Happy Valentine's Day!
If you all still need a Valentine gift for the loves in your life....consider making these fun Secret Message Valentine Heart Cookies! I made some yesterday!
Here is the how to: (recipe below post)
You will need 2 heart shaped cookie cutters, with 1 smaller than the other.
After mixing up your shortbread dough, refrigerate it for easy handling. Roll out dough and cut out 3 large hearts, now take your smaller heart shape and cut the smaller from the large heart. See photos for better explanation.
Ok, so you start with your large heart cookie
Put your melted chocolate (I used chocolate almond bark) in a bag and cut a tiny hole off the end to use as a piping bag.
Now pipe some melted chocolate onto the edges of your smaller heart outline (hope that makes sence) and place on large heart.
Add some melted chocolate to the center
While chocolate is still soft add sprinkles and then set aside to let set up. While waiting create your little message on paper.
Now that chocolate is hard you can add the message on top of the center of the cookie.
Pipe on some more melted chocolate (if your chocolate has hardened in your piping bag, just place the bag in some warm water to remelt)
Place 2nd large heart on top and set aside to set up.
Now you will dip the whole 3 layer cookie in melted chocolate and roll or sprinkle with your choice of sprinkles.
Place on wax paper and let it harden.
Put in a basket or a pretty valentine box and your all set to WOW your Valentines!
This is how I wrapped up one cookie to surprise my daughter in her school lunch.
Ok, so now go make some, here's the shortbread recipe:
Ingredients 2 cups butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
Recipe
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla; add flour and mix well. (add food coloring if desired to get colored dough)
2. Separate dough into 2 halves and wrap in plastic wrap then refrigerate for 1 hr.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
4. Remove half the dough from the refrigerator and roll with a rolling pin until ¼" thick. Using your 3.5" cookie cutter make 24 hearts.
5. Using your 2.5" cookie cutter, cut out a smaller heart in the center of 8 of the large hearts. These will be your center cookies. All remaining 16 cookies will be your base and top. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until very slightly browned.
6. Once your cookies are cool you will want to melt ½ your chocolate in a glass bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the microwave and stir in remaining ½ of the chocolate chips. Stir to combine until all chocolate is completely melted. You just tempered your chocolate. Now pour ¼ of the chocolate into a small piping bag with a tiny tip. Pipe a small amount of chocolate onto the BACK of the middle cookie like pictured above.
7. Now stick it to the top of the base cookie. You should have no chocolate squirting out the sides if you did this correctly.
8. Fill your cookie with candy hearts, sprinkles, and little notes then start piping a thin chocolate line on the top edge of the middle cookie like pictured above.
9. Now take your third cookie (and best looking cookie if some aren't fabulous) and put this one on top of the piped chocolate. Refrigerate for 2 minutes so everything is secure before your put chocolate on everything.
10. Spread the remaining chocolate all over the top and sides of the cookie. If you don't want to use chocolate you could also use a simple pink icing. Refrigerate for 5 minutes until firm.
Enjoy!
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