Vanilla Shortbread Hearts Food

SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt; then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and roll shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter. Place the hearts on an ungreased sheet pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Note: The edges of the shortbread are ever so slightly sharper if you chill the cookies before baking them. I cut out the cookies days ahead and bake them the day I serve them.

BAREFOOT CONTESSA'S SHORTBREAD HEARTS - INA GARTEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment (I use a standard Kitchen Aid hand mixer with regular blades), cream together the Butter and 1 Cup of the Sugar until they are just combined.
• Add the Vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the Flour and Salt; then add them to the Butter and Sugar mixture.
• Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk.
• Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter (I roll the dough between two sheets of flour-dusted waxed paper -- no sticking!).
• Place the hearts on an ungreased sheet pan and sprinkle with sugar (I line the baking sheets with parchment paper).
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (time will vary based on the size/shape/thickness of your cookie dough), until the edges begin to brown.
• Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Leave plain or dip in or paint with melted chocolate or Royal Icing.
• A NOTE FROM INA: The edges of the shortbread are ever so slightly sharper if you chill the cookies before baking them. I cut out the cookies days ahead and bake them the day I serve them.
• For me, I loosely wrap each baked cookie in bakery-type waxed 'tissue' paper and store them in the fridge in a tightly sealed Tupperware-type container -- they will keep for weeks this way and still taste great!

VANILLA HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
• Sift flour into a big bowl.
• Cut butter into small pieces. Using your fingers work the butter into the flour until a crumbly dough has formed.
• Add sugar and vanilla essence and knead well (it takes some minutes until the dough has the right consistency).
• Roll out the dough (it is supposed to be very thick-approx. 2-3 cm) and cut out hearts.
• Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Let cool and store in an air-tight box.

VANILLA SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Whisk the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.
• Reduce the speed to low and gradually add flour mixture. Beat, scraping the bowl occasionally, until the dough comes together in large clumps.
• Transfer the dough to a gallon-size resealable plastic freezer bag and press into a 1-inch thick, 9 by 5-inch rectangle. The bag is 9 inches wide, so you're pressing the dough to the edges. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the dough into thirds to form rectangular logs that are 3 inches wide. Cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the slices on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are browned and the tops are golden, 14 to 18 minutes. Let cool completely on the sheets on wire racks. The shortbread keeps at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

VANILLA SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• In small bowl, combine flour and salt.
• In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Beat in vanilla.
• Beat in flour mixture just until blended.
• Shape dough into 2 disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Between 2 sheets of floured wax paper, roll 1 disk 1/8-inch thick.
• With floured 3-inch heart-shape cookie cutter, cut out cookies.
• Cut out centers of half cookies with floured 1 1/2 inch heart-shape cookie cutter.
• Slide cookies on wax paper to another large cookie sheet and refrigerate about 15 minutes, or until firm.
• Remove heart-shape centers from cookies; place cookies on prepared sheets, 1 inch apart.
• Bake 13-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden.
• Cool on parchment paper on wire racks.
• Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps.
• Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies with cut-out centers.
• Spread 1 t jam on each plain cookie; top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches.

VANILLA SHORTBREAD DOUGH

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
• Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a small dough.

SUGAR-DUSTED VANILLA SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Tip the flour into a food processor. Cut the butter into small pieces and drop them into the bowl, then whizz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks and whizz to a smooth dough.
• With your hands, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a sausage shape about 25cm/9in long and 5cm/2½in in diameter. Wrap the roll and chill for at least 1 hour. (The roll can be frozen for up to 6 weeks. To use, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for one hour at room temperature so that the dough is soft enough to be sliced into biscuits.)
• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4/fan 160C and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into slices, each a generous 5mm/¼in thick, then arrange them on the greased baking sheets, spacing the biscuits slightly apart so they have a bit of room to spread as they cook.
• Bake for 20 minutes until the biscuits are just turning pale golden around the edges, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust generously with icing sugar. The biscuits will keep fresh for up to one week stored in an airtight tin.