Linzer Tarts — The Spring Bake That Proves You Still Have It

Mid-April and school is in the spring stretch that always surprises me with its productivity. The end of the year is visible but far enough away that we are still fully in it, and the students who have been building since September are showing the accumulation of all that work. P finished his year IEP review this week and the progress report showed things that were not even goals in September — because we could not have set them as goals in September because we could not have predicted them. That is the best kind of surprise in special ed. The child surprises you.

I made a strawberry rhubarb pie this week, from scratch, because the rhubarb is at the farmers market and I make this pie every spring and every spring I remember that it is one of the best things I make. The pastry is my grandmother cold butter method, rolled out thin. The filling is strawberries and rhubarb and sugar and a little cornstarch for thickening and nothing else. Baked at high heat until the juices bubble. Served warm with vanilla ice cream that I made an exception for and bought at Aldi rather than making myself because I have limits and fresh ice cream in April is one of them.

Ryan and I talked seriously about the house search this weekend — not just listing-browsing but actually talking to a mortgage person and understanding what we can actually do. The picture that emerged was more possible than I expected, which is either the market or our savings situation or both. Oak Park is still on the list. Beverly is still on the list. It might be a 2023 thing but the foundation is being built now. That is how it works. You do the invisible work and then the visible thing becomes possible.

Spring is fully here. The balcony will be planted next week. Pedro pot is still there with the dry stems. I will plant a new pepper plant in Pedro pot. It seems right to continue the tradition.

The strawberry rhubarb pie reminded me what I love about pastry work — the cold butter, the patience, the way the oven does the last part of the work for you. Linzer Tarts ask for that same attention: dough that needs to be cold, edges that need to be precise, a filling that is simple and fruit-forward and exactly enough. I make these when I want something that feels like it took effort because it did, and that matters to me right now, in this season of invisible work becoming visible.

Linzer Tarts

Prep Time: 30 minutes + 1 hour chilling | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | Servings: 24 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely ground blanched almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup raspberry jam (or seedless strawberry jam)

Instructions

1. Make the dough. Whisk together flour, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the cold butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining.
2. Add wet ingredients. Stir in powdered sugar, then add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix until the dough just comes together — do not overwork it.
3. Chill the dough. Divide the dough in half, flatten each portion into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
4. Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough disk to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into rounds using a 2-inch round cutter. From half the rounds, cut a small shape (star, circle, or heart) from the center — these will be the tops. Re-roll scraps as needed. Repeat with second disk.
6. Bake. Place all cutouts on prepared baking sheets and bake 10–12 minutes until the edges are just barely golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Assemble. Dust the top pieces (those with cutouts) generously with powdered sugar. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of jam on each solid bottom piece, then gently press a dusted top piece onto each. The jam should peek through the cutout.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 148 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 35mg