Once upon a time I had a culinary dream: To make every single one of the cookies featured in Martha Stewart's Cookies.
Granted, as far as culinary dreams go, this one isn't as lofty as say, the Julie/Julia Project or Cooking With My Kid, but as somebody who really likes cookies, I thought it had some merit.
However, my dream was quickly dashed after attempting a handful of various cookie recipes all in the same weekend. The amount of sugar and butter that I used absolutely was a little ridiculous, and I just couldn't see myself being that indulgent so frequently.
That doesn't mean that I gave up on my dream entirely. Oh, no. In fact, we frequently make many of the cookies from this cookbook. I just don't make a different cookie every single day.
Special occasions, however, definitely call for cookies and Valentine's Day is no exception. I flipped through the book, trying to decide just which cookie got to be our special Valentine cookie. I went past some of my favorites (Grammy's Chocolate Cookie, PB&J Bars, Homemade Thin Mints) until finally settling on the Cranberry Shortbread Hearts. Martha must have had Valentine's Day in mind when she created these. The red flecks of dried cranberries and the heart shaped cookies definitely help you feel the love.
I followed the recipe almost exactly, with one small exception (which I'll note in red).
 |
| INGREDIENTS |
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries or cherries
Directions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees with a rack in the center. Combine butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, flour & salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried cranberries
(Here is where I went off script. I decided to use my trusty Kitchen Aid to mix all these ingredients in lieu of a wooden spoon. Martha would be shocked, but I was pleased...it was super easy, came out like it's described in the cookbook and I didn't even break a sweat!)
Pat dough evenly into an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan.
Bake until just beginning to turn golden, about 20 minutes (the time in my cookbook says 30, the time on her website says 20. I baked 33 minutes!).
Place pan on cooling rack until cool enough to touch, about 20 minutes. Run knife around edges, remove shortbread and transfer, right side up to work surface. Use 1 1/2 to 2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
Use a paring knife to trim stray bits of cranberry from edges. Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Bake until just beginning to turn golden, about 20 minutes (the time in my cookbook says 30, the time on her website says 20. I baked 33 minutes!).
Place pan on cooling rack until cool enough to touch, about 20 minutes. Run knife around edges, remove shortbread and transfer, right side up to work surface. Use 1 1/2 to 2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
No comments:
Post a Comment