I couldn’t possibly talk about raspberry linzer torte without using the circumstances to exploit my mom in regards to what was one of the funniest experiences of our lives to date.

Linzer torte has been a specialty of my mom’s for a long, long time. It’s always been her go-to dish for any sort of festivity. I’ve seen her make it countless times, have eaten the leftover raw batter until I felt sick, and have heard people rave about it.

But all that aside, the best thing that linzer torte has given me is this one story.

Before the days of Kitchen Aid mixers in the Potter household, my mom had her linzer torte and whipped cream method down pat—right down to opening the bottle of vanilla extract with her teeth while she continued whipping the cream with her other hand—it was efficient multitasking at its finest. But on this fateful day, hurriedly making a linzer torte for some PTO/school related function, she could feel what she thought was the cap of the previously unopened vanilla extract pop off into her mouth, when in some nightmare version of reality, it was actually her front tooth.

IT WAS HER FRONT TOOTH.

My mom’s front teeth were capped, and the cap managed to pop out, leaving nothing but an actual gaping hole in its place.

Now I don’t want to be overly cruel, but my mom would agree: the damage that missing a tooth does to an adult face is unparalleled. She looked like a completely different person, or maybe just an extreme carnie-like version of herself.

Obviously horrified but also running late and left with no choice but to deliver the linzer torte herself, my mom set out towards school sans tooth. And along the way, she was forced to talk to our school principal.

And she couldn’t get back to the dentist until the next day.

The moral of this story is that my mom has always been a dedicated person—so dedicated that she sacrificed her tooth, her smile, and her dignity to not fail her parental and school duties.

That’s not really the moral, although it’s true.

Humor is everything in life, I tell ya. My family has always valued that.

Just a pretty appropriate story for Christmas time and that song about wanting your two front teeth for Christmas. The song would be a lot sadder if an adult were singing it.

Raspberry linzer torte

Mostly unchanged from The Silver Palate
2½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1½ tsp grated lemon zest
2 eggs
1¼ cups flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp salt
1¼ cups blanched or slivered almonds, very finely ground to be ¾ cup (I used a food processor)
⅔ cup raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together for five minutes or so until light and fluffy. Add grated zest and eggs and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, spices, and salt. Add flour mixture and almonds to butter mixture and mix until combined.

Pat half of this mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch false bottom tart pan. Spread raspberry preserves to within ½ inch of the sides of the pan.

Spoon the remaining dough into a pastry bag (or large Ziplock bag with a ¼ inch slit cut across the corner, to form a hole). Carefully squeeze dough to form a ring around the outside edge of the pan, then squeeze out a lattice crust on top (making all the lines in one direction first, and then making lines in the other direction), leaving over an inch between each line if you can help it (the crust grows as you cook it, so much of the space goes away). Don't fuss over the lattice crust too much—it won't keep its shape perfectly while cooking, and it will look rustic and beautiful regardless! Also, you may have quite a bit of dough left over—I have found that this recipe makes more than I typically use (which is why I end up eating raw dough until I feel sick).

Bake in the center of the oven for 50 minutes or until crust is evenly brown. Let cool slightly, at least 15 minutes, before removing from pan. Slice and serve with fresh whipped cream.