Category Archives: Food Tales

Linzer Cookies ready for Christmas.

Linzer Cookies Earn Rave Reviews

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The Linzer torte is one of the oldest tortes in the world, found in an Austrian abbey in the early 1700s. (A torte is defined as a cake made with many eggs and often grated nuts.) Immigrants brought the famous cake  to the US from Linz, Austria, around the 1850s. From there, Linzer cookies arose, smaller sandwich style versions with a lighter dough. But the Linzer torte is still a popular holiday treat in neighboring Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Switzerland.

Linzer Torte on a cake stand. From Wikimedia Commons
Linzer Torte @ Wikimedia Commons

My recipe may not date back to the nineteenth century, but I still have a recipe card that shows I wrote it in 1974. Tried and true it is!

The name on the recipe card reads Ischl (pronounced “eesh uhl”) Tartlets which I discovered are the same as linzer cookies, however the name comes from the Austrian spa town of Bad Ischl. 

A recipe card from 1972 for Ischl Tartlets.
My Recipe Card from 1974

These luscious treats, made from a cream cheese dough and filled with raspberry jam, may be my favorite cookies. But I only make them once a year because they take a lot of work. Still,  the taste is worth the effort. 

Follow the recipe in two stages. Prepare the nutty-flavored dough and let it chill for about 4 hours, or better yet, overnight. Later, roll out the dough and cut out the shapes with cookie cutters. Keep count of how many bottom and top cookies you have, or you’ll lack matching pairs. I use the Wilton Linzer Cookie Set with interchangeable cut-outs available from Amazon.

Top and Bottom of Linzer Cookies before adding jam and sandwiching together.
Baked cookies before assembly.

Linzer cookies don’t take long to bake, but let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2 extra minutes before transferring to the cooling rack. If you want to make especially beautiful cookies, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top cookies before you place each on the jam-filled bottom layer. I did not do this this year, so I must remind myself of that hint next year. 

Be careful if you stack the cookies for storage – you don’t want them to lose the pretty jam-filled cut-out designs.  

Decorative Linzer Cookies ready for Christmas.
Linzer Cookies ready for Christmas

LINZER COOKIE RECIPE

Recipe from the Debi Lander Collection

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 ¾ Cups sifted all-purpose flour  
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 3 oz. package cream cheese
  • 1 Cup Sugar        
  • 1 egg
  • ½ Cup almonds, ground
  • ! Tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 1 12 oz. jar raspberry preserves
  • !0x Confectioner’s Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
Linzer Cookies on a red platter. Copyright Debi Lander
Luscious Jam Filled Linzer Cookies

DIRECTIONS

  • 1.Sift flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside
  • 2. Beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
  • 3. Add flour mixture and blend. Stir in ground almonds and lemon rind. 
  • 4. Shape into two balls, cover, and chill for 4 hours or overnight. 
  • 5. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into circles and circles with cut-out designs or holes. Place on ungreased cookie sheets or parchment paper.
  • 6. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes more. Transfer and cool thoroughly on a rack. 
  • 7. Heat preserves. Spread solid cookies to the edge. Top cut-out cookies with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and place on top of the jam layer. 
  • 8. Store between wax paper in an airtight tin. 

Why Are Partridgeberry Pies in Newfoundland?

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The pie-making class.
Students with their pies.

It was early July when I flew into Gander, Newfoundland, a small but famous airport that became home to 38 jumbo jets on 9/11. It’s an unassuming place with a lot of history.  

The next morning, when sitting at breakfast, I noticed the menu featured many dishes with partridgeberries. I could order partridgeberry muffins, bread, pancakes, waffles, pies, or tarts. One could slather toast with partridgeberry jams and jellies. 

What are Partridgeberries?

Partridgeberries are small red berries that grow abundantly in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I’d say they are a not-too-sweet cross between cranberries and blueberries. Scientifically a member of the Madder Family (Rubiaceae), partridgeberries are deeply rooted in the culture and cuisine of Newfoundland.

