Description
These Heart-Shaped Strawberry Shortbread Cookies are buttery, tender, and perfectly crumbly with a delicious strawberry jam filling and a smooth strawberry glaze. Ideal for special occasions or a sweet treat, these cookies combine classic shortbread with a fresh and fruity twist, shaped into charming hearts and sandwiched with luscious strawberry goodness.
Ingredients
Scale
Basic Shortbread:
- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 60 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Strawberry Filling and Glaze:
- 110 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 2 tablespoon strawberry puree (from 2 large strawberries, hulled and mashed)
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
- 30 ml milk
- 170 g strawberry jam
Instructions
- Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter and caster sugar together on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing. Add the vanilla extract and blend to incorporate.
- Add flour and salt: Sift the plain flour and fine salt into the creamed mixture. Mix on low speed until combined and the dough starts to come together, forming clumps and cleaning the sides of the bowl. The dough will look ragged but should form a rough disc when squeezed together by hand.
- Roll out the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll the shortbread dough to about ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. If the dough is too soft to roll, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes until firmer but not cracking.
- Cut out cookies and refrigerate: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to stamp out cookies from the rolled dough. Place the cutouts on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Gather scraps, re-roll gently with minimal kneading, and repeat until all dough is used. Refrigerate the cutouts for at least 30 minutes to chill and firm the dough for baking.
- Bake the cookies: Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F). Bake the chilled cookie cutouts for 10-12 minutes until just golden around the edges. Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the strawberry glaze: In a bowl, mix the powdered icing sugar, strawberry puree, and melted butter until smooth and lump-free. If too thick, gently microwave for up to 10 seconds or thin with milk, lemon juice, or water a little at a time to achieve the right consistency.
- Glaze the cookies: Separate heart cookies into equal amounts of ‘tops’ and ‘bases’. Dip the top heart cookies into the glaze, allowing excess to drip off, then place them on a wire rack or baking tray to set the glaze.
- Assemble sandwich cookies: Spoon or pipe about one teaspoon of strawberry jam onto the underside of the plain shortbread bases. Sandwich each glazed top cookie over the jam, gently pressing together. Eat immediately or let them sit at room temperature to fully set the jam and glaze.
Notes
- Step-by-Step Photos: Refer to the original blog post for detailed photos guiding you through each step.
- If fresh strawberries are unavailable for the glaze, substitute with 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam or 1-2 tablespoons of freeze-dried strawberries.
- To simplify, you can dip each heart-shaped cookie in strawberry glaze without sandwiching.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week to maintain freshness.
- Freeze undecorated shortbread cookies in a freezer-safe container layered with parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature before decorating.
- Re-roll dough scraps twice to maximize cookie yield, handling dough gently to avoid drying out.
- Lightly flour cookie cutters to prevent sticking and maintain cookie shapes.
- Chill cookie dough thoroughly before baking to prevent spreading and distortion.
- Oven temperatures vary; monitor cookies closely as a minute or two can affect doneness due to the short baking time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
