Beautiful Heart Shaker Cookies For Your Valentine

Instructions:

1. In a stand mixer, outfitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
2. Add egg and vanilla. Beat for about a minute until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
3. Add the flour and mix until dough clumps together. Do not over mix.
4. Transfer dough from the stand mixer onto a well-floured working surface. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Roll each of the portions out to 1/4” thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
5. Once chilled, working with 1 portion at a time, remove the rolled-out dough from the refrigerator. Using a large heart shape cookie cutter (preferably a 5” cookie cutter) cut out hearts. Then using a smaller heart shape cutter (approximately 3” in diameter), cut out the middle of each dough heart. Gather the scraps, roll and cut out more cookies. Place the cutout hearts 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies back into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Bake for 11-12 minutes until barely golden around the edges.
8. Remove from the oven. Allow cookies to cool on the tray for 15 minutes before moving them onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the Isomalt:

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In an oven-safe saucepan, add the isomalt.
3. Heat over medium heat until the isomalt crystals dissolve, stirring occasionally.
4. Insert candy thermometer and continue cooking without stirring until the thermometer reads 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Remove from the heat and place the pan directly into the oven for 15 minutes to help release the air bubbles. This will give you a clear, bubble free glass-like appearance.
6. While isomalt is in the oven, line a cookie sheet with a new piece of parchment paper. Do not reuse the ones you’d baked the cookies on. Transfer cookies onto the new parchment paper.
7. Using oven mitts, remove the pan from the oven, Note: isomalt is extremely hot and can cause severe burns. Pour the isomalt into the center of each cookie, making sure to flood the entire middle before moving on to flood the next cookie. If isomalt hardens, return the pan to the oven to melt the isomalt.
8. Allow isomalt to set, approximately 15 minutes. Isomalt will still be sticky. You can go ahead and ice the cookies at this time. However, if possible, best to wait at least 24 hours before icing the cookies.

Creating the Shaker Cookies

Ice cookies as usual. Allow cookies to dry completely.

Once the isomalt and royal icing are complete dry, turn one cookie upside down, so that the iced side of the cookie faces downwards. Add 1 teaspoon of sprinkles, pearl hearts and heart candies on to the sugar glass. Do not over fill.

Then pipe royal icing onto the backside of the cookie. Place another cookie, with the good side facing up, on top of the royal icing, creating a cookie sandwich. Allow royal icing to dry – approximately 2 hours.

Store cookies in an air-tight container. Enjoy!

Royal Icing

In a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites with cream of tartare until foamy. With the machine on low speed, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, whisking in between until fully incorporated. Increase speed to high and continue whisking until mixture is very thick and forms stiff peaks. Transfer royal icing into a piping bag and pipe as usual. Store any unused royal icing in an airtight container to prevent icing from drying out.