Description
Delight in these charming Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts, a perfect treat for the holiday of love. Buttery and tender shortbread cookies are shaped into hearts, baked to a pale golden, and decorated with luscious melted milk and white chocolate topped with festive sprinkles. Simple to make, these elegant cookies bring a touch of sweetness and whimsy to any Valentine’s celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Shortbread:
- 150 g plain flour
- 100 g unsalted butter, soft at room temperature
- 50 g caster sugar
For Decoration:
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 50 g white chocolate
- Valentine’s sprinkles, to decorate
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter and caster sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, ensuring a smooth base for the shortbread dough.
- Add Flour and Form Dough: Gradually add the plain flour to the creamed mixture, then gently use your hands to bring the ingredients together to form a soft, cohesive dough.
- Chill Dough: Wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm it up and ease handling later.
- Prepare Baking Tray: Line a large, flat baking tray with greaseproof paper to prevent sticking during baking.
- Roll Out Dough: Lightly flour a clean work surface and rolling pin. Roll the chilled dough to approximately 0.5cm thickness to get the perfect thickness for the shortbread hearts.
- Cut Out Hearts: Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to stamp out cookies from the rolled dough. Place the heart shapes onto the lined baking tray. Gather the leftover dough, roll it out again, and cut additional hearts until you have a total of 10.
- Chill Cut Dough: Chill the tray with the cut-out hearts in the fridge for 30 minutes. This step helps the cookies maintain their shape during baking. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160°C fan or 180°C conventional.
- Bake Shortbread Hearts: Bake the hearts in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until they are pale golden brown. Once baked, leave the cookies to cool completely on the baking tray.
- Melt Chocolates: Break the milk and white chocolates into separate microwave-safe bowls. Melt each in the microwave using 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth and fully melted.
- Dip and Decorate: Dip half of the cooled shortbread hearts into the melted milk chocolate and the other half into the melted white chocolate. Immediately sprinkle festive Valentine’s sprinkles over the dipped surfaces.
- Set the Decoration: Allow the decorated cookies to rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature to let the chocolate set completely before serving or packaging.
Notes
- Use unsalted butter at room temperature for easier creaming and better texture.
- Ensure the dough is well chilled before cutting to prevent spreading during baking.
- Be gentle when handling the dough to keep the shortbread tender.
- Milk and white chocolate can be substituted with dark chocolate for a richer flavor.
- Store the decorated shortbread hearts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days to maintain freshness.
- These cookies can be made ahead and decorated on the day you want to serve them.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: Valentine's Day, shortbread, heart-shaped cookies, chocolate dipped, festive sprinkles, easy cookie recipe, buttery shortbread
