Lychee Raspberry Rose Linzer Cookies

The floral notes from lychee come together with rose and raspberry in a delicate fruity jam sandwiched between heart shaped, buttery linzer cookies. Delicious with a steaming cup of tea and perfect to gift to loved ones this Valentine’s Day.

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Makes 12-15 linzer sandwich cookies
Cook time: 2 hrs 30 min

What you’ll need

For the lychee raspberry rose jam
1 can of lychee
1/2 can of lychee syrup, reserved from canned lychee
½ pint fresh raspberries (6 oz) 
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon
1 cup white sugar (reduce slightly for even less sweet)
2 tsp rose syrup (optional) 
3 tsp pectin

For the linzer dough
1½ cups AP flour
½ cup almond flour
2 sticks salted vegan butter, cold (1 cup)
¾ cup powdered sugar for dough
¼ cup powdered sugar for dusting
2 tsp vanilla extract

Let’s jam.

  1. Strain lychee syrup from canned lychees and set to the side. Dice lychees into small pieces if you’d like tiny bits in the jam. For a smoother jam texture, blend lychees for a short time in a processor. 

  2. In a pot over medium heat, add raspberries and allow them to cook down till soft and slightly broken down, mashing with a spatula. Pour in lychee bits and stir. Add sugar, reserved syrup from canned lychees, lemon juice and zest, and rose syrup and bring down heat to low simmer. Keep half of the lemon after zesting and juicing it, and remove any remaining seeds. 

  3. Dissolve pectin in small amount of ice water (only dissolves in cold water!)—this helps the jam reach a thicker consistency. You may choose to eliminate it and the jam will just be slightly thinner. Add pectin slurry to the jam mixture and stir constantly until well incorporated. Take the remaining ½ of the lemon and add it to the pot of jam as well. Lemon rinds/piths are an amazing natural source of pectin, but can also leave a slightly bitter taste, so remove them after a few minutes. 

  4. Allow the jam to reduce and bubble gently on low heat for 10-20 minutes until it reaches your desired consistency. If too thick, add a splash of water. Be careful to not over boil the jam.

  5. Transfer to a glass jar or container, and let cool.

For the dough:

  1. In a large bowl, beat together vegan butter with powdered sugar and vanilla extract with an electric whisk or stand mixer until fluffy. 

  2. In a separate bowl, mix together all purpose flour and almond flour. 

  3. With the mixer on a low speed, gradually add the flour mixture in ½ cup at a time, mixing until the dough is just combined. Knead dough together into 2 equal sized smooth balls, and then flatten them slightly to about 1 inch in thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap and let chill in fridge for 30 minutes. 

  4. When dough is sufficiently chilled, roll it out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut with cookie cutter of your shape. To have the jam show through, you’ll want to cut out a smaller shape within the larger shape for the top sandwich cookie only. 

  5. Carefully transfer to a sheet pan small enough to fit in your freezer. When tops and bottom cookie parts are cut out, let chill in freezer for at least 1 hour to allow dough to firm up, ensuring that the shape will be maintained after baking. 

  6. Bake cookies at 350 F for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden. 

  7. Let cookies cool for 15 minutes before assembling. On the bottom cookie piece, spread a small spoonful of the jam, and gently press the top piece on. Dust cookies with powdered sugar.

No waste hacks for recipe scraps.

  • Got extra jam?

    I love making these cookies because the jam always gets used up no matter what. I like it mixed with green tea to make a delicious lychee fruit tea, or spread on a toasted english muffin with some butter for breakfast.

  • Extra dough

    It’s technically a linzer dough, but it’s great for fruit tarts or homemade pop tarts too, stuffed with filling of your choice.