In questo articolo, esploreremo una ricetta deliziosa e facile da preparare.
Celebrate Love with Delightful Valentine Shortbread Cookies
Valentine’s Day is a time to express love and affection, and what better way to do so than with homemade cookies? Our Valentine Shortbread Cookies are not only delicious but also a visual delight. Perfect for sharing with loved ones or as a sweet gift, these cookies are simple to make and will add a splash of color to your Valentine’s Day festivities.
Ingredients
For the Cookies: – ½ cup butter, softened – ¼ cup granulated sugar – 1 tsp vanilla extract – ¼ tsp red gel food coloring (optional) – 1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Royal Icing (optional): – 2 cups confectioner’s sugar – 1½ tbsp meringue powder – 4-5 tbsp room-temperature water – Food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Making the Cookies:
Preparation: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
Creaming the Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Adding Flavor and Color: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the vanilla extract and red gel food coloring, if desired. Mix until everything is well combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Incorporating the Flour: With the mixer still on low, gradually add the flour until the dough forms a cohesive ball.
Chilling the Dough: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, until it hardens slightly.
Rolling and Cutting: Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out to a thickness of ¼ inch. Use a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
Baking: Transfer the heart-shaped cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Gather and re-roll any leftover dough to cut out additional cookies. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
Cooling: Allow the cookies to cool completely before you begin icing or decorating them. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Decorating with Royal Icing (Optional):
Mixing the Icing: In a stand mixer with the whip attachment, or using a hand mixer, combine the confectioner’s sugar, meringue powder, and water. Whip on high speed for 1-2 minutes until the icing is smooth and has a drizzle consistency.
Outlining the Cookies: Transfer some of the icing to a squeeze bottle. Outline the edges of each cookie with this thicker icing, which should harden within 2-3 minutes.
Flooding the Cookies: Thin out the remaining icing with a bit more water and transfer it to another squeeze bottle. Use this to fill in the outlined areas on the cookies, creating a smooth, even surface.
Adding Sprinkles: Immediately add any decorative sprinkles to the wet icing before it hardens. This ensures they adhere properly.
Setting the Icing: If you’re in a hurry, you can refrigerate the cookies briefly to speed up the icing setting process.
Tips for Perfect Valentine Shortbread Cookies
- Chill the Dough: Chilling the dough helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking, ensuring they retain their adorable heart shape.
- Adjusting Icing Consistency: Depending on your climate, you may need to adjust the icing by adding more water or confectioner’s sugar. Aim for a smooth, pourable consistency for flooding.
- Creative Decorating: Feel free to experiment with different food coloring for the icing or add edible glitter for extra sparkle.
These Valentine Shortbread Cookies are a wonderful way to show your love through baking. Not only are they a treat for the taste buds, but their charming heart shape and vibrant colors are sure to make anyone’s day a little bit sweeter. Enjoy baking and sharing them with your loved ones!
Valentine Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy– about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- Reduce the mixer to low speed, add the vanilla extract and food coloring, if using, and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the flour. Mix just until the dough has come together in a ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer to chill for 15-20 minutes, or until it has hardened slightly.
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out until it is ¼” thick.
- Cut the cookies using a heart-shaped cookie cutter that is about 2” across.
- Transfer the cut cookies to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Re-roll any leftover dough and repeat the cutout process.
- Bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your hearts), or until the edges are starting to turn golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before adding icing or decorating.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Combine the sugar, meringue powder, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment or in a medium mixing bowl – you’ll need a hand mixer.
- Whip the ingredients together on high for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture has the consistency to drizzle down back into the bowl and smooth out within a couple of seconds.
- Transfer a portion of the icing to a squeeze bottle and outline the cookies.
- Once the cookies are outlined the icing should harden within 2-3 minutes.
- Thin out the icing slightly with a little bit more water and then transfer to another squeeze bottle.
- Fill in the outlined cookies – this is called flooding.
- Immediately add any desired sprinkles to the icing – before moving on to the next cookie as the icing will harden before you are done with all of the cookies and the sprinkles won’t stick.
- You can refrigerate the cookies to speed the process of setting the icing if desired.
Notes
