Have A Heart {A Valentine's Day Treat}

Hi sweet friends! :)

I hope you had a fun weekend!

As you know, tomorrow is Valentine's Day...I am SO excited about this! Valentine's Day is a big deal at my little nest, and we are having our usual family party tomorrow night!

(My husband and I already went out to dinner earlier this weekend.)

One thing I personally love about Valentine's Day is baking special treats, and I tried one this year that will be a tradition, I think! :) I found it at one of my favorite baking websites, Joy of Baking, and it was just what I was looking for!

{Shortbread with White Chocolate & Raspberries}

Shortbreads:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

1/2 cup of raspberry jam

2 ounces white chocolate, grated

Shortbreads: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter until smooth (about one minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about two minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On the lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about one inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a small cookie cutter (3/4 to 1 inch) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small "window" or "cut out" in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.) * Tip: I kept the little hearts that I cut out and baked these, too. My kids loved them!) Place the unbaked cookies, on the baking sheet, in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. *This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for about ten minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

* (I wanted the shortbread to be softer, not crisp, and so I did not bake them until lightly browned, but removed them just before this.)

To assemble cookies: Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and dust with confectioners' (powdered) sugar. (I used my flour sifter for this.)

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

Sprinkle with a little grated white chocolate, if desired. ( I didn't use it on mine~ just personal preference.) Place the cut-out cookie on top, and sandwich together gently, being careful not to smudge the confectioners' sugar.

Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

And enjoy!

{Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.}

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Thanks so much for coming by, and have a good night! :)

Blessings to you~

Jenni