Chocolate Linzer Torte Stars Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add eggs and lemon zest; stir until mixture forms a ball. Divide into fourths. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until chilled. , Remove two portions of dough from refrigerator; press each into an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Spread 2/3 cup jam over each., Between two sheets of lightly floured waxed paper, roll one portion of remaining dough into a 10x6-in. rectangle. Cut six 1-in.-wide strips; arrange in a lattice design over jam. Repeat with remaining dough (return dough to the refrigerator if needed). , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and crust is browned. Cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat to a brisk simmer and stir frequently, until cranberries burst. Continue cooking, mashing fruit a bit with the back of a spoon, until thick as jam, about 30 minutes. Set aside. (Filling may be prepared in advance.)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place hazelnuts and almonds on a baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes, until well browned. Rub skins off hazelnuts while still warm, discarding skins. Cool nuts, then grind finely in a food processor, adding 3 tablespoons of flour to keep them from becoming oily. (Nuts should have the texture of coarse cornmeal.) Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, combine butter, sugar, and lemon and orange zest. Beat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, mix together ground nuts, the rest of the flour, cloves, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture in three parts, mixing each time until it forms a slightly sticky dough.
• Divide dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger. Form larger piece into a ball, wrap and flatten to a 1-inch thickness. Form smaller piece into a rough rectangle, wrap and flatten to a 1-inch thickness about 4 by 5 inches. Chill 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350. Butter and flour an 11-inch fluted French tart pan. Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand for 10 minutes. On floured parchment paper, roll the larger piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, dusting the top with flour as necessary. If dough is difficult to handle, chill again. Pat evenly into pan until sides and bottom are completely lined with dough about 1/8-inch thick. Refrigerate or freeze tart shell until firm.
• Roll out smaller piece of dough on floured parchment paper to rectangle about 10 by 12 inches and 1/8-inch thick. Cut into strips about 3/4 inch by 12 inches. Transfer parchment to a tray and refrigerate or freeze until firm.
• Spread cranberry jam evenly into shell. Lay strips across top in a lattice pattern. Form remaining dough scraps into a rope 1/2 inch in diameter and use it to encircle outer edge of tart. Score diagonally with the handle of a spoon or flute with fingers to make a border.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until jam is bubbling and pastry is lightly browned. Let cool, and dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve in small wedges.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together hazelnut flour, 2 cups cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Pulse pecans and remaining 1/2 cup cake flour in a food processor until finely ground (but not wet); add to bowl with flour mixture.
• Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture until combined. Divide dough in half, shape each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out each disk of dough to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Refrigerate on a baking sheet for 20 minutes.
• Cut out star shapes using a 3-inch cutter. Cut a star from the center of half the cookies using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each 2 inches apart.
• Bake until pale gold, 13 to 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets set on wire racks for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks, and let cool completely.
• Dust cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread 1/2 teaspoon preserves onto the center of each uncut star; top with cutout stars, offsetting, if desired, to create a "burst."

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until skins begin to split, about 15 minutes. Immediately rub hazelnuts vigorously in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins (as much as will come off easily). Let cool.
• In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts and almonds until finely ground. (Be careful not to overprocess; you don't want the mixture to become a paste.) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nut mixture; set aside.
• In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat 1 minute to combine. With mixer on low speed, add ground nuts and flour mixture all at once.
• Divide dough in half. Set a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using your fingers, press 1 dough half into tart pan. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, roll remaining dough half between 2 sheets of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour to a 12-inch round; place on a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using an offset spatula, spread jam evenly over chilled dough in tart pan; set aside. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut 3/4-inch-wide strips from chilled round of dough. Arrange strips on top of jam in a lattice pattern. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until torte is golden brown all over, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 20 minutes. Remove ring and cool torte completely. Torte can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, dust with confectioners' sugar, if using.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan boil the jam, stirring, for 3 minutes and let it cool. In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the egg yolks, the cinnamon, the zest, and the salt, and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Add the flour and beat the dough until it is just combined. Beat in the hazelnuts and the chocolate.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Press lightly more than half the dough onto the bottom and up the side of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Roll out the remaining dough between 2 sheets of wax paper into a round slightly thicker than 1/8 inch and freeze the round in the paper on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Spread the jam evenly on the tart shell to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Remove the top sheet of wax paper from the round of dough, with a pastry wheel or sharp knife cut the round into 1/2-inch-wide strips, and, using a long metal spatula, arrange the strips in a lattice pattern over the jam. Trim the ends of the strips at the edge of the pan and with the remaining dough press a 1/4-inch-thick rim over the ends of the strips. Bake the Linzertorte in the middle of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is browned lightly, and let it cool in the pan on a rack. The Linzertorte may be made 3 days in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled. Remove the rim of the pan, dust the edge of the Linzertorte with the confectioners' sugar, and serve the Linzertorte with the whipped cream.