Here are our twins loving their 3rd birthday. Just before bed – one last taste of the yummy birthday cake….
And of course a favorite recipe that they love to make. Cookies of any kind! Here are some amazing cookies from Ina Garten with some adjustments – creative additions from the grandkids. SOO delicious.
Ingredients
3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt; then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and roll shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter. Place the hearts on an ungreased sheet pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Note: The edges of the shortbread are ever so slightly sharper if you chill the cookies before baking them. I cut out the cookies days ahead and bake them the day I serve them.
Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All Rights Reserved
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/shortbread-hearts-recipe.html?oc=linkback
So my grandson Jonah likes frosting so much that we had to frost these cookies instead of adding sugar to them. We particularly like Cream Cheese Frosting ( I buy it ready made) and sometimes we make ‘black and white’ ones ie put half chocolate and half vanilla on the cookies. Sigh- these are high caloric treats – but – birthdays only come once a year – so why not?
