In contrast to France, where Valentine’s Day is focused on couples, in the United States this occasion celebrates love and friendship in all its forms: couples, family, children and colleagues exchange cards and gifts, such as homemade cookies.

Here’s a quick and easy recipe with very few ingredients to make delicious heart-shaped shortbread for Valentine’s Day!

Ingredients

Recipe for about 20 Jam Shortbread.

For shortbread dough:

  • 125 g (around ½ cup) butter (at room temperature)
  • 125 g (cup) sugar
  • 80 g (around 1 ½) eggs
  • 250 g (2 cups) T55 wheat flour

For garnish:

  • 1 jar raspberry, strawberry or redcurrant jam (jelly type)
  • Powdered sugar (optional)

Note: if you’d like to make the jam (or compote) yourself, here’s a simple recipe:

  • 400g (2 ¾ cups) raspberries
  • 40g 2 (½ tbsp) lemon juice
  • 150g (¾ cup) caster sugar
  • 2g (½ tsp) NH* pectin

* Pectin: ingredient used to gel jams, compotes and fruit purées.

Preparation

Raspberry jam:
Mix sugar and pectin.
Roughly crush the raspberries with a fork and heat to around 40°C.
Add the sugar and pectin mixture.
Cook for 2 to 3 min, then add the lemon juice.
Let cool.

Shortbread dough:
Take out the butter in advance, so that it’s soft when you prepare the shortbread dough.
This recipe can be made by hand or in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the sheet.
Take 80 g (around 1 ½) of eggs (usually one whole egg + one yolk).
Mix butter, sugar and eggs until smooth.
Add flour and mix again. Stop as soon as the dough is well mixed and forms a homogeneous ball.
Place the dough in a plastic wrap, crushing it to obtain a dough as flat as possible, making it easier to roll out.
Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 h.

After 2 h, flour the work surface, then roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.5 cm.
Cut the shortbread into a round shape (jagged or not) using a cookie cutter.
Then cut a new shape (a heart, for example) in half the shortbread (those that will be on top), so that the jam or marmalade will stand out.

Once finished, gather up the dough scraps, shape into a ball and roll out again before cutting more shortbread. Continue until you run out of dough!
If the dough becomes a bit soft as you cut, don’t hesitate to put it in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden a little. This will make it easier to cut the hearts out of the dough.
Arrange shortbread on sheets of baking paper or silicone.

Recipe Heart-shaped-cookies-with-jam

Bake at 180°C (356° F) for 8 to 10 min (watch for cooking).
Remove from oven and leave to cool.

Spread whole shortbread (without holes) with your chosen jam.
Dust the shortbread with powdered sugar.

All that remains is to assemble them.
Gently place the shortbread with the heart on top of the jam-filled shortbread, pressing lightly to lift the filling.

Storage

These shortbreads can be stored for a few days at room temperature in an airtight box.

Bakery Distribution Ware House French Flours

To order your T55 French wheat flour, click here 
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Recipe inspired by Empreinte sucrés

(Photo credit: pexel, freepik, Empreinte sucrée, Léa Grandvalet – Image Me Photography)