Description

These Halloween Ghost Linzer Cookies are charming, festive treats perfect for the spooky season. Featuring tender almond-flavored cookie dough cut into ghost shapes with a delightful jam filling, they are dusted with powdered sugar for a ghostly appearance. This recipe combines the classic Linzer cookie technique with a fun Halloween twist, making them ideal for parties and seasonal celebrations.

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cookies

200 g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
150 g (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300 g (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
100 g (3/4 cup) almond meal (ground almonds)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt

To Decorate

Raspberry jam, Apricot jam, or any jam of your choice
Icing sugar (powdered sugar), for dusting

Instructions

Prepare the dough: In a mixing bowl, cream the softened unsalted butter together with the icing sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. This ensures a smooth base for the cookie dough.
Add wet ingredients: Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract until fully incorporated, enhancing the dough’s richness and flavor.
Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, almond meal, and fine salt to evenly distribute the dry ingredients.
Mix dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold gently until the dough forms. Be careful not to overwork it to keep the cookies tender.
Chill the dough: Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This step firms up the dough, making it easier to roll and cut out shapes.
Roll and cut shapes: Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 3-5 mm thickness. Use a ghost-shaped cookie cutter to cut the cookies. For half the cookies, cut out smaller ghost face shapes in the center to create windows for the jam.
Bake the cookies: Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Assemble the cookies: Spread your chosen jam on the whole cookies, then sandwich them with the cut-out cookies so the jam shows through the ghost faces.
Decorate: Dust the assembled cookies generously with icing sugar to give a ghostly, frosted appearance before serving.

Notes

Use a good quality almond meal for the best texture and flavor.
Refrigerating the dough is important to prevent spreading during baking.
Feel free to use other jam flavors like strawberry or blueberry for variety.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
For a GLUTEN FREE version, substitute the plain flour with a gluten-free all-purpose blend.

Keywords: Halloween cookies, Linzer cookies, ghost cookies, almond cookies, jam-filled cookies, festive treats