Almond Heart Shaped Biscuits Recipes

HEART SHAPED ALMOND COOKIES !

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 375 degrees F Sift flour with baking powder into large bowl. Add shortening, sugar, almond and vanilla extracts and salt and beaten egg.
• Knead the mixture until thoroughly combined. Turn dough onto unfloured surface. Lightly pat into 1/4" thickness with a floured 2 1/2 " heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies.
• Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. GLAZE: Combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush on top of each cookie and place an almond in center of each. Bake in pre heated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, watch closely as I found they don't take that long, should be lightly golden brown.

LINZER HEART COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in almonds. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a 3-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. From the center of half the cookies, cut out a 1-1/2-in. heart or round shape. , Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool., Spread 1/2 teaspoon jam over the bottom of the solid cookies. Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar; carefully place over jam.

ALMOND HEART COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Place almonds in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are ground. Set aside.
• 2. Whip butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until smooth. Add the sugar and continue mixing until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time so the butter and sugar are fully integrated and somewhat "fluffy." In another bowl, combine and mix the flour, almonds, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• 3. Because this dough has a good amount of butter, it needs no "resting" time and needs to be rolled fairly quickly. Lay 3 large pieces of wax paper in a single layer on a flat surface. Sprinkle each one with a light coating of flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, blend the flour mixture in with the butter. When the ingredients are fully integrated, place ⅓ of the batter on each of the pieces of wax paper. Coat dough with a light layer of flour, and top with another piece of wax paper of the same length. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a disk to make 3 dough "sandwiches." Place two of them in the refrigerator and work with remaining disk of dough.
• 4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll the first batch into as neat a shape as possible while keeping the waxed paper in place. Avoid creasing or cracking the dough as you roll it to about a ½-inch in thickness. When the first batch is rolled, refrigerate it and repeat the same process for the other two.
• 5. Remove the first rolled sheet from the refrigerator. Place it on a flat surface and remove the top layer of waxed paper. Spread a small amount of flour onto your work surface and invert the dough onto it. Carefully remove the second sheet of waxed paper. Cut as many 1½-inch hearts (or rounds) as possible. Reserve the scraps in the refrigerator. Arrange the cut cookies neatly in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the other two sheets, reserving any scraps.
• 6. Cut a heart, with the smaller cutter, out of the center of half of all the cookies to create a heart outline. Roll the scraps in between two of the pieces of wax paper using the method indicated above and cut additional hearts, if desired. Waste dough? No such thing. Simply reroll all the scraps and refrigerate for a few minutes before cutting into additional cookies.
• 7. Bake the cookies until they are lightly brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the trays from the oven and allow them to cool slightly for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a cooling rack. Put the raspberry jam in a bowl and whisk to remove large lumps.
• 8. Spoon about ½ teaspoon raspberry jam on each bottom and place a "top" heart on each. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
• Note: Dough can be rolled without waxed paper if allowed to chill in the refrigerator for one hour prior to use.

ALMOND BISCUIT / COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine the almond meal, sugar and essence in a medium sized bowl.
• Add the egg whites and stir until the mixture forms a paste. It's best if you don't overmix at this point.
• Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into the flaked almonds. Then roll into a log 6-8cm long.
• Shape the roll into a crescent shape and place onto paper lined biscuit tray.
• Bake at 180 degrees celcius for approx 15 minutes.
• Cool the biscuits on the tray. They will set as they cool.Enjoy!

CHERRY SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sift the icing sugar, flour and cornflour together into a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds and butter, then rub in the butter until smooth. Stir in the chopped glacé cherries and almond extract, and bring together to form a dough.
• Roll out on a lightly floured surface, then stamp out biscuits using a heartshaped cutter. Keep re-rolling the trimmings until all the dough is used. Carefully transfer the biscuits to baking trays lined with parchment and bake for just 8-10 mins until just pale golden.
• Using an upturned bottle top or similar, press gently into the centre of each biscuit to make a round indent. Spoon in a little jam and return to the oven for 2 mins. Remove and cool on a wire rack, before dusting with icing sugar to serve.