Valentine Heart Sandwich Cookies
Jam-Filled Treats Will Delight Sweethearts on February 14
These beautiful heart-shaped sandwich cookies are just the perfect treat to add a bit of romance on Valentine's Day.
If you're looking for an extra-special way to say "I love you" this Valentine's Day, our Valentine Heart Sandwich Cookies will surely fit the bill. These pretty sugar-cookie hearts sandwiched together with either raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam are perfect for the occasion, but they would also make an ideal dessert for a wedding buffet or any other romantic occasion. Inspired by the French linzer cookie, these sweet treats look almost too pretty to eat.
RECIPE
Valentine Heart Sandwich Cookies
Makes Approximately Two Dozen Filled Sandwich Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons raspberry jam
3 tablespoons strawberry jam
3 tablespoons apricot jam
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, for dusting
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch and cinnamon. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground. Whisk the ground almonds into the flour mixture; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about two to three minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest; beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With mixer on low speed, add almond-flour mixture, and beat until just combined, about 10 to 15 seconds.
Turn out the dough onto a work surface; divide in half and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Remove one half of the dough from the refrigerator and let stand until slightly soft. On a large piece of parchment paper dusted with flour, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer parchment paper and dough to a baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one sheet of dough and parchment from the refrigerator; working quickly, cut into heart shapes with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Cut out the center from half of the shapes with a 2-inch heat cookie cutter. Using a spatula, transfer the hearts to the prepared baking sheets spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart; refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. (You can either bake the cutout centers of the cookies or reroll them to make the larger hearts.)
Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies are crisp and lightly golden all over, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cooled cookies can be stored overnight in an airtight container at room temperature before filling. Spread a third of the uncut cookies with each of the jams. Sift confectioners' sugar over the open hearts. Just before serving, place the cookies with cutout middles on top of the uncut cookies, so that the jam shows through the cutout. The cookies should be eaten on the same day they are filled.
