This is a great Linzer Torte recipe! I tweaked the recipe and instructions a bit. I didn't have any almonds or cloves on hand, so I substituted with more flour, just a little more of cinnamon, and a splash of vanilla extract. The lemon zest is a MUST for this recipe! The lemon flavor comes out beautifully and makes the cookie stand out. I opted for the cut-out method and used star cutters. I had to tweak the flour content to get the consistency to where it wasn't sticky and/or falling apart. I also chilled the dough for about half an hour before rolling and cutting out the shapes. I raised the temperature to 375 as well since my first batch seemed to puff up and ruin the star shape. Spreading the raspberry jam was very simple. Remember to spread a very thin layer and use a quality jam. Top with a bit of powdered sugar, and they're the perfect gift.  -  15 Dec 2007  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

This is a great recipe. I am from Eastern Europe so we made these growing up, but this recipe is actually much better than the one we had. The cookies are supposed to be dry when they come out of the oven, but they soften with time. That's why we always made these a couple of weeks before Christmas. The dough was very easy to work with and the cookies came out looking great. They didn't puff up at all. They are very tasty as well. The trick to get them soft faster after they are assembled is to put them in an air-tight container with a few apple pieces overnight. Thank you for a great recipe.  -  26 Dec 2009  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

These cookies turned out very very tasty, and only lasted a day in my house. My only problem was the whole rolling out of the ropes thing - it just wasn't happening with my dough. I did end up getting the ropes made though, but there's was no way I could roll them without the dough falling apart. They were thus a bit time consuming to make, but in the end, the taste was worth it. I think I may make these again soon.  -  21 Dec 2005  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)