I know people who don’t care for “sweets”! Don’t care for sweets? It’s unimaginable to me, especially at the holidays. Everyone has a favorite holiday sweet, the trouble for me is deciding which of my favorite holiday sweets is number one.
Since comparing a holiday cake to cookies for Christmas is unfair, a sort of apples to mistletoe comparison, I’ll have to categorize first.
Does a particular holiday sweet become a top 5 favorite because of how it tastes, or on the memory of traditional Christmas cookies prepared with Grandma? Some holiday desserts are enjoyed other times of the year, but the most valuable and anticipated sweet Christmas dishes are those we only make in December.
So, with those loose criteria in mind, I will count down my top 5 favorites in the Holiday Sweet category this week, beginning with Number 5…(jingle bells, please)
5 – Linzer Tarts – I grew up in a town with a fantastic German family bakery. While I could have a linzer tart any day of the week, we never seemed to buy them outside of the holiday season. Family would arrive for the holiday dinner, each with a square box tied in red and white striped string from the bakery, each containing the almond flour cookies surrounding the raspberry filling.
I’ll never have access to a bakery like in my childhood, but I do have basic cooking (and baking) methods at my disposal. Use the creaming method with this formula for my favorite Linzer tart cookies I’ll be preparing as my fifth all time favorite holiday sweet.
Butter 19.5 oz 550g
Confectioners Sugar 9 oz 250g
Almond Flour * 5.25 oz 150g
Confectioners Sugar* 5.25 oz 150g
*(sift above two together)
All Purpose Flour 35oz 1000g
Eggs 4 each 4 each
Vanilla & salt TT TT
Mixing Method: Creaming Method
Roll this dough into ¼ inch sheets, cut with fluted round cutters, and bake the cookies. Once cool, top with raspberry jam and make a sandwich. Top with confectioners sugar.
