These are a gorgeous, not-too-sweet cookie. Sparkly with sanding sugar, subtly hot with candy hearts, sweet with vanilla icing. They are like that perfect kiss.
Ingredients:
Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ pound unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Vanilla buttercream filling
- 3 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar1 teaspoon vanilla
- about 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons milk
Decoration and Icing
- 1 ½ cups icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 jar red or pink sanding sugar (or a mix of red and white)
- heart-shaped candies and/or sweet-heart candies
Directions:
- In a bowl with your fingers, whirl or rub flour and butter until mixture forms pea-sized lumps. Add cream and stir with a fork until dough holds together.
- Pat dough into a ball, then divide in half. Flatten each portion into a 5-inch-wide disk. Wrap airtight and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle work surface with 6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar. Dust rolling pin with 2 tablespoons sugar. Roll dough on sugar, one disk at a time, to 1/8 inch thick, turning over frequently and dusting with more sugar if needed to prevent it sticking. Cut out cookies with a 4-inch heart cutter. Gather excess dough into a ball, re-roll (adding sugar when/if necessary) and cut out remaining cookies.
- Place cookies ½ inch apart on buttered and floured or parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking trays. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake cookies in a 315 F oven until golden, about 15 – 20 minutes, switching trays halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cool slightly on trays and then transfer to racks to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make filling: in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough milk to make mixture smooth and thick enough to spread.
- Spread one side of half the cookies with vanilla buttercream filling. Top with remaining cookies.
- Make topping: Combine icing sugar, butter, cinnamon sugar, vanilla and milk, beating until creamy. Thin with a few more drops of milk (if necessary) to reach spreading consistency.
- Ice tops of cookies and before icing hardens, decorate tops with a dusting of pink and white
sanding sugars and candy hearts or sweet-heart candies.
After-Thoughts:
Cinnamon. Vanilla. Combine them with the sweetness and smooth texture of icing, between two deliciously crunchy cookies. One bite and I guarantee you’ll be wanting more.