Two Tone Love Cookies: The Perfect (& Easy) Valentines Recipe!
Valentines = Love, we all know that. For well over a century this day has been used by shy or secret lovers to express admiration and lust in the form of cards, flowers and chocolates. It has exploded in more recent years into a cynical marketing exercise; saccharine pink and red heart-themed everything overwhelming the senses and destroying all sense of taste. An event that feels designed to make single people depressed, and couples pushed into buying crap their partner neither needs nor wants.
But of late this day has been reclaimed by people who simply believe in the power of love and that it is a lovely thing to share it on this day. They believe, as I do, that it shouldn’t be reserved just for couples but is to be shared by everyone - family, friends, strangers and, yes, lovers and partners too.
These cookies, or shortbread biscuits (cookies somehow sounds cosier in this context), can be offered as a gift, over coffee with a friend, just as they are, on a plate. Or they can be wrapped up in pretty paper, or greaseproof, whatever you have to hand. If you have a ribbon lying about why not use that to make it into a more special gift.
Using the reverse pickpocket method, a kind of guerrilla gifting if you like, you can pop one of these little love bombs into unsuspecting people’s pockets, or slide one into a handbag or rucksack of a passer by. Give one to the person at the till in the supermarket, or to the bin man. Feel the love - it will swing back around over and over.
Two Tone Love Cookies
You will need a heart shaped cookie cutter, or a steady and faithful knife wielding hand.
The recipe makes about 24 using my cutter, but it will depend on the size of the cutter. Could be one huge heart for the love of your life!
Ingredients
225g butter - softened
110g castor sugar
275g plain flour, sieved
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1 dessert spoon cocoa powder
Method
Using a hand held mixer or a wooden spoon directed with a strong arm beat the sugar and butter until it’s light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix well until you have and crumb mix, a bit like if you are making pastry, using your hands.
At this point divide the mix into two bowls. Add the cocoa to one bowl and a bit of vanilla to the other, or both if you like.
Using your hands bring the crumb mixes together to make two balls. The cocoa ball may appear a bit marbled but it doesn’t matter.
Try not to over work the dough or it will become tough.
Pre heat your oven 190oC (170 fan oven), gas mark 5
Roll out each ball into an oblong shape, as close to the same size as possible.
Lay one layer on top of the other and keep rolling together until you have a total thickness of about 2 pound coins (remember those?).
Using heart shaped cookie cutter, or small sharp knife, cut out as many hearts as you can and lay them, carefully, on to a baking parchment lined baking tray. Use the left over bits to make another ball and repeat. The cookies will be more marbled than two tone from this ball but that’s ok.
Bake for about 10 mins or until you can see the edges going just slightly golden brown.
Remove from the oven and very gently lay them onto a cooling rack.
BONUS! For extra luxe bikkies melt some really good dark chocolate and dip each heart into the velvety goodness, put them on a new piece of greaseproof paper to set. If you have an orange to hand you can add a bit the melted chocolate for a citrus ping.
Written by Liz Haughton
Twenty five years in Bristol, now expat living in Cardigan (Aberteifi), West Wales. Liz’s background is catering and running cafes but now working with Ein Cegin (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094420954131) she is delivering cooking workshops and helping to build confidence and knowledge around cooking good, nutritious meals from scratch, having fun with food and getting messy with children and young families.
Liz currently writes on substack (https://lizhaughton.substack.com/), sharing musings and recipes.
