Step-by-Step Guide to Heart-Shaped Cookies for Mother’s Day Gifting

Mothers have our whole hearts and there is nothing in the world that can measure up to the endless well of love they provide. But perhaps something sweet and heart-shaped can make their day or make them feel a little extra special this Mother’s Day. So, we urge you to try heart-shaped cookies for Mother's Day this year and gift a unique sweet something for the special woman in your life.

Heart-Shaped Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• Zest from 1 unwaxed lemon
• 2 1/3 cups plain flour (extra for dusting)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Red food coloring gel

For the filling:

• 7 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 2/3 cups icing sugar
• Red food coloring gel
• Juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, then line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Take a big mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and mix until it is pale. Then beat in the egg and lemon zest.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and whisk until combined.
4. Divide the dough between two bowls. Then add a few drops of red food coloring to one bowl, mix to get a pink or deep shade of red. Let the other bowl remain as is.
5. Roll out the dough from both bowls, on a lightly floured surface until ½ cm thick all around.
6. You will need two cookie cutters – 5cm and 7cm – you can also use the same sized cookie cutters depending on how you’d like your cookies.
7. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheets, then refrigerate them for 15 minutes.
8. Bake the cookies for 6-8 minutes; they will turn golden at the edges. Lesser time for the smaller cookies and a little more time for the larger cookies.
9. Take them out of the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
10. Take a big mixing bowl, and add the butter, whisk it. Then whisk in the icing sugar, a little at a time until fully incorporated.
11. Add some red colouring gel and the lemon juice and mix until incorporated.
12. Then spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized round nozzle and sandwich two cookies with the buttercream in between.

Note: You can store the freshly baked cookies for up to 5 days, in an airtight container. As for the iced sandwich cookies, they should be consumed on the same day. You can also opt to create solo heart-shaped cookies with icing on top. For these, divide the buttercream into two portions, dye one portion pink and the other red or keep it white. Keep the red or white as the base icing, then once it sets, top with the pink icing drawing a smaller heart or little hearts over the frosted heart-shaped cookies.

If you’re looking for a bunch of jam-centric heart-shaped cookies, we’ve got another recipe below for you.

(Makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 jar strawberry jam
• ¼ cup powdered sugar, or as needed

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Add sugar and butter to a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. While the mixer is still running, add the egg and vanilla extract.
4. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl, then add it little by little to the butter bowl. Mix well.
5. Pluck out a handful of the dough and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper. Do the same with the rest of the dough to however thick you want them to be.
6. Take a cookie sheet and arranged the rolled dough on them with the parchment paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or more.
7. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out 24 cookies of the same size from the dough.
8. Grab a smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut hole in the middle of half of the cookies.
9. Transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet and bake them for 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden.
10. Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
11. Spread 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the centers of the whole cookies. Then sprinkle powdered sugar on the rest of the cookies. Press down these onto the cookies with jam.