Linzer Augen - German Christmas cookies recipe

I've finally found time to bake my own Christmas cookies. I'm very late this year, normally I start baking these cookies already end of november in order to be ready by first Advent. But better late than never!

These cookies are so delicious, if you like the Austrian "Linzer Torte" you will love these. It has a lot of spices and simply tastes like Christmas

Here is what you need:

200 g butter 

100 g powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

2-3 teaspoons cinnamon

a pinch ground clove

a pinch ground cardamom

1 sachet vanilla sugar

100 g ground hazelnuts

300 g flour

redcurrant jelly

(rum)

powdered sugar

Stir the butter and the powdered sugar until it's creamy, add the egg yolk and keep on stirring with the mixer, add the spices, the vanilla sugar and grounded hazelnuts until blended. Add the flour and knead the dough until the entire flour is in the dough. Let the dough stay in the fridge for approx. 45 minutes until 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 180 °C. Roll dough 1/8 thick on a lightly floured board. Cut out shapes with cookie cutter. Take half those cookies and cut out the centers with a smaller cookie cutter (that's the original way to do it, but I don't do it, I just cut out 2 equal shapes ). Place the cookies on a cookie sheet and bake 8-9 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
Let the cookies cool completely.

Take the redcurrant jelly and mix it with the rum, if you have children, you can of course leave the rum away. Put the jelly-rum mix almost to the edge on one cookie and use another as a "cover". Press lightly. Dust the cookies with sifted powdered sugar.

Linzer Augen are cookies that need to have some time in a cookie jar, because then they get softer. I think they are best after 1 day in a cookie jar. If you can resist :)