Dainty pink sparkly cookies are for fairies, princesses and charming people who love pretty, petite treats. These pink shortbread hearts are as cute as a button and so tender and delicious. They’re very simple to make and go perfectly with tea or lemonade. They also make a nice gift for Mother’s Day, baby showers, and especially for Valentine’s Day and Galentine celebrations.
Dainty Pink Shortbread Hearts
by Mari Vasseur
Tender, buttery mini shortbread cookies with sparkling sugar
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour and powdered sugar together until well blended.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, with an electric mixer on medium speed, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the extracts until well combined. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. The dough may seem crumbly at first, but it will come together.
Divide the dough into 2 portions. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Place the parchment-covered dough onto trays and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cut out 36 heart shapes with a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place the hearts about 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Sprinkle the cookies with sparkling sugar. Bake until the edges start to turn light golden brown, about 8-9 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Since it’s getting close to Valentine’s Day, I created these beautiful, enchanting cookies using flavors which evoke love and romance. Rich, pleasantly bitter dark chocolate and sweet, tart raspberries are a perfectly balanced, elegant combination. I used freeze-dried raspberries in the cookie dough for the most bright, pure raspberry flavor. The raspberries turn the cookie dough a mauve-red color, but if you want a more intense red, you can add a drop or two of red gel good coloring.
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Dark Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cookies
Beautiful, enchantingly delicious cookies made of rich dark chocolate cookie dough with dark chocolate pieces, swirled together with sweet-tart raspberry cookie dough by Brownie Mischief
13.5-4 ounce (99-113g)dark chocolate bar, chopped into pieces & divided
Instructions
Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Set aside 5 freeze-dried raspberries. Process the remaining raspberries into a powder in a small food processor or a clean spice grinder. Pass the powder through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Coarsely crush the 5 reserved freeze-dried raspberries.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda until well blended.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract in three separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined.
Transfer 1/3 of the cookie dough (about 275g), to a medium-sized bowl, using a kitchen scale for accuracy. Mix the freeze-dried raspberry powder and the food coloring into the smaller portion of cookie dough. Mix the cocoa powder into the larger portion of cookie dough. Set aside 16 of the larger pieces of chocolate. Mix the remaining pieces of chocolate into the chocolate dough.
Divide the raspberry cookie dough into 16 equal portions, about 1 tablespoon each. Divide the chocolate cookie dough into 32 equal portions. Roll all of the cookie dough portions into balls. Divide the dough balls into 16 groups of 1 raspberry dough ball with 2 chocolate dough balls. Place a group of 3 dough balls on the palm of your hand. Place your other palm on the dough balls and roll in a circular motion until the doughs are swirled together. Place the swirled dough balls on the cookie sheet at least 3 inches apart. Top each one with a piece of reserved chocolate. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Bake the cookies until the tops are set and start to puff, about 10-12 minutes. The cookies will spread a bit. Remove the cookies form the oven. Immediately use a large round cookie cutter to shape the hot cookies by sliding it around each one in a circular motion a couple of times. Work quickly before the cookies set. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Sprinkle the crushed freeze-dried raspberries onto the melted chocolate on each cookie.
Notes
Make sure to use freeze-dried fruit, not dried fruit. I purchased my freeze-dried raspberries at Trader Joe's. They are also available at large grocery stores or online. Aluminum cookie sheet pans will give you the most success when baking cookies. We used them in culinary school and many bakeries use them. To find my favorite sheet pan for cookies, click here.To find the gel food coloring I used, click here.
Have you seen those cute Teddy bear cookies on social media with the bear holding an almond or a heart? I’m not sure where they originated but they’re sometimes called Pinterest cookies because so many people have found them there. I had an idea to have the Teddy bears hold baby bear cookies instead of nuts and I was going to save them for Mother’s Day. But then I thought they would also be so cute for Valentine’s Day. I made them in three different flavors and I just know that you’ll love them beary much!
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Teddy Bear Sugar Cookies
by Mari Vasseur
Teddy bear cookies with baby bear cookies in vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate variations
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (85g)cream cheese, softened
½cup (100g)granulated sugar
¼cup (50g)packed brown sugar
½teaspoonfine sea salt
1largeegg
1 ½teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼teaspoonpure almond extract
3cups (383g)all purpose flour, sifted
½teaspooncinnamon
1tablespoonunsweetened cocoa powder
Black gel food coloring
Pink edible luster dust
Small candy hearts
Icing or melted chocolate
Instructions
In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together, with an electric mixer on low speed, until smooth. Add both sugars and the salt and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well incorporated, then beat in the extracts. On low speed, beat in the flour just until combined.
Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, using a kitchen scale for accuracy. Mix the cinnamon into one portion of dough. Mix the cocoa powder into another portion of dough. Form the dough portions into disks, wrap them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out 24 bears using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter* and 24 mini bears using a 1 3/4-inch or smaller cookie cutter.** (Re-roll the dough scraps as needed, letting the dough rest in the refrigerator until chilled before cutting again.) Place the bears onto the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Top each one with a mini bear. Fold over one or both arms of each bear. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Bake the cookies until set and the edges barely start to brown, about 9-11 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Using food coloring and a toothpick, draw the bears faces. With a small food safe paintbrush apply luster dust to make rosy cheeks. Use a dab of icing or melted chocolate to apply the candy hearts.
Notes
*To find the bear cookie cutter I used, click here.**To find mini bear cookie cutters click here.
