shortbread

Love Heart Cookies

~ emmmscakes ~ Leave a comment

Hi and welcome to my blog ‘Scrummmy Friday’s!’ 

This week I thought I would spread a little love as Valentine’s Day not far away.  I thought I would make my classic shortbread heart cookies. These cookies are very simple to make and taste truely wonderful. These are a great treat or a perfect gift for that Valentine…?

  

Ingredients

125g unsalted butter (at room temp)

200g caster sugar

1 large egg

200g plain flour, plus extra for rolling.

1 tsp vanilla extract

A jar of your favourite jam, in my case, raspberry

Method

  1. Line 2 baking trays with grease proof paper.
  2. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together well.
  3. Add egg and beat well
  4. Add vanilla and mix in well
  5. Gradually add flour. You may need to use your hands to kneed the mixture by the end.
  6. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to about 5mm thick.
  7. Using a large heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out your shape and place it straight onto the baking tray. Then using a smaller heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out the middle of half your larger hearts. Remember you will need to make pairs as these are sandwiched together. If you accidentally miscounted, never mind they taste just as yummmy on their own.
  8. Place the trays in the fridge for 30 mins to chill. This will help the cookies to keep their shape when baking.
  9. Whilst the cookies are chilling in the fridge, pre heat the oven to 150C
  10. Remove cookies from fridge and place straight into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins or until the edges go a light golden brown. 
  11. Allow to cool for 10 mins on the trays and then lift and put them in a wire rack to completely cool. Don’t worry when you get them out of the oven that they seem soft, they will harden when they cool.
  12. In a small saucepan, warm a few teaspoons of your favourite jam. This helps it to spend easier.
  13. Take your cooled heart shaped cookie (without the heart shaped hole) and spread the jam on and then place the other cookie (the one with a heart shaped hole) on top and allow the jam to go cold setting the cookies together.

And there you have it, the best tasting shortbread heart! 

Em X

Quote “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” – Charles M. Schulz


Scrummmy Friday’s

~ emmmscakes ~ Leave a comment

Hi and Welcome to Scrummmy Friday’s

#Scrummmyfridays

Each week I will post a quick and easy recipe for you to bake and enjoy a yummmy treat over the weekend!

My first recipe to share with you is…..

Halloween Ginger Shortbread.

This is a family friendly recipe, so why not all try!

Ingredients for Cookies

200g Unsalted Butter

200g Light brown Sugar

1 Medium Egg

400g Plain Flour

2tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

Tools

Baking trays

Baking/Grease proof  paper

Rolling pin

Ginger bread people cutters

Method

Pre heat oven to 160 Deg C

1 – Ensuring butter is at room temp before starting (makes it easier to mix)  Place the butter in a bowl

2- Add light brown sugar and beat until well combined

3- Add beaten egg and combine well

4- Add flour, spices and salt. Mix a little at a time with a spoon and when the mix become to hard to work with the spoon, finish off with using your hands, by kneading well. Keep working at it until the mixture comes together and forms a ball.

5- Place on a floured worktop and knead some more until smooth.

6- Rollout until it is 5mm thick (Keep moving the dough around between rolls to stop it from sticking to your worktop)

7- Cut out shapes and place on the baking trays lined with baking/Grease proof paper.

8- Place in the oven for 10-15mm or until the edges are turning a golden brown colour.

9- Leave on the tray for 10mins (if you try lifting before cooling on trays they will break) once cooled, lift them off and place on a wire rack until completely cool (They will harden up as they cool)

To Decorate

Royal icing

Water

Piping bag or food/freezer bag

1- Put royal icing in a cup and add a tiny amount of water at a time. (The consistency you want is like toothpaste)

2- Put icing into a piping bag or food/freezer bag (just use one corner of the food bag and snip the corner off to the desired size)

3- Pipe on your halloween monsters outline.

4- For the flood icing (this is to fill the inside of your lined monsters) use more royal icing but this time make it the consistency of cream.

5- using a spoon and cocktail stick, pour a little icing on and spread it around until it fills the cookie and allow to dry.

Be imaginative and use food colourings and decorations to create different spooky designs.

Please show me what you bake, I look forward to seeing all your wonderful designs and creations

Em X

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