These cookies, visually, are probably the stars of the cookie assortment that our family makes. A few years back, Jess told us a humorous story about pandemonium in her office because of these. She had brought a large plate to work for her colleagues to share. As we make almost 30 different cookies, the plate had just one or two of each type. Rather than choose individual cookies, her co-workers had chosen to slice each one up into miniscule slivers so that each one could have a taste of all of them. Over several days, the tray had diminished until just the one large, beautiful heart-shaped cookie remained. Then, a colleague who had been away for a few days came back and ate the last cookie. When the others discovered that the last cookie was missing, and that the whole large cookie had been eaten by one person, they were aghast. The disingenuous soul who had eaten the cookie was severely castigated by the others and Jessica called me to see if there were any more remaining, but there were none.
Adele and I made these together this year as there are several steps involved, although none are particularly difficult, especially if you roll the dough out using a well-floured pastry cloth and stockinette covered rolling pin. We poured the melted chocolate through a wide-necked funnel into a squirt bottle to apply the chocolate around the top cut-out heart. If the chocolate starts to set, let the bottle sit for a few minutes in a hot water bath. An individual tea strainer with jointed handle makes a great little device for neatly shaking on powdered sugar. This year, I discovered a delicious organic strawberry spread from Kirkland brand at Costco, and we were delighted with the intense taste and texture both in these cookies and in the Cream Cheese Frills.
Melt-Away Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 extra-large eggs
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 6 oz. pkg. (1 cup) semisweet chocolate morsels
- 1/2 cup preserves, jam, or jelly
- powdered sugar
2. Add half of the flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and almond extract.
3. Beat thoroughly and then beat in remaining flour.
4. Divide dough in half. Wrap in plastic wrap, shaping dough into thick discs and chill for at least one hour or until firm.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough 1/8-inch thick. (Keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator until ready to roll.) Cut into shapes with cookie cutter.
6. Place on ungreased baking sheets.
7. With a smaller cutter, cut out centers from half of the unbaked cookies.
8. Bake at 375°F. for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the edges are firm and bottoms are very light brown. Cool.
9. Repeat with dough scraps and remaining dough.
10. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt chocolate pieces over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread about 1 tsp. of the melted chocolate on the bottom of each cookie with the removed center. Immediately place chocolate side atop whole cookies to form a sandwich.
11. Sift powdered sugar atop cookies.
12. Spoon preserves or jelly in the center hole of each cookie.
Makes about 30-40 sandwich cookies.
These freeze well layered between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container.
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