Recipe: Gingerbread & Tangerine Linzer Cookies

Yield: About 30 cookies

Prep Time: 3½ hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Instead of gingerbread men this year, try this fresh take on the classic gingerbread flavour. To ensure the cookies hold their shape and don’t shrink while baking, make sure the dough is very cold before placing in the oven. Feel free to play around with different cookie cutter shapes for this recipe, but take note that the shape may slightly affect the baking time.

Ingredients:

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp fine sea salt, divided
• ½ cup + ⅓ cup unsalted butter,  at room temperature, divided
• 2 tbsp finely grated tangerine zest
• ¾ cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup fancy molasses
• 1 large egg
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Method:

1. Start by making tangerine curd. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch and ¼ tsp salt until well  combined. Set aside.

2. Cut ½ cup butter into cubes and set aside.

3. In a shallow sauté pan or large saucepan, continuously  stir together zest, juices and sugar over medium heat  until mixture starts to simmer. While whisking continuously, very slowly pour about three-quarters of the warm  tangerine mixture into the egg mixture. Pour the now tempered egg mixture back into the sauté pan with remaining tangerine mixture and set over low to medium-low heat. Cook, whisking continuously, until mixture thickens and reaches 175 to 180°F on an instant-read thermometer (about 2 to 3 minutes). Take care, as mixture can curdle easily if heat is too high or you stop whisking.

4. Once mixture has reached the desired temperature,  remove sauté pan from heat and immediately whisk in cubed butter one cube at a time, making sure each piece  is fully melted and incorporated before adding the next. Pour curd into a heat-proof jar or bowl and cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper so that it is touching  the surface of the curd (this will prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate while making cookie dough (or for up to  one week).

5. To make gingerbread cookies, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and remaining ¼ tsp salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

6. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together remaining ⅓ cup butter and brown sugar until lightened in colour (about 3 minutes). Add molasses and mix to combine. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula before adding egg and vanilla, mixing on low speed until well incorporated. Add reserved flour mixture and combine until just incorporated. Separate dough in half and form each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 24 hours.

7. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.

8. Remove one disk of dough from fridge and place on a well-floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to a thickness between ¼ and ⅛ inch. With a 3-inch fluted-edge cookie cutter, cut out disks of dough and place on prepared baking trays. Use a 1-inch fluted-edge cutter to cut out the centres from half the cookies. Repeat entire process with second disk of dough, then place trays in freezer.

9. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.

10. Bake cookies, one tray at a time, until cookies are set around edges (about 8 to 10 minutes). Allow cookies to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before assembling.

11. When ready to assemble, place all the centre-cut cookies on a baking tray and dust with icing sugar. Place a rounded teaspoon of tangerine curd in the centre of each full cookie and then sandwich it with an icing sugar-dusted cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. While best the day they are assembled, gingerbread and tangerine linzer cookies will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 days.