Linzer Valentine Cookies
Getting ready for Valentine’s Day with a sweet twist on a classic! These adorable Linzer Valentine Cookies are buttery, nutty treats filled with cherry jam and dusted with powdered sugar — plus a fun surprise: I used alphabet cutters to spell out little love messages inside. Perfect for sharing with your sweetheart (or treating yourself!).
Searching for the perfect sweet surprise to make your Valentine melt? These special Linzer Valentine Cookies are it! They’re a delightful mash-up of classic sandwich cookies and cherry jam-filled treats, but we took them to the next level with alphabet cookie cutters to spell out sweet love messages right in the jam.
We’ve been dreaming of making Linzer cookies forever, so for Valentine’s Day we went all out—buttery, nutty shortbread hearts dusted with powdered sugar, filled with vibrant cherry jam, and personalized with little words of love. Whether you’re saying “I ❤️ YOU” or another cute message, these unique cookies add extra romance and fun to your celebration!
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These Linzer Valentine Cookies are so versatile—you can spell out anything you like! Personalize them with your sweetheart’s name, a sweet message, or even fun emojis using alphabet or shape cutters.
Heart shapes are classic, but try smiley faces, numbers, or other seasonal motifs too. And they’re not just for Valentine’s Day—these buttery, cherry jam-filled beauties shine at Christmas (with holiday shapes and red/green jam), Halloween (spooky cutters and maybe a switch to blackberry or pumpkin butter), or any celebration that calls for a little extra love!
Linzer Valentine Cookies Recipe:
Ingredients:
- ½ c. Butter room temperature
- ½ c. Sugar
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Almond extract
- ¾ c. Ground pecans
- 1 ½ c. Flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Egg
- Cherry jam
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Equipment Needed:
- Round cookie cutter
- Small letter-shaped cookie cutters
- Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Mat
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
3 Recipe Variations
These keep the core buttery, nutty shortbread base (with ground pecans, almond extract, and that classic chill-and-cut method), but switch up the flavors, fillings, shapes, and themes for more options—perfect for Valentine’s Day or beyond. Each makes about 12 sandwich cookies, with similar prep/bake times.
Variation 1: Raspberry Rose Love Notes (Romantic & Floral Twist)
Give your cookies an elegant, Valentine’s-inspired upgrade with a fruity-floral vibe—think pink and romantic!
Key Changes:
- Filling: Swap cherry jam for seedless raspberry jam (or raspberry preserves) mixed with a tiny splash of rose water (about ¼ tsp) for a subtle floral note.
- Cut-outs: Use heart-shaped cookie cutters for the main shape instead of round (or keep round and cut small hearts in the centers). Spell out messages like “LOVE,” “XOXO,” or “BE MINE” with alphabet cutters.
- Extra touch: Add a drop of pink food coloring to the dough if you want a soft blush color, and dust with pink-tinted powdered sugar (mix a bit of freeze-dried raspberry powder or food coloring into the sugar).
- Why it works: The tart raspberry balances the nutty dough beautifully, and rose adds a sophisticated, love-letter feel. Bake and assemble as usual—your sweetheart will swoon over these pretty pink-tinged hearts peeking with ruby jam!
Variation 2: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sweethearts (Decadent & Nutty Upgrade)
For chocolate lovers, turn these into a richer, Nutella-like treat that’s still light and crisp.
Key Changes:
- Nuts: Replace ground pecans with ground hazelnuts (or hazelnut flour) for that classic Nutella vibe—keep the same ¾ cup amount.
- Filling: Use chocolate-hazelnut spread (like Nutella) or homemade ganache instead of cherry jam. For a Valentine’s pop, mix in a bit of raspberry jam for a chocolate-raspberry swirl.
- Cut-outs: Stick with alphabet cutters for messages like “I ❤️ U” or names, or use mini heart cutters in the centers.
- Extra touch: After dusting with powdered sugar, drizzle melted dark chocolate over the tops for extra indulgence.
- Why it works: The hazelnut amps up the nutty flavor naturally, and chocolate makes it feel extra special and decadent for Valentine’s. These feel like fancy truffles in cookie form—irresistible!
Variation 3: Lemon-Poppy Seed Sunshine Hearts (Bright & Zesty Spring Vibes)
A lighter, citrusy version that’s perfect if you want something less sweet or for extending the recipe beyond Valentine’s (great for Easter or just because!).
Key Changes:
- Flavor boosts: Add 1-2 tsp fresh lemon zest to the wet ingredients (with the egg and extracts). Reduce almond extract to ¼ tsp and add 1 tbsp poppy seeds to the dry ingredients for crunch and speckles.
- Filling: Use lemon curd or a thick lemon jam/preserves instead of cherry jam—bright and tangy to cut through the buttery dough.
