Holiday baking season has officially started! So let’s make a delicious batch of Linzele cookies (also known as “Boules de Linz”). These little Holiday treats are a specialty from Alsace, France – a region that has an extensive repertoire of Holiday cookies.
In essence, they are simple thumbprint cookies filled with raspberry jam, but the dough is made with ground almonds, cocoa and cinnamon. They are ultra sandy with a sweet sticky middle, and bring the taste of all the warm Holiday spices we love.
Cooking notes:
- These Linzele cookies are traditionally filled with raspberry jam; but feel free to use another fruit jam if you wish.
- How to avoid cracks? Like most thumbprint cookies, the dough is sandy like a shortbread and can crack easily when you press on it. To avoid cracks as much as possible, make sure you roll the dough in firm, smooth balls. Then, press very gently and very slowly on them in the center. The slower and gentler you are, the less cracks you will get. Although note that this is a purely esthetic matter and your cookies won’t taste any less delicious if cracked here and there. I personally do like a rustic cookie-style so don’t mind a few cracks.
- Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder or these Linzele will end up too sweet.
- Make sure you use soft, room temperature butter.
- A food scale is recommended for this recipe, as each cookie dough ball must be rolled in 10 grams balls.
I hope you’ll love this Cocoa and Almond Thumbprint Cookies from Alsace (Linzele) recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
You may also like:
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy & Disclosure page for more details.
23 comments
OMG. Quels délicieux biscuits. Je les ai réalisés avec une farine sans gluten et c’est un vrai bonheur. Merci pour cette recette.
Merci beaucoup!
Avez-vous d’autres biscuits comme ceux-ci? Je voulais faire des biscuits tendre pour mon enfant de 1 an.
Bonjour, malheureusement je ne pense pas avoir de recettes de biscuits tendres sur mon site. La plupart des biscuits et gateaux sur mon site sont assez riches (beaucoup de beurre, sucre) donc peu recommandés pour des enfant tres jeunes. J’aime beaucoup le blog d’ Anne-Sophie Vidal (https://www.fashioncooking.fr/) qui propose beaucoup de recettes pour les enfants.
Just made them and they turned out perfect! Thank you for this recipe!
Great, thank you for your feedback Andrea!
Bonjour Audrey
Puis-je les congeler?
Oui, des petits gâteaux commes ceux-ci peuvent se congeler jusqu’à 3 mois dans une boite hermetique.
Merci beaucoup Audrey.
Ces biscuits sont incroyables!
Merci beaucoup!
These are absolutely delightful! I’m sure to make these again and again. Thanks Audrey!
Fantastic, thank you for your feedback!
Can you use different jam if possible?
Yes absolutely – apricot, strawberry or orange marmalade work great for this recipe too. Happy baking!
Hi. What is the egg substitute in the recipe
Thanks
Hello, Anita… Sorry if I’m misunderstanding your question – but are you asking if there is an egg substitute you can use in the recipe? If so, I have never made this recipe without egg, so unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to give you a concrete answer. If I did misunderstand the question, please let me know!
Do the cookies bake out soft and chewy or hard? I really want to make these but I’m unsure if they bake out like that.
Thanks!
Hi, Leah! I legitimately had to think about how to answer this because they tend to be right in the middle for me. They’re a sandy cookie, which you would think means hard, but when you bite into them, they’re a bit chewy and soft as well. I hope this makes sense, and I’m trying to avoid not answering your question, but finding it a bit hard to do! If I had to choose, slightly harder leaning, but not hard.
Hello Audrey! I made these delicious cookies for Christmas, and my family is still raving about them! I decided to use both raspberry and apricot jam for some of the cookies. For the others, I used strawberry-lemon marmalade. These were especially delicious, as the rich cocoa-almond contrasted nicely with the tart lemon, and enhanced the sweet strawberry. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making it again!
Homerun, Keron! You clearly nailed the recipe, and I love the sampling of different jams, it really does change the cookie entirely.
Do you make the strawberry-lemon marmalade, or is it storebought? Which brand? It sounds heavenly!
Hello again! I bought the strawberry-lemonade marmalade from a family owned roadside farm market near my home in Michigan. All of the jams and jellies they sell are from the Amish community in Shipshewana, Indiana. The brand is called Scherger’s Kettle. There is a website for them as well: shipshewanajams.com. It would be well worth it to have some shipped. It tastes just like strawberry lemonade. It just reminds me of summertime!
Amazing, thank you! My husband will likely be heading home soon for a visit, so I could have some shipped to his parents, and he can bring them back. They sound wonderful!