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Low-Carb Linzer Hearts (Egg-Free)

February 3, 2013 By elviira 18 Comments

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

Treat your loved ones without guilt to these low-carb, gluten-free and sugar-free Linzer hearts! These spectacular cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, or anytime when you want to indulge yourself or bring some happiness to the people around you. And the best part: you need only 5 ingredients for these tasty tidbits!

 

 

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts (Egg-Free)

2 cups = 480 ml almond flour
1/2 cup = 120 ml (+ some for dusting) Confectioner’s Style Swerve (or powdered erythritol)
grated yellow zest from 1 organic lemon
2.5 oz = 70 g cream cheese
commercial or home-made sugar-free raspberry jam

 

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 °F or slightly lower (100 °C).
  2. Put the almond flour in a large bowl. Sift in the sweetener and mix well.
  3. Add the lemon zest and the cream cheese. Mix and knead until smooth.
  4. Divide the dough in 2–3 pieces. Take one piece at a time for handling. Keep the rest of the dough covered.
  5. Place a piece of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place another parchment paper on the dough.
  6. Roll out the dough until it is approximately 1/6 inch (0.4 cm) thick and remove the topmost parchment paper. Using a round (fluted) cookie cutter, cut out the cookies.
  7. Transfer the cookies with a spatula or cheese slicer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. Using a smaller cookie cutter (heart, round, star, etc.), cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Repeat rolling and cutting with the other piece(s) of the dough. Combine the scraps, reroll and cut. Repeat this until there is no dough left.
  9. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until golden brown but not too brown. Let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.
  10. Assembling: Place the top cookies (those with the center removed) on a baking sheet and dust them with the sweetener.
  11. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the bottom cookies (the whole cookies).
  12. Place the dusted top cookies on top and very gently press the tops and bottoms together.
  13. Store the assembled cookies in an airtight container.

 


 

Nutrition information Protein Fat Net carbs kcal
In total: 48.2 g 116.8 g 77.2 g 1561 kcal
Per cookie if 20 cookies in total: 2.4 g 5.8 g 3.9 g 78 kcal

 

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

 

 

Tips for making the Low-Carb Linzer Hearts

The dough is a cinch to make. It doesn’t even need any chilling. One advice though: it is as well to sift the sweetener so that it doesn’t form any lumps. Sifting is faster than trying to break the lumps with your fingers from the ready dough… Believe me!

Once again, when grating the lemon zest it’s important to avoid the white pith. A small grater works best, at least for me. Be sure to choose a lemon that is firm. The zest is easier to grate from a firm lemon than from a soft and ripe lemon.

I recommend to use fresh lemon zest. I have to confess that once I was too lazy to grate any lemon zest and used lemon peel granules instead. It didn’t pay off. It didn’t bring the characteristic, fresh flavor, which is a must for these cookies. To be honest, those lemon peel granules gave a musty flavor. And that we don’t want to have here. It’s Valentine’s Day anyway, so you want to do your best. Don’t you?

You can place the cookies quite close to each other on the baking sheet since they won’t rise in the oven. It might be a good idea to bake the tops and bottoms separately, if you have time for that. The tops don’t need that long baking time because they simply have less dough than the bottom parts. At least in my oven the bottoms need 5–10 minutes more than the top cookies.

The cookies are crunchy, but the filled cookies will soften when stored. If you prefer your cookies crunchy, assemble them just before serving.

I used a 1 7/8 inch (48 mm) cookie cutter. The yield was 20 Linzer hearts (i.e. 20 tops and 20 bottoms).

 

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

 

 

My experiments with the Low-Carb Linzer Hearts

I was pondering different options for Valentine’s Day treats. Somehow Linzer hearts popped in my head. They are delicious and pretty as a picture. Well, I would take pictures from them anyway.

Yes, Linzer hearts it was. So what do I need then? Almond flour, definitely. Sweetener, of course. Confectioners Style Swerve — extremely fine powder and great-tasting sweetener —  was a natural choice because I could use it also for dusting the cookies. I was also hoping that it makes the dough smoother than what erythritol crystals would do.

Spices were still missing from my ingredients list. To my knowledge the original Linzer hearts contain lemon zest. That’s what I also wanted to try. Since freshly grated lemon zest has the best flavor, that was a natural choice for me. Well, first I used those lemon peel granules about which I already told. The resulting cookies were mainly tasting bland, uninteresting and musty. So once again, please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and use freshly grated lemon zest. Please.

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

I still needed something for binding the dough. Since cream cheese had brought so great results in my previous cookie experiments — like in my Chewy Ginger Cookies — I wanted to give it a try here as well. The dough was easy to handle, a bit sticky though, and the resulting cookies were somehow too chewy. Well, it’s difficult to explain, but the texture wasn’t what I was looking for. So I guess I had a bit too much cream cheese. I used 3 oz (85 g).

In my next experiment I used 0.5 oz (15 g) less cream cheese and had lower oven temperature. Now the dough was even easier to handle and the texture was great. I still wanted to try out what happens if I reduce the amount of cream cheese by 0.5 oz (15 g) using altogether 2 oz (60 g), but the dough was a bit too hard and crumbly.

I still made one experiment using whole egg instead of cream cheese. The dough was incredibly easy to handle, but the cookies didn’t taste that great. Cream cheese brought really elegant flavor together with the lemon zest.

 

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

 

 

Tips for variation

Instead of — or in addition to — lemon zest you can use your favorite spices, or some of the followings:

  • 1 teaspoon ground organic Ceylon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground organic ginger
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh gingerroot
  • 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

By the way, the cut-out centers are great for decorating desserts.

