Peanut Butter & Jelly Linzer Bars

serves 15-20

Linzer cookies are my favorite classic Christmas cookie—but let’s be honest, sandwiching individual cookies can get pretty time-consuming. I wanted to keep the festive, pretty look without all the fuss. Enter: Linzer Bars.

Inspired by the traditional Linzer, these bars are softer, intensely peanut-buttery, and all made in one sheet pan. The rich, melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter cookie is made even better by the sweet berry jam. It’s all the flavor, all the charm—without the extra work.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts (160 g)

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (325 g), divided

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 2 tsp cornstarch

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (226 g)

  • ¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed (170 g)

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar (160 g)

  • 1 ½ cup creamy peanut butter, like Skippy (400 g)

  • 1 large egg, room temperature

  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

  • 2 cups berry jam, such as raspberry

  • Powdered sugar for dusting, optional

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a food processor, process the peanuts with ½ cup of the flour until finely ground. Add the remaining flour, salt, and cornstarch, and pulse until combined.

  2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut-flour mixture and mix on low until mostly incorporated. Finish by folding the dough together with a spatula until evenly combined.

  3. Scoop out about 2 cups of the dough onto a sheet of parchment dusted with flour. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick (shape doesn’t matter; this will be used for the cutouts). Slide onto a cookie sheet and freeze for about 20 minutes until firm.

  4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut a sheet of parchment to fit the size of your jelly roll sheet pan. Grease the sides of the sheet pan well to prevent the jam from sticking.

  5. Place the remaining dough on the parchment, cover with plastic wrap, and roll into a rectangle, using your hands to help keep rectangle shape. The dough should be rolled to the exact size of the parchment. Slide the parchment onto the prepared sheet tray. Poke holes across the surface of the dough with a fork. Spread the jam in an even layer.

  6. Remove the frozen dough and cut out your shapes using your preferred cookie cutters. Dip the cookie cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Use a small spatula to transfer the cutouts onto the jam to prevent breaking. If the dough softens too much, return it to the freezer for a few minutes. Arrange the cutouts evenly on top of the jam. Bake for 30 minutes, until cookie has browned and set. Cool, lightly dust the top with powdered sugar, and cut into small squares.

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

  • Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

  • Any jelly roll sheet pan will work—they typically range from 9.5”x14.5” to 10.5”x15.5”. If you only have a half sheet tray (13”x18”), you can use that instead! The cookie will be thinner, and I recommend adding some additional jam, maybe another half cup.

  • If you can only find salted peanuts, simply cut the salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon.

  • While inspired by the look of a Linzer, the cookie itself is much softer than the traditional version. It still has the ground nuts, but the peanut butter gives it a melt-in-your-mouth texture rather than the typical crispiness.

  • Use whatever cookie cutters you have on hand! These are the tree cookie cutter and star cookie cutter sets I used. The Linzer set I have is no longer sold, but similar styles are easy to find.

  • To be precise and consistent when baking, I recommend using a Digital Food Scale. The one I linked is relatively inexpensive and in my opinion, a great investment for any home kitchen! But if you don’t have one, I’ll always include cup measurements as well.