Recipes

Shortbread Conversation Hearts Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup- White Fine Sugar
• 3 ½ Cups - All Purpose Flour
• 2 Cups -Butter
• ½ Cup- Cornstarch
• ½ Tsp. - Blue Food Colouring
• ½ Tsp. -Yellow Food Colouring
• ½ Tsp. -Green Food Colouring
• 3 Tsp. - Red Food Colouring

Directions:

1. To make the cookies, first sift together flour and cornstarch into a large bowl and set aside.
2. In another large mixing bowl, cream together butter and fine white sugar, then divide mixture into 4 equal portions in 4 separate mixing bowls. (¾ cup in each bowl.)
3. Add ½ a tablespoon of each different colour of food colouring into each bowl of butter/sugar mixture, and then mix until fully incorporated and desired color is achieved. Add 1 cup of all-purpose flour mixture into each bowl and gently mix until a coloured dough is formed. Wrap each portion of dough in plastic wrap until ready to use.
4. Once the dough is formed, remove from the bowl and using a lightly dusted rolling pin, roll out to a ¼ inch thick slab on a work surface lined with plastic wrap. Transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to set.
5. Remove cookie dough from the fridge and transfer onto a lightly floured work surface. Then using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies and transfer onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave about ½ inch between each cookie to prevent them from sticking together. Once shapes have been cut, place the baking sheet back into the fridge for 5-10 minutes before baking to ensure they keep their shape.
6. Bake at 315° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before decorating.
7. To create a stencil for adding messages to the cookies, type up your desired messages in bold font and print onto thick paper. Then, using a sharp craft knife, carefully cut out the letters of each word to complete the stencil.
8. small bowl, then place stencil over one cookie at a time and using a small sponge, dab into red food colouring and gently pat onto the stencil. Repeat this process for the remaining cookies, then let food colouring dry for about an hour before serving.

Yield: Approximately 15-20 cookies.