Happy Monday! Finally we got a little break from the heat but I don’t think it will last long enough. I’m a little sad because one of my best friends got in a motorcycle accident last Saturday and she got hurt pretty bad. Yesterday, I went to the hospital to see her and it broke my heart because it seems she won’t be able to move for a while, she has broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, hip, and other stuff. I know it could have been worse and that she’s lucky she’s alive… but it’s hard to see someone you care about in such pain. I fed her dinner because it was so hard for her to move her arms, hopefully she recovers all good. Keep her in your prayers.

On a happier note, here is the recipe for the Summer version of Linzer Cookies. When you hear the word Linzer you think about Christmas BUT this time I use lime for the filling and the cookie has vanilla flavor, they actually taste like lime pie, perfect for Summer!

If you don’t have Linzer cookie cutters, don’t worry, you can use any shape you want.

Ready for the recipe? Let’s do this!

Ingredients

For the vanilla cookies

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used clear vanilla extract by Molina Vanilla)

For the lime filling

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons lime zest

4-5 teaspoons fresh lime juice

green food coloring (optional)

To decorate

powdered sugar

Directions

For the vanilla cookies

1.- Preheat oven 350 F.

2.- In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3.- In a bowl of a stand up mixer beat the butter for a couple of minutes. Then, add sugar until light and fluffly.

4.- Add egg and vanilla. Mix.

5.- Add dry ingredients and mix until it forms a nice dough. It will be a sticky kind of dough so it needs to chill.

6.- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

7.- Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper .On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick.

8.- Using Linzer cookie cutter: To make the bottom cookie, simply take the cookie cutter apart by squeezing the edge and releasing. This will give you a cookie cutter to make the base/bottom cookie. Then, put the cookie cutter back together to make the top cookie. When pressing down on the dough with the cutter, simply press the ejector. Remember you will need the same amount of bottoms and tops.

9.-Transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll dough scraps as needed.

10.-Place the cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill. This will help to keep the shape of the cookies.

11.-Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the bake time, until beginning to brown and just set, about  12-14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before filling.

For the filling

1.- In a bowl of a stand up mixer, beat butter for a couple of minutes. Add sugar and mix for a couple more minutes.

2.-Add lime juice, zest, add green food coloring (if using).

3.- Mix until it creates a nice kind of buttercream.

To fill the cookies

Place the cookies with the holes in them on a cookie sheet and sift the confectioners’ sugar over the top. Turn the remaining cookies flat side up and spoon 1/2 -1 teaspoon of lime filling into the center. Stick both parts together and enjoy!

NOTE:

I’m posting little videos about how I make all the recipes I post here, so if you have Instagram, don’t forget to follow me @Pastry_Tales