Valentine Surprise Cookies

You’ll also need a 2.5″ and 3.5″ heart-shaped cookie cutter if you want heart-shaped sandwiches. Otherwise, use similar sized cookie cutters of your preferred shape.

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Then add flour and mix well. (add food coloring if desired to get colored dough)

2. Separate dough into 2 halves and wrap each in plastic wrap then refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).

4. Remove half of the dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap it and put it onto a parchment paper lined work surface. Roll with a rolling pin until 1/4″ thick. Using your 3.5″ cookie cutter make 30 hearts.

5. Using your 2.5″ heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out a smaller heart in the center of 10 of the large hearts. These will be your center cookies. All remaining 20 cookies will be your base and top. See the related blog post for step-by-step photos. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until very slightly browned.

6. Once your cookies are cool you will want to melt 1/2 of your chocolate. Put it in a microwave safe glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the microwave and stir in remaining 1/2 of the chocolate chips. Stir to combine until all chocolate is completely melted. You just tempered your chocolate. Now pour 1/4 of the chocolate into a small piping bag with a tiny tip. Pipe a small amount of chocolate around the edge of the back of the middle cookies (the ones with the heart cut out).

7. Now stick it to the top of a base cookie. You should have no chocolate squirting out the sides if you did this correctly. Repeat with all of the remaining middle cookies.

8. Fill the center cutout of your cookie with candy hearts, sprinkles, little notes, candy bugs, candy dirt whatever. Then start piping a thin chocolate line on the top edge of the middle cookie (the one with the heart cut out).

9. Now take your solid third cookie (and best looking cookie if some aren’t fabulous) and put this one on top of the the piped chocolate. Put the sandwiches onto a tray. Refrigerate for 2 minutes so everything is secure before you put chocolate on everything.

10. Spread the remaining chocolate all over the top and sides of the cookie. If you don’t want to use chocolate you could also use a simple cookie icing. Refrigerate for 5 minutes until firm. Enjoy!