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Valentine's Day: You Melt My Hearts Cookies

Source of Recipe

www.kingarthurflour.com


List of Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)


Recipe



In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the butter, salt, and sugar till well combined, then beat in the flour. Divide the dough in half (each half will weigh about 11 1/2 ounces), and press it into two very lightly greased 9-inch round cake pans, smoothing the surface with your fingers. Prick the dough with a fork in an attractive pattern.

Bake the shortbread in a preheated 300°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until it’s just barely brown around the edges. Remove one pan from the oven, and loosen the edges with a heat-resistant plastic knife or table knife. Carefully turn the shortbread, all in one piece, onto a clean work surface. Using the tip of a sharp paring knife, quickly cut out a large heart shape. If you have the skills to do this freehand, more power to you; I’d made a paper template ahead of time, and just traced around it with the knife. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut a smaller heart out of the middle, if desired. Remove the second shortbread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cut out a second heart. (The leftover scraps of shortbread are messy-looking, but delicious.) Transfer the hearts to a rack to cool.

To decorate hearts, spread with glaze, allow it to dry, and write a message with a food-safe pen or marker; or spread with chocolate ganache and sprinkle with sugar decorations. Or try a combination: spread one cookie with ganache, spread the second with glaze, and sandwich it atop the first. Now that’s deluxe! Yield: 2 large hearts.

SIMPLE COOKIE GLAZE

This glaze stirs up in a jiffy. Be sure you measure accurately here; too little milk, and the glaze won’t spread nicely; too much, and it’ll be thin and spotty. The goal is glaze that isn’t perfectly smooth when you apply it, but that settles into a smooth surface within half a minute or so. Glaze one of the leftover pieces of shortbread, and set it aside for a minute; has the glaze smoothed out? If so, it’s the right consistency. And remember, it’s easier to add more liquid than to stir in more sugar, so start with a glaze that’s thicker than you think it should be, then add milk by the teaspoonful to adjust its consistency.

2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) confectioners’ sugar or glazing sugar
2 tablespoons (1 3/8 ounces) light corn syrup
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (1 1/4 ounces) milk
food coloring*

*Try our soft gel paste food colors—they’re brilliantly vibrant.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, milk, and food coloring, if you’re using it. The coating should be the consistency of thick, cold honey. Use an offset spatula or table knife to spread glaze on the cookies. Yield: 2/3 cup. This amount of glaze will cover both cookies.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

The name rhymes with panache, with good reason. What could be more sophisticated than the glossy sheen of a perfectly coated chocolate confection, or the je ne sais quoi of an artfully drizzled design? Flavor this rich chocolate concoction with anything from vanilla extract to flavored liqueurs, such as hazelnut, raspberry, or Grand Marnier.

1 cup (6 ounces) chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
extract, flavoring, or liqueur of your choice, added to taste

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream to simmer, and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is completely smooth, with no lumps. Stir in the flavor or the liqueur of your choice. The ganache is now ready to use. Pour or brush it on your shortbread heart(s) and add sugar decorations, if desired. Yield: 1 1/2 cups ganache. This is more than sufficient for both cookies; store any remainder in the fridge for sundaes, or just go ahead and take sneaky spoonfuls at will.