Description
Delightfully crisp and buttery heart-shaped shortbread cookies filled with sweet strawberry jam and a glossy strawberry glaze. These charming cookies combine a classic shortbread base with fresh strawberry flavor in the filling and glaze, perfect for gifting or sharing on special occasions.
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 and sugar: In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter, caster sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until pale and light. Scrape down the bowl sides halfway through mixing to ensure an even consistency.
- Add flour and salt: Sift in the plain flour and add the fine salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts coming together, stirring just until the sides are clean and the dough clumps in the center. It will look ragged initially.
- Form the dough: Using your hands, squeeze the dough into a rough disc shape. On a lightly floured surface, roll it out to about ½ cm (¼ inch) thickness. If the dough is too soft, wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until firmer but not hard.
- Cut and chill cookies: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place them on parchment-lined baking trays. Gather scraps carefully, re-roll, and cut more shapes, adding a few drops of water if dough becomes too dry. Chill all cut cookies for at least 30 minutes to firm the butter, helping them keep their shape in the oven.
- Preheat and bake: Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F). Bake the chilled cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are just golden. Allow them to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare glaze: In a bowl, stir together powdered icing sugar, strawberry puree, and melted butter until smooth and lump-free. If too thick, microwave briefly (up to 10 seconds) or add milk a little at a time to loosen the glaze to desired consistency.
- Glaze cookie tops: Separate cookies into equal ‘top’ and ‘base’ halves. Dip the tops into the strawberry glaze, letting excess drip off. Place glazed cookies on a wire rack or tray and allow the icing to set.
- Assemble and fill: Spoon or pipe about one teaspoon of strawberry jam onto the underside of the base cookies. Gently sandwich with the glazed tops, pressing lightly to adhere. Serve immediately or allow to sit at room temperature for the jam and glaze to meld and set fully.
Notes
- Step-by-Step Photos: Helpful photos are available on the original blog to guide you through each step.
- If fresh strawberries are unavailable for the glaze, substitute with 1 tablespoon strawberry jam or 1-2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries.
- Alternatively, instead of sandwich cookies, simply dip each heart cookie in strawberry glaze for a simpler treat.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week to maintain freshness.
- Freezing: Freeze undecorated shortbread cookies layered with parchment paper in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature before decorating.
- Re-roll dough scraps carefully to maximize cookie yield but avoid overworking the dough to prevent toughness.
- Lightly flour cookie cutters to prevent sticking and maintain clean shapes.
- Chill the dough before baking to prevent spreading and preserve cookie shapes.
- Oven temperatures vary; watch the bake time closely to avoid overbaking as shortbread cooks quickly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 50mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
