Micah A. Leal
With the bright and sweet flavors of almond and cherry, these heart-shaped sugar cookies for Valentine's Day are a decorative way to celebrate the loveliness of the season.
How to Make It
Step 1
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 2
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add egg, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and beat on medium-high until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Scrape down sides of the bowl again and add dry ingredients. Mix on low until flour is fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
Step 4
Form dough into a disc, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Step 5
Preheat oven to 375°F. On a floured surface, roll out cookie dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using large heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 30 hearts, rerolling scraps of dough as needed. Use smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out small hearts from the center of 15 large hearts. Discard small hearts. Place large hearts on parchment paper-lined baking sheets and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Step 6
Bake in preheated oven until just beginning to brown, about 9 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.
Step 7
Take all cookies with hearts cut from the center and using a sifter, dust them with powdered sugar. Take the whole-heart cookies and spread 1 tsp. cherry jam on to the surface, leaving a 1/2 border around the edge of the cookie without any jam. Stack the powdered sugar-covered cookies on top of the jam covered cookies, lightly pressing to make the cookies stick together.
