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This gingerbread sandwich cookie recipe is ideal for the holidays. The cookies are hard to resist with their vanilla and spice flavor and creamy ganache filling. They’re not hard to make and taste better than any cookies from the grocery store. So, whether you want to make Christmas cookies for a holiday cookie tray or you’re in the mood for baking treats for the family, you’ll love these wonderfully festive gingerbread cutout cookies.
These gingerbread Linzer cookies are irresistible with their crumbly texture and rich ganache filling. They’re perfect for any special occasion or to give as holiday gifts.
For a festive twist, try gingerbread pizzelle, gingerbread cheesecake, boozy salted peanut butter hot chocolate, and Lofthouse cookies.
Why You’ll Love Them
Easy to make: You’ll love how easy the recipe is to follow. These gingerbread sandwich cookies are simple to prepare and, if you run out of them before you expect (which is likely given their amazing flavor!) you can quickly and easily whip up a second batch.
Warm spicy flavor: Gingerbread is always a great choice for the cooler season, but if you love spiced cookies you’ll always be looking for an excuse to make these simple Linzer sandwich cookies.
A festive treat: Choose a festive cookie cutter to cut out a star, snowman or gingerbread man shape, and these are perfect for the holidays, whether you’re making them for the family or for a Christmas party, or baking up a batch to gift to friends or neighbors.
Ingredients for Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
You need dark brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, egg, flour, baking soda, heavy cream, unsalted butter, salt, and chocolate wafers to make these.
The spice mixture is ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. If you want to finish them off with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, you’ll need that too.
How to Make Gingerbread Linzer Cookies
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Combine the dough ingredients: Mix together the softened butter and dark brown sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer and mixing bowl, then add the molasses, vanilla, and egg, and beat well, then add in the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Chill and roll out the cookie dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for an hour, then roll it out to 1/4-inch thick with a rolling pin.
Cut out the cookies: Make 30 cutouts with a round cookie cutter and use a smaller cookie cutter to cut the middles out of half the molasses cookies.
Bake the Linzer cookies: Preheat the oven and arrange all the dough cutouts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes then let the cookies cool completely while you work on the filling.
Prepare the ganache filling: Bring the heavy cream almost to a boil in a pan then mix in the chocolate wafers, stirring until smooth.
The finishing touches: Let the ganache cool completely and then use it to sandwich together the cookies, with the cutout cookie as the one on top, pressing down to squeeze some of the ganache through the cutout part. Once the ganache has set, serve the cookies.
Substitutions and Variations
There are lots of different filling options a Linzer cookie recipe. Chocolate ganache is a very tasty one, but you can use milk, white or even dark chocolate chips. You can also swap the brown sugar for granulated sugar if you want, or use a molasses flavor extract instead of actual molasses.
Salted butter will work in place of unsalted butter (just halve the additional salt in the recipe). You could even skip the ganache altogether and sandwich these cookies together with raspberry jam, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, or anything you like, such as a sugar, butter and cream cheese frosting.
How to Serve Linzer Cookies
They would be beautiful served with a festive hot chocolate or Santa hat cocktails if they’re for a Christmas party.
If you can’t get enough of that wonderful gingerbread flavor, you might also like these recipes for gingerbread men to hang on the tree or gingerbread Christmas trees.
How to Store Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
Store: These cookies will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freeze: Freeze for up to 3 months if you like.
Linzer Sandwich Cookie FAQs
Yes, of course, as these are festive cookies, you might like to cut out star shapes or gingerbread man shapes which would match up with the flavor of the soft gingerbread cookies. This set of gingerbread cookie cutters (here) means you can also make other recipes such as gingerbread men.
An hour seems to be the sweet spot. Any less and the cookies are too soft to roll out cleanly but any more and the dough will be too hard to roll, so set a timer for one hour. It’ll be worth it.
Linzer Ginger Sandwich Cookies Recipe
Gingerbread Linzer Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup butter, softened
- ½ Cup brown sugar
- ¼ Cup molasses
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 3 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon ginger
- ½ Teaspoon baking soda
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- ¼ Teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon cloves
- ¼ Cup heavy cream
- ½ Cup melting wafers, white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Beat together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in molasses, vanilla and egg then beat until well combined.
- Slowly mix in flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cloves until just combined.
- Chill dough for at least 1 hour but not any longer. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ¼ inch thickness.
- Use a circle cutter to make about 30 cut outs. Line them on a baking
- sheet then use a smaller cookie cutter in the middle of half of the cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Heat
- the heavy cream in a saucepan or in the microwave until hot but not boiling. Add the chocolate wafers and mix until smooth.
- Allow the ganache to cool completely, then place a spoonful in the center of each whole cookie. Place a cookie with the center cut out on top.
- Allow the ganache to harden and serve.
Nutrition
These perfectly spiced gingerbread sandwich cookies are really impressive to look at and even more impressive to eat! The warm spices in the cookies makes them oh so delicious while the creamy chocolate ganache makes the perfect filling. You can get creative, using different shaped cookie cutters to make shapes in the top cookie in each cookie sandwich and everyone is going to admire your baking prowess when you present these tasty little bites.
Other Recipes to Try
- Raspberry Linzer Cookie Shots offer a delightful twist on the classic cookie.
- The timeless charm of Linzer Cookies is a beloved treat.
- Craving a festive dessert? Christmas Mug Cake brings holiday cheer in a single serving.
- The warm flavors of an Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cake Recipe is reminiscent of childhood memories.
- This Gingerbread Cheesecake Dip is a creamy and flavorful treat for any occasion.
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
This one exceeded my expectations! So flavorful! 🙂