Heart Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Jam

Cookies with lots of love for someone special! They make a perfect treat for loved one or a perfect home made gift. Share them with someone you really love! 

Ingredients:

125 gr of butter (room temperature)

50 gr of šugar

40 gr of cane sugar

1/4 tsp of salt

1 egg

1 tbsp of milk

1 tsp of vanilla

1 tsp of baking powder

280 gr of flour (sifted)

strawberry jam or some other red colored jam (raspberries, cherries)

Watch the video for detailed how to:

Preparation:

Beat butter and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the butter gets fluffier.

Add vanila, milk and the egg. Mix it well.

Gradually add flour (combined with salt and baking powder). It is the best to add half amount of the flour, than gradualy add the rest. The dough should be soft but not sticky. It is good once it stops sticking to the dish. Depending on the flour itself, the whole amount could vary, that is why it is best to add it gradually. 

When you can leave your finger prints in the dough and it doesn't stick to your fingers, you made the perfect dough. 

cover the dough with stretch foil and leave it in the fridge for 2-3 hours. For this time it will harden, but once you take it out from the fridge and start working with it, it will soften very fast.

There is two way of shaping the cookies.

1. way:

Take wallnut sized balls from the dough, roll them in perfect balls, then flatten them. The circles should be at least 1cm wide.

(Kids love this way!)

2. way:

This is the way that I like better. Roll the dough into one big roll (you can do it before putting it to the fridge).

Next, cut 1 cm wide circles from the roll. Roll them into perfect balls and flatten them. 

This way all the cookies will be same sized. 

*note* It is very important to make the cookies at least 1cm thick! Otherwise the jam could leak out... 

Put the cookies in a baking pan covered with baking sheet.

Print a heart shape in every cookie with your index finger. (see it in video - how to print hearts in cookie)

If the dough becomes soft, put back the cookies to the fridge for another 15 - 20 min before baking. This will prevent them from spreading to much while baking. 

Heat the jam in a pan, it will be easier to handle it. If you wish, you can put it thrue strain to remove the little seeds from jam. 

Put the jam in one freezer bag and cut of the tip. (Watch out, you can always cut of more if needed!)

Fill the heart holes with jam up to the cookie level. (If it goes beyond, it will leak!)

Bake it in preheated oven on 180C about 15 min, or until the cookies don't get nice color.

*note* If some cookie looses it's shape you can shape it back while it is still laying on the surface. Don't lift it up and it shouldn't brake.

Leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet. Once cooled, transfer them to serving dish.