We’re very a few days away from Mother’s Day and even though I’m not going to be with my mom, if you are, then it’s an amazing time to do something for her. These heart cookie sandwiches filled with cream cheese buttercream are really easy to make and take very little time for how pretty they look.
It’s a really nice thing to take time off your day for your mom and these cookies are really easily made. The base for these heart cookie sandwiches is the same recipe for my decorated Christmas cookies (minus the spices). As a matter of fact, you could make the same kind of royal icing decorations on these, too! The cookies are really yummy and you can even make them without the filling. If you make them without the filling then I would say to make them a bit thicker. They would take a bit longer in the oven, of course. If you want to change up their flavour (both the filling and cookie) you can easily add citrus zest and spices. Just consider that if you’re using food colouring like me it may change the final colour. It’s not even necessary to add food colouring, eve, it’s just fun to change it up :).
Vary them up
For the filling, I made a cream cheese buttercream that you’ve seen before on my red velvet cake and carrot cake. I love this buttercream, it’s my favourite in the whole world! Alternatively, you can fill them with anything, really. The cookie is so yummy that it goes nice with anything :). It mostly depends on what the person who you’re making them for likes most. You can drizzle them with chocolate, too (white or dark), fill them with manjar blanco, etc. Play around 🙂
Another thing that you can vary easily is the shape and colour of the cookies and filling. You can cut the cookies in the shape of circles, flowers, triangles, dogs, cats, etc! It’s all up to your imagination. Same for the colour. You don’t actually need to use food colouring, but since we are you can play with all the colours in the rainbow! Always bare in mind that you need to be really aware of the cooking of the cookies because if they get golden the colour will change. You want to cook them just enough.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 110 g unsalted butter soft, at room temperature
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp pink or red liquid food colouring
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 250 g all-purpose flour + more to dust the surface for rolling
For the cream cheese buttercream
- 250 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 210 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 150 g icing sugar
- Pink or red food colouring
Instructions
For the cookies
- Use a whisk to beat the butter, sugar and salt together until you have a creamy consistency.
- Add the egg and mix it in until fully incorporated.
- Add the vanilla and food colouring and mix once again.
- Add the flour and baking powder and mix using a spatula. Once the spatula isn’t helping anymore, knead slightly with your hands.
- Cover the dough and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- If your dough has been in the fridge for more than 30 minutes, it's possible that you will have to wait a few minutes for it to come back to room temperature before rolling it out to prevent it from breaking. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it's 2-3mm thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into hearts or whatever shape you prefer.
- Use a thin metal spatula to lift the cookies from the surface.
- Place the cookies on a non-stick baking tray. If your tray is not non-stick, line it with baking paper or silpat first.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F for 5-8 minutes you want them to keep the colour so don't let them become golden.
- Let them cool down completely before filling or the frosting will melt.
For the cream cheese butter cream
- If it’s hot where you live or if your kitchen is too hot, don’t let the butter or cream cheese soften at room temperature before making the buttercream. However if it’s cold, then leave them outside of the fridge for a couple of hours before starting.
- Beat the butter for 5 minutes from the moment it goes soft. Remember to stop halfway through to scrape down the sides and bottom.
- Add the cream cheese and repeat the process.
- Add the sugar and mix until everything is incorporated. Add food colouring little by little until you get the desired colour. I divided the buttercream and did two tones for mine 🙂
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a nozzle (optional) with the buttercream.
- Place buttercream on one cookie and cover it with another cookie.
- Place the cookies in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so that the buttercream solidifies. If you don't do this, the buttercream will escape the cookies as you bite into them.
- Keep them in the fridge.
