OK, so they’re not tarts, but I think it’s safe to say that the Queen of Hearts would have approved of these Linzer biscuits with their jam filling and heart-shaped cutouts. And no doubt the Knave of Hearts wouldn’t have been able to resist pinching at least one…

Anyway, I digress, this recipe is an ever-so-slight reworking of a recipe from Hummingbird Bakery’s Home Sweet Home cookbook, by Borrowed Light, who also took the beautiful photographs.

Over to Catherine from Borrowed Light: “The recipe made around 20 biscuits (giant-sized, because my cutters were so big). The best bit about making these is the smell of simmering strawberry jam, it’s such a heady, delicious smell.”

I’m unclear as to how the Borrowed Light team managed to shoot the biscuits without eating them all first. Clearly they have much more willpower than I do.

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{Ingredients}
  • 280g unsalted butter
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 380g plain flour, and extra for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 60g ground almonds
  • 200g strawberry jam
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

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Method

Line 3-4 baking trays with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer or whisk with paddle attachment, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. In a bowl, sift the flour and cinnamon and mix in the ground almonds. Add this to the creamed butter and sugar, add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix until a dough forms.
Bring the dough together with your hands, divide into two balls, press to flatten a little, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
Roll the pasty until it is about 4mm / ¼ inch thick.
Pre-heat the oven to 170C / 325F / Gas Mark 3.
Then start cutting. You can use one large and one small heart cutter or we used a large circle cutter and cut a heart out of every second circle. Cut the heart out once you’ve placed the circle on the baking parchment.
Bake for around 15-20 mins, or until they are a light golden colour. Leave to cool.
In a pan heat the strawberry jam, bringing it to a gentle simmer. Let it cool slightly and then spoon around a teaspoon onto each cookie base, then place a cookie top on each to create a sandwich.
Dust with a little icing.
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