Description
These delightful heart-shaped strawberry shortbread cookies combine buttery shortbread with a sweet strawberry glaze and jam filling, perfect for a charming dessert or gift. Crisp on the outside and tender inside, these cookies are ideal for strawberry lovers and special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Basic Shortbread:
- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 60 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Strawberry Filling and Glaze:
- 110 g powdered icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 2 tablespoons strawberry puree (2 large strawberries hulled and mashed with a fork)
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
- 30 ml milk
- 170 g strawberry jam
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the unsalted butter and caster sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and light. Scrape down the bowl halfway through. Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Add flour and salt: Sift the plain flour and salt into the bowl and mix on low speed until combined and the dough starts to come together, forming clumps and cleaning the bowl sides. Use your hands to squeeze the dough into a rough disc.
- Roll out the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to approximately ½ cm (¼ inch) thick. If the dough is too soft to roll, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes until firmer but not cracked.
- Cut shapes and chill: Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out cookies onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Gather scraps, re-roll gently, and repeat to maximize cookie yield, adding drops of water if dough dries out. Refrigerate the cutouts for at least 30 minutes to solidify the butter and help retain shape when baking.
- Bake the shortbread: Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F). Bake the chilled cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just turn golden. Let cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the glaze: In a bowl, combine powdered icing sugar, strawberry puree, and melted butter, stirring until smooth. If thick, gently warm in the microwave for up to 10 seconds, then adjust consistency with small amounts of milk, lemon juice, or water as needed to reach a thick glaze texture.
- Glaze cookie tops: Separate cookies into equal ‘top’ and ‘base’ halves. Dip the ‘top’ heart-shaped cookies into the glaze, allowing excess to drip off. Place on a wire rack or tray to set the glaze.
- Assemble cookies: Spoon or pipe about a teaspoon of strawberry jam onto the underside of the ‘base’ cookies. Place the glazed ‘top’ halves over the jam and gently press together. Enjoy immediately or let sit at room temperature to fully set the jam and glaze.
Notes
- Step-by-step photos on the blog post help guide through the making of this recipe.
- If fresh strawberries are unavailable for the glaze, substitute with 1 tablespoon strawberry jam or 1-2 tablespoons freeze-dried strawberries.
- Alternatively, dip each heart cookie in strawberry glaze without assembling as sandwich cookies.
- Store finished strawberry shortbread cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
- Undecorated shortbread dough or cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container between parchment paper. Thaw overnight at room temperature before decorating.
- Re-roll dough scraps up to two times to maximize cookie yield but avoid overworking to prevent drying.
- Flour cookie cutters to prevent sticking and maintain clean cookie shapes.
- Refrigerating cookie dough before baking is essential to avoid spreading and maintain shape.
- Oven temperatures vary; monitor baking time closely as a minute can affect the outcome.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
