How to Make Cream Cookie Sandwich Hearts

Perfect for Valentine's Day, these cookies are delightful. They require a little extra effort, but the end result is definitely worth it.

Makes 36 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 cups pink sanding sugar, for rolling
• 3/4 cup red-currant jelly

Steps

1. 1
   Mix the flour, butter, cream, vanilla, and salt in an electric mixer bowl. Mix until smooth.
2. 2
   Roll out the dough and flatten into two discs. Wrap in food plastic and place in the refrigerator to chill for 2 - 3 hours.
3. 3
   Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. 4
   Roll out each dough on a sugared surface. Roll to 1/8" thickness. Add more sugar as you roll.
5. 5
   Cut heart shapes. Cut 72 shapes and put 24 cookies on each sheet. Put the sheets back in the refrigerator to firm (about 10 minutes)
6. 6
   Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the light golden brown.
7. 7
   Remove from the heat. Transfer to a cooling rack.
8. 8
   Make the filling. Stir the jelly in a bowl until it becomes smooth. Put the jelly into a pastry piping bag and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon per cookie on half the cookies. Add the remaining cookies on top to form sandwiches.

Things You'll Need

• Electric mixer (with paddle attachment)
• 3 baking sheets
• Rolling pin
• Sugared surface
• Heart shaped cookie cutter, 2" width
• Wire cooling rack
• Pastry piping bag fitted with a No. 11 plain round tip