Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling

I was really excited to make these cookies and use my new Linzer cookie cutters. These cookies are the Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling (page 137) from the "crumbly and sandy" section of Martha's cookbook.

These cookies are named after the city of Linz, Austria and are a holiday tradition in that part of Europe. I just wanted a tasty treat and a chance to use my new baking toy!

Traditionally, linzer cookies use hazelnuts, but this recipe called for pecans. The recipe had several steps, including toasting the pecans, grinding the pecans with cinnamon and sugar, mixing and refrigerating the dough, rolling it out and cutting the pieces, baking the cookies and finally assembling them. Wow! When I write it all out, it seems like a lot of work! But, it honestly didn't take long and I was able to fit in the baking while making dinner and then before I put the kids to bed.


Here's a picture of the cookies after they have been baked. I was very impressed with how they turned out. They held their shape very well. The cookies themselves are not terribly sweet, but with the addition of the jam and powdered sugar they are just sweet enough. They are absolutely gorgeous, and I quite like the delicious combination of the pecans & cherry. Yum!

Cigarettes Russes

I decided to get a little fancy in my cookie-making today. I tried out Martha's recipe for Cigarettes Russes (page 30). These are the wafer-like tube-shaped cookies that are often paired with ice cream and either filled with or dipped in chocolate.

The batter was fairly easy to make. It called for powdered sugar, flour and salt to be sifted together. Then, in a well in the center (pictured), combine melted butter, egg whites, cream and vanilla. Although the recipe didn't mention an electric mixer, I used the whisk attachment on my KitchenAid and it was a fairly painless process. The batter was pretty runny, but in accordance with the directions, it was refrigerated for several hours (in this case, it was in the fridge for about 8 hours).

I almost forgot about the cookies though, until my husband saw the dough in the downstairs refrigerator and reminded me. The most labor-intensive process is baking and forming the cookies, but it wasn't difficult and I found it fun. You have to spread the batter onto the cookie sheets VERY THINLY (I don't think I ever got it thin enough). In fact, I think the batter should almost be translucent when you have spread it out. My cookies were more like cigars rather than cigarettes because the batter wasn't spread thin enough.

I only fit about 3 cookies on each cookie sheet because of how large the cookies get when you spread out the batter. They cook for a very short period of time - 6 minutes.

As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, you quickly remove them with your handy offset spatula and wrap them around a dowel (or in my case, a chopstick). I realized by the end of this process, however, that I could have just rolled them up. After you let them cook, dip them in melted chocolate and/or nuts. This recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate; I thought that would be too harsh, so I used half bittersweet and half semi-sweet, but my husband and I both thought it was still quite bitter.

The cookies are "light and delicious" - as per the section of the cookbook into which they fall. They are a little spongy, quite sweet, and crunchy on the edges. Delightful!