Roasted Peanut Linzer Heart Cookies

After an indulgent holiday season, I spent a sad, bleak cookie-free January and thank goodness that's over and it's cookie time again! February means it's time for my well worn and well loved heart shaped cutters to come out from the bottom of a giant container of cookie cutters. (Don't worry, I've checked and they all spark joy.)

As much as I want to make treats for my Valentine, I actually enjoy it more when I spread the love to friends, neighbors and the hard working staff in my apartment building. So I bake lots of goodies and Valentine's allows me to indulge my desire to toss pink and red sprinkles all over everything. You know you want to.

I use my Dell Cove sugars both for rimming cocktail glasses and for decorating treats. How can I resist a little tin that contains mini red, pink and white heart shaped sugars? You need a cookie recipe that will hold its shape. My usual go-to is shortbread but linzer cookie dough works well too and who says they have to be round, right? And if you don't own a fancy linzer cutter set, just use a piping tip to make the characteristic round hole in the center. Enjoy!

Yield: 12 ServingsAuthor: Anita Schecter

Roasted Peanut Linzer Heart Cookies

prep time: 20 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 35 mins

Recipe for heart shaped peanut linzer cookies topped with chocolate and colorful sprinkles.

ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup peanuts
• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Cup jam (any flavor)
• 2 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 oz. White chocolate
• 1/4 Cup heavy cream
• Dell Cove Sweet Candy Romantic Hearts Sugar for topping

instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the peanuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for about 7 minutes. Allow them to cool and then pulse in a food processor until they resembled coarse crumbs but not dust.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar using a hand or stand mixer. Add in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour, pulsed peanuts and salt and turn out onto a floured board.
4. Roll the dough out to just under 1/4" thickness and cut out heart shapes using a cookie cutter. Note that I used a 3" cutter and got 24 cookies. Re-roll the scraps until you have all the cookies but, if you have a bit extra, use a smaller cutter and then cut out a slit on the bottom to make the cute tea cup topper.
5. Place half the cookies on one baking sheet lined with parchment paper and the other half on a second parchment lined baking sheet. Cut out small center rounds or shapes from only one tray of cookies.
6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to lightly brown. Allow the cookies to cool before handling.
7. Place a spoonful of jam on each of the whole cookies and top with the half that has the hole in the center.
8. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the cream in one bowl in the microwave and the white chocolate and remaining 2 tablespoons of cream in a separate bowl. Stir each until you have a smooth mixture. Dip half of each cookie sandwich in either the dark or white chocolate and sprinkle with the Valentine sugars.

Created using The Recipes Generator

This recipe is sponsored by Dell Cove. Thank you for supporting the products I love and use in my kitchen.