Partridgeberries
Wild growing Partridgeberres

Having never heard of them, I was curious and began researching. I discovered that partridgeberries are also called mountain cranberries, cowberries, or lingonberries- at least, I knew the latter. They are indigenous to Newfoundland, as well as Scandinavia, and grow wild on small evergreen shrubs. Partridgeberries thrive in the cool and acidic soils of the region.

The fruit has a distinctive tart flavor that sets them apart from other berries. Their tartness makes them an excellent addition to sweet treats and savory meals, an accompaniment to dishes like moose and rabbit.

Continue reading Why Are Partridgeberry Pies in Newfoundland? →

A Juicy Mango Cake for Mango Season

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As I take my morning walk in Sarasota, Florida, I pass mango trees ripe with fruit. At the end of July and  beginning of August, the mangos are in season –so mature they drop from the tree and litter the sidewalk. I picked one up, only slightly bruised, and decided to take it home. That got me inspired to bake.  

Unripened mangoes growing on a tree.
Unripe Mangoes on a Tree

If you’ve never tasted the golden- peachy stone fruit that bursts with sweet delicious pulp, buy one. Mangoes are high in Vitamin C and A. Mangos are so moist you’ll find juice dripping down your hands. I have heard the best way to eat a mango is naked!

A mango cut open showing the juicy mango flesh.
The golden orange inside of a ripe mango. (Photos Wikimedia Commons: Ivar Leidus)

My grocery stores generally sells two types of mangos. While the exact number of mango varieties  worldwide is uncertain, there are at least 500 and perhaps as many as 1,000.  Many of those grow in India. The mango is the national fruit of Pakistan, India and the Philippines. It is also the national tree of Bangladesh.

Champagne mangoes in a red bowl.
A Bowl of Champagne Mangoes

My favorite is the thin-skinned, more oblong variety I call a champagne mango (sometimes called honey mangos). They are yellow when ripened and the pit in the center is small compared to other type. The best part is that the flesh is very smooth, without fibers.

In the past, I’ve made mango pie and mango cobbler but never tried to bake a mango cake—until now. The Southern Living website published the following recipe, which I followed, baking the cake for my house guests. This recipe is a Bundt cake, but the texture resembles a moist carrot cake with golden raisins and walnuts, however without cream cheese frosting. My guests declared the dessert a winner, topping it with vanilla ice cream. Why not try it for yourself and see?  

A baked Mango Bundt Cake
My Mango Bundt Cake (Photo by Debi Lander)

***

If you don’t know how to cut a mango, here is a YouTube video that explains the process in great detail.

How to Cut and Dice a Mango: 

And if you are interested, here’s a link to 13 Juicy Facts about Mangoes:

Recipe for Mary’s Mango Cake from Southern Living

Mango Cake is full of fruit and nuts.
Looking inside the Mango Cake.

Ingredients:

Cake

•       4 large eggs

•       1 cup granulated sugar

•       1/2 cup vegetable oil

•       1/2 cup honey

•       2 cups all-purpose flour

•       2 teaspoons baking powder

•       2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

•       1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

•       1/2 teaspoon baking soda

•       2 cups diced fresh mango (from 1 mango)

•       1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

•       1/2 cup golden raisins

•       1 tablespoon orange zest (from 1 orange)

•       2 teaspoons lime zest (from 2 limes)

Topping

•       1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

•       1 teaspoon orange zest plus 1⁄4 cup fresh juice (from 1 orange)

•       1/2 teaspoon lime zest plus 2 tsp. fresh juice (from 1 lime)

Directions

1.      Prepare the cake: Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil and flour a 14-cup Bundt pan. Beat eggs in bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in sugar until combined; then beat in oil until combined. Gradually beat in honey.

2.      Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, to egg mixture, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in mango, nuts, raisins, orange zest, and lime zest. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3.      Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove to a wire rack, and let stand in pan 10 minutes.

4.      Prepare the Topping: While the cake stands in the pan, stir together powdered sugar, orange and lime zest, and orange and lime juice until combined. Invert cake onto a plate. Drizzle Topping evenly over warm inverted cake. (Or make a glaze, stirring together about 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice; pour over cooled cake.) I think I used too much juice in my glaze because it was runny. Tasted good, however. 

5.      Serve with or without ice cream.