Normally I would not make heart-shaped cookies for Valentine's Day.
I have never been a big Valentine's Day person. I have a lot of reasons for this, and I could rant about consumerism, media overload, and the American Dream for ages - but I won't. I think you should express love every day, not just on one day in February.
But these cookies caused me to have a moment of Valentine's Day joy.
For Christmas I got "The Golden Book of Cookies" from Keith. He joked it was actually a Christmas present for himself, that would pay him back all year long, because of my weakness for baked goods.
He knows me too well.
I have been waiting to make these since I saw the recipe on Christmas Day, and they were well worth the wait. Even if they are Valentine's themed!
Sweethearts
(adapted from The Golden Book of Cookies)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of one lemon*
(*I did not add this, and they still tasted great!)
Topping
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup strawberry preserves
1 cup powdered sugar, for dusting
Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth.
In the same bowl, mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Your dough may be crumbly - this is okay. Press the dough together with your hands into a disc shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease two cookie sheets. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Roll out 1/3rd of the dough onto a lightly floured surface. (I found the dough difficult to work with at first. If you have this problem, work the dough with your hands until it is easier to roll out.)
Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Transfer to the cookie sheets with a spatula, placing them 1/2 inch apart. Re-roll the scraps and continue until you run out of dough.
Bake cookies until golden brown (8-10 minutes). Let them cool on the baking sheets for about 3 minutes (they will break if you move them too soon - trust me), then transfer to cooling racks.
While the cookies are cooling, process the raspberries, sugar, and strawberry preserves in a blender (or food processor) until smooth. If you do not want the raspberry seeds in your topping, pour the mixture through a mesh strainer. Put the mix into a pot and simmer over medium heat for about ten minutes, until you have approximately 1 cup of topping.
Remove the pot from heat and let the mix cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a small metal spatula or butter knife, spread the topping on the cookies. Let the cookies sit until the topping solidifies - I let mine sit out overnight. Dust with powdered sugar.
Share the love: give these to your special someones for Valentine's Day! (Or else you'll probably end up eating them all by yourself.)
I have never been a big Valentine's Day person. I have a lot of reasons for this, and I could rant about consumerism, media overload, and the American Dream for ages - but I won't. I think you should express love every day, not just on one day in February.
But these cookies caused me to have a moment of Valentine's Day joy.
For Christmas I got "The Golden Book of Cookies" from Keith. He joked it was actually a Christmas present for himself, that would pay him back all year long, because of my weakness for baked goods.
He knows me too well.
I have been waiting to make these since I saw the recipe on Christmas Day, and they were well worth the wait. Even if they are Valentine's themed!
Sweethearts
(adapted from The Golden Book of Cookies)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of one lemon*
(*I did not add this, and they still tasted great!)
Topping
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup strawberry preserves
1 cup powdered sugar, for dusting
Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth.
In the same bowl, mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Your dough may be crumbly - this is okay. Press the dough together with your hands into a disc shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease two cookie sheets. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Roll out 1/3rd of the dough onto a lightly floured surface. (I found the dough difficult to work with at first. If you have this problem, work the dough with your hands until it is easier to roll out.)
Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Transfer to the cookie sheets with a spatula, placing them 1/2 inch apart. Re-roll the scraps and continue until you run out of dough.
Bake cookies until golden brown (8-10 minutes). Let them cool on the baking sheets for about 3 minutes (they will break if you move them too soon - trust me), then transfer to cooling racks.
While the cookies are cooling, process the raspberries, sugar, and strawberry preserves in a blender (or food processor) until smooth. If you do not want the raspberry seeds in your topping, pour the mixture through a mesh strainer. Put the mix into a pot and simmer over medium heat for about ten minutes, until you have approximately 1 cup of topping.
Remove the pot from heat and let the mix cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. With a small metal spatula or butter knife, spread the topping on the cookies. Let the cookies sit until the topping solidifies - I let mine sit out overnight. Dust with powdered sugar.
Share the love: give these to your special someones for Valentine's Day! (Or else you'll probably end up eating them all by yourself.)
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