 

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

 

Next week I’m going to publish a recipe for incredibly easy and super yummy sugar-free raspberry jam, which you can use also for these Low-Carb Linzer Hearts. It reduces the amount of carbs per cookie by 2.6 grams! I was planning to publish it here as a bonus recipe, but it simply deserves a blog post of its own. Stay tuned…

 

Low-Carb Linzer Hearts | Low-Carb, So Simple!

 

 

 

Related posts:

Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free Low-Carb Ginger Cookies | Low-Carb, So Simple!Chewy Ginger Cookies (Egg-Free) Celestial Cinnamon Bites | Low-Carb, So Simple!Celestial Cinnamon Bites (Egg-Free) A Pile of Vanilla Toffee Butter CookiesVanilla Toffee Butter Cookies (Egg-Free) Super Easy Chocolate Cookies | Low-Carb, So Simple!Super Easy Chocolate Cookies (Egg-Free)

Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: almond flour, carbs under 5, cookie, egg-free, holiday

Previous Post: « Basic Vinaigrette and Variations
Next Post: Easy Sugar-Free Raspberry Jam »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda

    August 25, 2019 at 18:16

    Hi, I would like to send a very Big Thank you, your way for all the work, and detail that you put into your recipes. I am going to make these cookies, and your cracker recipe this week, most likely sooner than later, Thank you, its makes our lives so much easier when wonderful people like yourself go through all the frustration so that I don’t have to, Thank you again.
    cheers, Linda

    Reply
    • elviira

      August 25, 2019 at 18:20

      Hi Linda, thank you for your kind words! So happy to hear you find my work helpful — that’s all I can wish for!

      Reply
  2. Georgie Ainsley

    January 5, 2017 at 22:37

    Good Afternoon, Is there any way that you would give permission for the use of your Linzer cookie photos? I work in a university library and we have a series of promotional events next month including a cookie giveaway for students.I would like, if you would allow it, to use some of your photos in our decorations and on our flyer. Thank you for your consideration.

    Reply
    • elviira

      January 5, 2017 at 23:50

      Hi Georgie, thanks for your message. I regret to tell that unfortunately the photos on my site are not for public use, moreover, the resolution is not high enough. However, you can purchase the photos here: https://photoplr.com/photogallery/cookies/, they are only $1.99 each for unlimited use.

      Reply
      • Anonymous

        January 5, 2017 at 23:52

        Thank you

        Reply
  3. Kelly

    September 7, 2016 at 12:13

    I just love you recipes!, my Dad will especially love these cookies!

    Reply
    • elviira

      September 7, 2016 at 12:40

      Thanks, Kelly! Great to hear that your dad likes them, too!

      Reply
  4. Cici

    February 5, 2015 at 18:01

    I know that sometimes the more simple a recipe, the better it is; however, this recipe only has almond flour, sweetener, lemon zest and cream cheese! I really want to try this. recipe, so will you promise me the cookies will stay intact and not fall apart?

    Reply
    • elviira

      February 5, 2015 at 18:53

      Hi Cici, if you use the same ingredients and do according to the given directions, I see no reason why you should fail 🙂 It’s the cream cheese which binds the ingredients together, and you also need erythritol (Swerve or other erythritol-based powdered sweetener) for that. If you used for example pure stevia instead of erythritol, the cookies would fall apart. Happy baking and please let me know how did it go!

      Reply
  5. Nataša

    June 24, 2013 at 22:56

    These are so lovely, what a great idea to make them gluten free! I will try to make them with millet flour and honey.

    Nataša

    Reply
    • elviira

      June 24, 2013 at 23:37

      Hvala, Nataša! If you try out a version with millet flour, please tell me how you succeeded. Btw, you have fantastic photos in your blog!

      Reply
      • Nataša

        August 11, 2013 at 22:20

        🙂 So, I tried to make them with millet flour and they were a great success ( I can send you a photo :)). I used honey for the sweetener and apricot jam to fill them. Next time I will maybe add just a little butter (or maybe some nuts too) to make like a pie dough structure, so they will be even better.

        Thank you so much for the inspiration and keep up with the great work 🙂

        Reply
        • elviira

          August 11, 2013 at 23:00

          Hi Nataša! Sounds great, thanks for sharing your experiment! Would be great to see the photo, your photos are absolutely stunning! If you can be so kind and send the photo to elviira(at)lowcarbsosimple.com. You can also share it on my Facebook page if you would like. Thank you!

          Reply
  6. Beverly

    April 25, 2013 at 16:43

    I just found your blog and am loving it!!! Thanks for the great recipes!

    Reply
    • elviira

      April 25, 2013 at 17:58

      Beverly, thanks for a nice comment! So great to hear that you like the blog and the recipes!

      Reply
  7. Buttoni

    February 4, 2013 at 05:19

    Those are a thing of beauty!

    Reply
    • elviira

      February 4, 2013 at 11:28

      Thanks! Whoever came up with the idea of making the original Linzer cookies can get all the credit. I’m just copying 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Instant proseni izzivi. | Zapečenega kruha se največ pojé. says:
    August 16, 2013 at 21:22

    […] Nismo ravno sredi božičnih praznikov, pa vendar, kakšni piškotki na dosegu roke se vedno priležejo, še posebej, če so iz prosene moke. Proso imava oba zelo rada, zato nama izzivov za peko kar ne zmanjka, ravno pred kratkim pa sem dober navdih našla tukaj. […]

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