- Cut-outs: Use heart or flower shapes for a sunny feel, and cut small hearts, stars, or initials in the centers (skip heavy alphabet messages or spell short words like “SMILE” or “JOY”).
- Extra touch: Dust with extra powdered sugar mixed with a pinch of lemon zest for aroma.
- Why it works: The lemon brightens the shortbread, poppy seeds add texture, and it’s a fresh contrast to richer holiday treats—versatile year-round!
All three variations follow your original method: cream butter/sugar, add wet, mix dry, chill, roll to ¼-inch, cut/assemble/bake at 350°F for 10-12 min, fill, sandwich, and dust. Feel free to mix and match elements!
These zesty versions bring a cheerful pop—perfect for sharing love in a lighter way.
Making these valentine sandwich cookies:
- To get started on these dreamy Linzer Valentine Cookies, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) so it’s nice and ready when your dough is chilled and cut.
- Grab a large mixing bowl and add your softened butter — room temperature is key for that perfect creamy texture!
- Measure the sugar into the mixing bowl with your softened butter, then cream them together on medium speed until the mixture is light, smooth, and fluffy — this usually takes about 2-3 minutes and creates that perfect tender cookie base!
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to your butter-sugar mixture, then beat everything together on medium speed until it’s smooth, fully combined, and nicely blended — the mixture should look creamy and uniform with no streaks of egg or extract visible.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the ground pecans, all-purpose flour, salt, and ground cinnamon until everything is evenly combined and well blended—no lumps or pockets of flour.
- Now, gently add the dry ingredients (that lovely pecan-flour mixture) to your wet butter-sugar blend.
- Beat on medium to high speed just until the dough comes together—no overmixing here, we want tender cookies!
- Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and pop them into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Chilling firms it up beautifully, making it so much easier to roll out and cut those perfect heart shapes without sticking.
- Take one half of the chilled dough from the freezer and place it on a well-floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment for easy cleanup).
- Roll it out evenly to about ¼-inch thickness—aim for uniform so your cookies bake perfectly
- Then, use a round cookie cutter to cut out individual cookies. Gather and re-roll scraps as needed after a quick chill if they get too soft.
- Place your cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart so they have room to spread just a little.
- Bake in your preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the cookies feel crisp to the touch. Keep an eye on them—the bottoms should turn a beautiful light golden brown, but don’t let them get too dark!
- Once baked, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack using a spatula.
- Let them cool completely before filling—this keeps them crisp and makes assembly so much easier.
- While one batch is baking and cooling, grab the second half of your chilled dough and roll it out on a well-floured surface to the same ¼-inch thickness.
- Use the same round cookie cutter to cut out more tops for your sandwich cookies.
- Then, switch to your alphabet cookie cutters and carefully cut out small letters right in the center of these top cookies—this is where the fun personalization happens!
- You can spell out sweet Valentine’s messages like “I ❤️ YOU,” “BE MINE,” “LOVE,” “HUGS” your sweetheart’s name, or any cute phrase that fits. Get creative—the possibilities are endless for adding that extra romantic touch.
- Place the cookies with the cute letter cut-outs (your top pieces!) onto a separate parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake them in the preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges turn lightly golden and they feel crisp. Watch closely—they bake quickly and you want them perfectly tender, not over-browned!
- Once done, gently transfer them to a wire cooling rack using a spatula and let them cool completely. Cooling on the rack keeps them crisp and prevents sogginess before you add the cherry jam.
Assembling these Cherry Jam Cookies
- Once all your cookies have cooled completely on the wire rack (this is super important to keep them crisp and prevent the jam from making them soggy!), it’s time for the delicious filling step.
- Take the solid round bottom cookies and spread a thin, even layer of cherry jam right in the center—about ½ to 1 teaspoon per cookie, depending on size. Use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to smooth it out nicely, leaving a little border around the edge so it doesn’t ooze out when you sandwich them.
- This vibrant red cherry jam peeking through those letter cut-outs is what makes these Linzer Valentine Cookies so special and romantic!
- Now gently place one of your baked top cookies (the one with the sweet letter cut-out) right on top of a jam-covered bottom cookie, pressing lightly so they sandwich together nicely—the cherry jam will peek through those adorable letters like a little love note!
- Repeat with the remaining cookies, pairing each solid bottom with a matching letter top until you’ve created your full batch of personalized Linzer Valentine sandwiches.
- To finish your beautiful Linzer Valentine Cookies, generously sprinkle a light, snowy layer of powdered sugar over the tops using a fine-mesh sieve—this creates that classic elegant dusting and makes the cherry jam peek through the letter cut-outs even more romantically!
- Serve them right away for the freshest taste and crisp texture, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days (the jam will soften them slightly over time, which many people love even more).
