour cherries frozen and pitted, 266g, 9.4 oz
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Chocolate almond cookie dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder dutch processed
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour 210g
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
Tart cherry jam cookie filling
- Chop the cherries into smaller pieces. Place them into a medium saucepan.2 cups sour cherries
- Add sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Place on low heat and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. As the cherries release their juice, continue stirring to prevent burning. After 10-15 minutes, the cherry juice will thicken up considerably and you can see the pan for a second when you run a spatula along the bottom. It will thicken up even more after it cools down.1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Transfer the jam into a heat safe jar and let it cool to room temperature.
Chocolate almond cookie dough
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine softened butter and sugar. Beat until creamy and combined. Add salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix to combine.1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Then, add almond flour, cocoa powder, and all purpose flour. Stir to mix together gently.1 cup almond flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- Once evenly combined, transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll it out to ¼" thick.
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out round cookies and a smaller cookie cutter to cut out the middles of half of the cookies. I used a linzer cookie cutter with a heart center. Arrange them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, leaving 1 inch of space between each cookie.
- Place the parchment lined baking sheet with the cut out cookies into the freezer for 5-10 minutes for the cookies to firm up. Then, bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes until the cookies are fragrant. Be careful not to burn them because you won't notice them browning!
- Transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack carefully with a spatula and let them cool completely. Bake the rest of the cookies in batches, rerolling the scraps until you baked them all.
- Use a sieve to sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cut out middles with powdered sugar.
- To assemble, flip over the cookies without cut out centers so that they're bottom up. Place about a teaspoonful of cooled jam into the centers. Carefully place the cut out cookies with powdered sugar on top, holding onto the edges and gently press them down so that they don't break.2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Notes
-
- Cook the cherry jam down until thick to prevent a soggy cookie
- Use softened (not melted) butter for easier cookie dough mixing
- Once you add the flour, stop mixing as soon as the dough doesn't look streaky anymore.
- Chill the cookie dough briefly before baking to help them hold their shape
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