Tasty Tuesday: Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

We made these cookies for Valentine's Day, but as with so many recipes and crafts, they can easily be adapted to fit any occasion. 

 Aren't they pretty? They're fairly simple to make. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time before starting them since there's a lot of inactive time involved.

 First thing's first - make the dough.

Once the flour is mostly combined, it's easier to use your hands to fully incorporate the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. 

 Use your muscles to roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface.

Then cut out your shapes and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer for another half hour.

Use a smaller cutter (does not have to be the same shape) to cut a hole in the center of half the cookies.

Jake got excited at this part because he remembered the stained glass candy cookies we made a few months ago. We didn't fill them with candy pieces this time though.

Instead, we filled the baked and cooled cookies with strawberry jam and . . .

Nutella! Yummy!

Surprisingly, I liked the jam-filled cookies better than the Nutella ones. The hazelnut-chocolate flavor was lost in the buttery-goodness of the cookies. In order to really taste it, you have to add a lot of Nutella. And that's just fine by me too. The cookies though, are pretty delicious all on their own. I could barely keep the kids from gobbling them all up before I could assemble them. They loved eating the tiny heart cookies cut from the centers. There's just something irresistible about cute, little desserts, especially when they're really yummy! 

They make a perfect Valentine treat and are even great for weddings or anniversaries. I think it would be fun for practicing shapes with toddlers, too. You could make the cookies into various shapes and use a different shape for the cut-out in the middle. Hey, any excuse to make cookies is a legitimate reason for me!

Shortbread Sandwich Cookies  

Ingredients:    

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c confectioners' sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt

jam

Directions:
1. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer. Beat in flour and salt until just combined. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with a approximately 1 3/4-inch scalloped cutter, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet; place in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes. Cut out heart shapes from half the cookies, then return to freezer for another 15 minutes.
3. Bake at 325° for 11-13 minutes or until just before cookies begin to brown around the edges.
4. Shortly before serving, spread scant 1 teaspoon jam on whole cookies; gently top with cut-out cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Finished cookies can sit at room temperature up to 3 hours.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stuart Weddings) 



Linked to Watcha Making Wednesdays