Tate’s Linzer Heart Cookie Recipe & Giveaway

Did you watch the Super Bowl? We had a few friends over to celebrate the big game and had an absolute blast! I made a few from scratch items for the party, and relied on Trader Joe’s for the rest! Our guests also brought awesome dishes. For dessert, I made Tate’s Linzer Heart Cookies (recipe at end of post):

 

These are sooo yummy! Sort of like a short bread with flair:

 

I made chocolate chip cookies (Josh likes them flat like pancakes ;)):

 

I cooked up Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs (un-pictured) and made breadsticks with pizza dough:

I put together a big veggie platter with hummus and Trader Joe’s guacamole hummus (this stuff is DELICIOUS):

Our guests brought very creative dishes, bacon roses:

DARK chocolate brownies:

Jalapeno bacon poppers and puffs (our guests are clearly bacon fanatics):

 

Asian noodle salad:

 

A light Mexican dip:

 

and sausage balls:

 

I think everyone enjoyed all the treats! Now for the recipe & giveaway!

TATE'S BAKE SHOP LINZER HEART COOKIES

Itzy’s Kitchen notes: I used almonds instead of hazelnuts. Also, my food processor is on its way out…so my chocolate and nuts weren’t SUPER fine. I didn’t use the jelly and powdered sugar, although these cookies would be amazing with both!! These are the perfect Valentine’s day cookies!

These decorative cookies make beautiful and tasty gifts. 

An important tip: be sure to chop the nuts and chocolate very fine in a food processor (pulse to chop so the friction doesn’t warm them), or the dough will be too rough-textured to roll out smoothly. You need a graduated set of heart-shaped cookie cutters to make these. Yield: 20 sandwich cookies

Cookies 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

1 cup cornstarch 

¼ teaspoon salt 

¾ pound (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

2 cups toasted, skinned and very finely chopped hazelnuts

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped 

-plus-

½ cup seedless raspberry jam 

½ cup confectioners’ sugar for sifting 

1. Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer set on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture, just until combined. Mix in the hazelnuts and chocolate.

2. Gather up the dough and shape it into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly before rolling.) 

3. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a round about ¼-inch thick. Use a 3 ½-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies as close as possible to avoid excess scraps. Arrange the hearts about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up the dough scraps and gently knead together, and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes too soft to roll out, refrigerate until chilled. You should have 40 cookies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

4. Position the oven racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. 

5. Use a 1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the centers of 20 cookies. These will be the cookie tops. (You can bake the mini hearts to nibble on later! Don’t throw away or re-roll.) Bake, switching the position of the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies begin to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Sift some of the ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar over the hot cut-out cookies Let cool completely on the baking sheets. 

6. Spread the jam on the cookie bottoms, leaving an 1/8-inch border around the edges. Add the tops, sugared sides up, and press together gently. Just before serving, sift the remaining confectioners’ sugar over the cookies.

Giveaway: The wonderful people at Tate’s are giving away a Valentine's Cookie Cube & Cookbook combo to one lucky Itzy’s Kitchen reader (disclaimer: Tate’s is providing the above for free)!! You DO NOT need to have a blog to enter! All you need to do is leave me a link to your favorite cookie recipe in the comments section of this post by Friday, February 8 at noon (EST). The winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email (make sure you either leave your email address or have it linked via the comment form). Good luck!!