Mondays with Maida - Viennese Linzer Bars

Page 116 in the old book / page 154 in the new book

I was so looking forward to these... I knew with gobs of raspberry jam in them they were bound to taste good, and with a lattice top they promised to be attractive too. They came out reasonably well, but that attractive lattice top proved to be elusive.

A crumbly, buttery mixture serves as the base of the cookie and as the basis for the lattice top. Most of the mixture is pressed into the pan and then a couple of tablespoons of flour are mixed into the remaining mixture. The mixture was on the dry side to start, so adding flour only made it more so. I had my doubts that it would hold together at all when rolled, but parts of it did. I probably should have gone with my instinct to add a little water or something, instead I tried to work with it as it was. What I ended up with hardly looked like a lattice, but it didn't look too bad. The biggest problem was that it was near impossible to brush on the egg wash. The brush kept picking up bits and pieces of the crust, so the only approach that worked was to dab it on. As a result, there were little pools of egg wash here and there rather than a nice even coating.

Not surprisingly, the jam is what stands out in these cookies. The cookie itself is lightly spiced with cinnamon and a touch of cloves. They were very good, but not outstanding. Funny thing was, everyone commented on how nice they looked - I guess some colorful jam peeking out here and there will work its magic even when the cook can't!

Here's the panel...

Suzanne: "The cookies were delicious. The cookie was moist and I like anything with raspberry jam. They were very pleasing to the eye since the top had a lattice look. Rating - 4.0"

Denny: "Loved the jam but cookie was very blah. Rating - 3.0"

Laura: "One word: Delish! 4.5 (but only cuz I don't really like raspberries). Rating - 4.5"

Phil: "If we eat with our eyes this cookie is a stained glass like work art. It starts there and gets better with each bite as one navigates the hidden tunnels of raspberry filling. Rating - 4.8"

Overall rating by the panel - 4.1

Next week - Polish Wedding Cakes

Nutrition Facts