“Barna” Linzer Squares
Submitted by Beth Turi

This recipe was passed down to me from my Hungarian grandmother, who learned it from her mother. Barna is the Hungarian word for brown. While I know this is not a cookie, Mr. Lopate mentioned “linzers” in his announcement for this contest, and it made me think of this recipe. I make this recipe at Thanksgiving, as it is a very beautiful item, and one my grandmother used to make with a cranberry-orange relish. I used to make it that way as well, until that product was discontinued by Ocean Spray. I have since switched to Red Currant Jam, which was recommended to my mother on a trip to Linz, Austria.

½ lb. walnuts, ground
½ lb. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup+2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
3 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 ½-3 tsp Cinnamon to taste/color
Approx 20oz Red Currant Jam (I use d’arbo. It comes in a 16 oz jar.)

In a food processor, grind walnuts. Set aside. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tsp. of cinnamon. Mix to combine and set aside. Cream butter, sugar and orange zest in the food processor. Add eggs, one at a time, pulsing to combine. Add nuts back into butter mixture and pulse to combine. Then add flour mixture, gradually, until combined. If the dough is light in color, or doesn’t seem well scented with cinnamon, add a little more. It should be a medium brown.

In a small bowl, whisk the jam until smooth.

Remove the dough from the food processor. It will be soft. Divide it 60/40, pressing the larger side into the bottom of a buttered, 9”x13” baking dish. Use as much as you need to evenly cover the bottom.

Pour the jam over the dough in the bottom of the pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Add more jam if you need it to cover fully.

With the remaining dough, roll bits of dough into snakes and create a lattice pattern over the jam. Begin with long diagonal lines and then fill in as need be. Then work in the opposite direction. (Because this is a soft dough, it is not always easy to work with.) Use flour on your hands/work surface if it helps.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, turning halfway through. It’s done when the bottom layer is nicely risen and the jam is bubbling around the edges. Cool in the pan. Loosen edges and then cut into squares.