I know that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but I just had to post these gorgeous cookies! In preparation for Valentine’s Day I spent a Saturday afternoon in the kitchen making these beautiful heart sandwich cookies which caught my eye sitting there on the front cover of Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine. I have made a couple of Martha’s recipes. One of them was a great success in my classroom two years ago at Christmas. Even though it took us four days to make them it was worth it. What I am leading up to is the fact that the cookie recipes of Martha’s seem to be so time-consuming! I know that she has lots of helpers in her kitchen, but there is just one of me. The active time given for completing this recipe was 3 hours and 25 minutes. I spent five hours. If you have ever spent five hours doing one recipe you know that when you are finished you don’t even want to eat what you have prepared or it just doesn’t live up to all that time spent in the kitchen. In other words, I could not be the judge of these cookies. I took them to school and let 60 of my students judge them.
Surprisingly, they thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. There were two negatives thrown in there: not enough cookies for everyone to have more than one and the chocolate was very intense. I loved the intense chocolate.
These are beautiful cookies that could be worked into any occasion using different colors to suit the time of the year. Just plan your day around your cookie making because it is an afternoon affair!
I followed Martha’s recipes to a T. Don’t be intimidated by all the steps because they are really easy to do, but with all the rolling, cutting , freezing, cooling, and frosting it just takes time and some patience.
Here is the dough ready to cut:
Pink Heart Sandwich Cookies made with Love from Martha
Yield about 4 dozen various sizes
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- red gel-paste food coloring
- 1 recipe Cream Filling
Directions:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy about 3 minutes at medium speed.
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture and stir just until incorporated.
- Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces depending on how many shades of pink you would like.
- Work with one piece of dough at the time. Using a toothpick add a small amount of the red-gel paste food coloring. I started with the darker color first. Mix and knead the color in with your hands. The food coloring will not stay on your hands.
- Flatten each piece of dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerator for at least and hour.
- If making the chocolate dough you might want to do it now while the pink dough is chilling.
- Bring the dough out of the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before rolling.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Roll each disk between to sheets of parchment paper. I used waxed paper,too. It worked well. I did not use any extra flour as the recipe called for. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 in. thick.
- Cut out the dough making sure that you have an even number for each size.
- Reroll the dough just once. A third time will result in a tougher cookie.
- Place them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze for about 15 minutes.
- Bake cookies for about 8 minutes for 1 inch cookies and up to 11 minutes for 2 inch cookies.
- Let cookies cool completely.
- Spread filling on the bottom side of half the cookies and sandwich with the remaining cookies. Press gently.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies made with Love from Martha
Yield: about 4 dozen cookies various sizes
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- Cream filling
Directions:
- Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir together butter, sugar, and egg.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until a dough forms.
- Divide the dough in half.
- Roll out each half between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thick.
- Transfer to baking sheets and refrigerate until firm about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut out into heart shapes making sure that you have an even number.
- Reroll the scrapes once.
- Place cookies 1 inch apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Freeze until firm about 15 minutes.
- Bake for 8 – 10 minutes depending on the size. They should be firm and fragrant. 8 minutes for 1-in. and about 10 minutes for 2-inch cookies.
- Spread filling onto bottom side of half the cookies, and sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing gently.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Cream Filling made with Love from Martha
Yield: 1 1/4 cups ( If you are making both the pink and chocolate recipes double the filling recipe.)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk, if needed
Directions:
- Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low, and gradually add sugars, beating until thoroughly combined.
- Beat in vanilla.
- If filling is too thick to spread beat in milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until spreadable.
- One Year Ago Double Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Frosting
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The Teacher Cooks 
Even though these cookies take forever to make, I thought they were amazing, especially the filling!!
I loved the buttercream filling
they were absolutely adorable and exetremely good. but they do look very hard to make.
I learned that they are very time consuming and they are very good.
These were very tastey but take a long time to make.
i learned how cool and unique they are, they take a long time but they are worth it
I learned that these cookies are time-consuming but are worth it for special occasions!
I learned that even though they look easy to make and are very yummy, they are time consuming to bake and patience is needed while making them.
These are really pretty ! I never know that you needed to beat in and mix sugar in. I though that you would just let it dissolve itself.
i learned that you must always pre heat oyur oven
The recipe can be used to make other decorative cookies for different holidays.
i learned that you have to allow the dough to harden in the fridge for an hour.
all the steps are really easy to follow.
its interesting that you used unsalted butter
i learned it takes 5 hours to make
I didn’t know you have to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
You divide the dough into 3 or 4 peices depending on what shade of pink you would like
You have to allow the dough to refrigerate for an hour and you can use unsalted butter.
I learned that you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
If filling is too thick to spread beat in milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until spreadable.
I learned that sugar cookie dough must harden in the fridge for an hour
I learned that even though this recipe looks pretty easy to make is very time consuming and you have to refrigerate the dough for atleast an hour
I learned these cookies are time consuming but the outcome is worth it
I learned that if you are making cookies and the batter is too thick use milk to thin it out, but if you use to much milk it will make it soupy.
I learned that you shoukd only reroll the dough once so that it doesn’t get tough.
looks great
I learned that you could use buttercream as a filling
I learned that you have to allow the dough to refrigerate for an hour before use.
you need to refrigerate dough for at least an hour so that it will harden and will be easier to manage
If making the chocolate dough you might want to do it now while the pink dough is chilling.
i learned that you must always pre heat oyur oven
I learned that these cookies take much time and isn’t very difficult but very time consuming.
I learned that making these cookies can use up a lot of your time.
I learned that you need to beat the butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes.
i would like to make these cookies next year for my valentine
These cookies take a lot of time to make and not a one person job.
I learned that you need to flatten each dough into a disk.
I Learned That You Have To Reduce Speed Low, Gradually Add Sugars, Beating Until Throughly Combined
i learned you place them 1inch a part from each other so they wont get stuck together.
i learned you can make these without food dye
They look very hard to make but they look very pretty!
Cream filling is easy to make