These Linzer Valentine Cookies turned out even sweeter than I imagined—buttery shortbread hearts, tangy cherry jam peeking through personalized love messages, and that classic snowy dusting of powdered sugar. Whether you spell out “Hugs” your sweetheart’s name, or a playful emoji, they’re the perfect way to add a homemade touch of romance this Valentine’s Day (or any day you want to spread a little extra love!).
Other Valentine’s Day Recipes:
- Pink Strawberry Fudge
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
- Valentine Heart Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Mice
- Linzer Heart Cookies
🥣 Recipe
Getting ready for Valentine’s Day with a sweet twist on a classic! These adorable Linzer Valentine Cookies are buttery, nutty treats filled with cherry jam and dusted with powdered sugar — plus a fun surprise: I used alphabet cutters to spell out little love messages inside. Perfect for sharing with your sweetheart (or treating yourself!).
Equipment
- Round cookie cutter
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter room temperature
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Almond extract
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Ground pecans
- 1 ½ cup Flour
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- Cherry jam
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- To get started on these dreamy Linzer Valentine Cookies, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) so it’s nice and ready when your dough is chilled and cut.
- Grab a large mixing bowl and add your softened butter — room temperature is key for that perfect creamy texture!
- Measure the sugar into the mixing bowl with your softened butter, then cream them together on medium speed until the mixture is light, smooth, and fluffy — this usually takes about 2-3 minutes and creates that perfect tender cookie base!
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to your butter-sugar mixture, then beat everything together on medium speed until it’s smooth, fully combined, and nicely blended — the mixture should look creamy and uniform with no streaks of egg or extract visible.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the ground pecans, all-purpose flour, salt, and ground cinnamon until everything is evenly combined and well blended—no lumps or pockets of flour.
- Now, gently add the dry ingredients (that lovely pecan-flour mixture) to your wet butter-sugar blend.
- Beat on medium to high speed just until the dough comes together—no over-mixing here, we want tender cookies
- Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and pop them into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Chilling firms it up beautifully, making it so much easier to roll out and cut those perfect heart shapes without sticking.
- Take one half of the chilled dough from the freezer and place it on a well-floured surface (or between two sheets of parchment for easy cleanup).
- Roll it out evenly to about ¼-inch thickness—aim for uniform so your cookies bake perfectly.
- Then, use a round cookie cutter to cut out individual cookies. Gather and re-roll scraps as needed after a quick chill if they get too soft.
- Place your cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart so they have room to spread just a little.
- Bake in your preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the cookies feel crisp to the touch. Keep an eye on them—the bottoms should turn a beautiful light golden brown, but don’t let them get too dark!
- Once baked, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack using a spatula. Let them cool completely before filling—this keeps them crisp and makes assembly so much easier.
- While one batch is baking and cooling, grab the second half of your chilled dough and roll it out on a well-floured surface to the same ¼-inch thickness.
- Use the same round cookie cutter to cut out more tops for your sandwich cookies.
- Then, switch to your alphabet cookie cutters and carefully cut out small letters right in the center of these top cookies—this is where the fun personalization happens!You can spell out sweet Valentine’s messages like “I ❤️ YOU,” “BE MINE,” “LOVE,” “HUGS” your sweetheart’s name, or any cute phrase that fits. .
- Place the cookies with the cute letter cut-outs (your top pieces) onto a separate parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake them in the preheated 350°F oven for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges turn lightly golden and they feel crisp. Watch closely—they bake quickly and you want them perfectly tender, not over-browned!
- Once done, gently transfer them to a wire cooling rack using a spatula and let them cool completely. Cooling on the rack keeps them crisp and prevents sogginess before you add the cherry jam.
- Once all your cookies have cooled completely on the wire rack (this is super important to keep them crisp and prevent the jam from making them soggy!), it’s time for the delicious filling step.
- Take the solid round bottom cookies and spread a thin, even layer of cherry jam right in the center—about ½ to 1 teaspoon per cookie, depending on size. Use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to smooth it out nicely, leaving a little border around the edge so it doesn’t ooze out when you sandwich them.
- Now gently place one of your baked top cookies (the one with the sweet letter cut-out) right on top of a jam-covered bottom cookie, pressing lightly so they sandwich together nicely—the cherry jam will peek through those adorable letters like a little love note!
- Repeat with the remaining cookies, pairing each solid bottom with a matching letter top until you’ve created your full batch of personalized Linzer Valentine sandwiches.
- To finish your beautiful Linzer Valentine Cookies, generously sprinkle a light, snowy layer of powdered sugar over the tops using a fine-mesh sieve—this creates that classic elegant dusting and makes the cherry jam peek through the letter cut-outs even more romantically!
- Serve them right away for the freshest taste and crisp texture, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-5 days (the jam will soften them slightly over time, which many people love even more).
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 5gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 76mgPotassium: 97mgFiber: 2gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 274IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 2mg
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