7 February 2008

Baked HEARTS for your VALENTINE

I have never been much of a Valentines Day person. I am one of those people who feel that expression of love should not be restricted to a day. But somehow the season is contagious. With shops selling cards and gifts and little knick-knacks for your loved one, and events in the food blogosphere gently nudging us into cooking something for our valentine. Now, that's something I don't mind.

I always feel inadequate when I need to bake anything. Mainly because I have an OTG without temperature control and just 2 baking dishes in which nothing except a cake can be made. I don't have muffin trays or pie dishes or even cookie cutters. I normall make round-shaped cookies by patting them into shape with my hands. But if I need anything heart-shaped, that's a different story, right?

But I used my hands again! Its crude, its far from perfect, but its still a heart!

Heart-Shaped Shortbread Cookies for your Valentine



Recipe adapted from here

Makes a dozen cookies

What I Used:

Flour - 1 cup
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup and a little more
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (measure after powdering)
Salt - one pinch
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp



How I Made Them:

1. Mix the flour and salt well and keep aside.

2. Cream the butter well and mix in the sugar. Cream further until it has dissolved in the butter.

3. Add the vanilla and mix well.

4. Gently fold in the flour and make into a soft dough. Refrigerate cling-wrapped, for an hour.

5. Gently roll the dough and cut into desired shape. I make small balls and made the heart shape with my hands :)

6. Bake in a 180C pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes.

Share with your valentine while still warm and get ready for the compliments :)



These cookies go to Zorra's 'A heart for your Valentine' event. Entries so far can be seen here. I am also sending this to Pooja who is hosting an event with a Valentine Theme.

44 Comments:

Sig said...

That is sooo sweet.. lucky Shanks.. :) You did a pretty good job with your hands N, if I tried making a heart without a mold, I am sure it will look like a kidney :D

Bharathy said...

Oh yeah,I second Sig! :)

They are CUTE rather than crude!:)

Sia said...

aww... they really r cute nags:) i too dont have cookie cutter and fancy baking dishes. just one muffin pan and cake pan ;) but unlike u i hardly bake anything. u should send it to pooja's event to.

@sig,
u r too much girl... ha ha ha...

zorra said...

They are perfect, because they are made with love! Thank you for your participation.

Srivalli said...

Nags, they look very cute, as sia said you can send this to Pooja's valentine event and also account your fond memories of your valentine for us to enjoy!..:D

Padmaja said...

Hey Nags!!
Already preps have started for valentine's day eh??
Those cookies look so yum!!
I am still laughing at Sig's comment.

Jayashree said...

You've done a pretty impressive job even without a cookie cutter...and it's always the thought that counts...

Happy cook said...

I loved the remark of sig ;) it will happen to me too.
A job well done

Nags said...

Sig - its not that tough :D you should try it once!

Bharathy - Thanks Sis :D

Sia - thanks for letting me know about Pooja's event. I have sent it to her as well :)

zorra - thanks for hosting, Zorra!

Srivalli - Unfortunately, my valentine is a shy guy. I had initially dedicated the post to him but he was embarassed so I removed it.

Padmaja - baked it last weekend and thought others could also use this idea!

Jayashree & Happy Cook - Thanks! :)

Asha said...

V day is exaggerated and very commercial here in US, don't care much either but an excuse to cook yummy goodies though.Perfect looking cookies!:))

Ramya's Mane Adige said...

Thats soooo damn chweeeeet!!!!! And they seem quite ez to make too... Love the last pic

Laavanya said...

That's really sweet Nags.. they look perfect to me.

Uma said...

Nice entry. The cookies look so hearty! Love them.

Rachel said...

Crude? C'mon! They are shaped well! The outcome looks really good..Love the last pic a lot!

TBC said...

I'm not a V-day person either and just think of it as a Hallmark- holiday. Sometimes I feel what the Shiv Sainiks do in Bombay is just right!

Your cookies look adorable. You call it crude? I think they're cookies with character.:-)

Pooja said...

Nags,
they are nor far from perfect , THEY ARE PERFECT. you made it really well with your hands, truly your hands are creating magic in kitchen :) .
thanks for sharing and participating dear.
Not a Valentine's day person ? hmmm, thats what my hubby is like. but i don't miss to celebrate any event/days of any region to make life full of happy memories.... Coz somehow i can forget on which day he gifted me what ? but i never forget on which Valentine's day he gifted me what :).

Kalai said...

Nags...! How adorable you are! I think it's so sweet that you made them with your hands. It just means that there's more love in them! :)

Suganya said...

That is cute, Nags. Better than cookie cutters.

Nanditha Prabhu said...

those hearts look perfect! your hands are better than the cookie cutters!:)

Mansi Desai said...

that looks awesome nags! I was so hoping to see a picture of your "valentine" too in this post:) hehehe...

Richa said...

that is so cute of you :)

daphne said...

ooo..that's really sweet. I nearly forgot about v-day! Yikes!

Anonymous said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Raaga said...

I second or third or fifth Sig... I am lousy at shaping anything with my bare hands... thank heavens for cookie cutters!!!

they look lovely

Sahefa said...

Great recipe

SUGARCRAFT INDIA said...

I am still laughing at Sigs comment about her cookies looking like a "kidney" LOL...
Yours look so good Nags..just like with the cookie cutters..n very nice pics too

Namratha said...

It's pretty good for a handmade cookie Nags, looks delicious:)

Mythreyee said...

A pretty sweet valentine cookie. I love it.

Cynthia said...

For one who's not been much of a Valentine's day person, you have outdone yourself here! The blog looks very lovey-dovey :)

DEEPA said...

so cute !!!Happy Valentine's day in advance .....excellent one

Arfi Binsted said...

they look cute. and a simple way to entertain. lovely.

Dhivya said...

they look yummy...nice idea..thanks for sharing

bhags said...

So your baking skills are getting stronger with every new thing you bake.....those hearts are really cute and wud make anyone's heart melt....hope u got the message...:P

Nags said...

Asha - Yeah here too! In fact it seems like a Hallmark sponsored holiday to me! Don't know what the hype is for, really!

Ramya - Thanks Ramya :) I used ppt to put the banner on the last pic. Its really very simple!

Laavanya, Uma, Rachel, - :D

TBC - LOL :D

Sahefa said...

Hey i hav written a new post on my blog do read and comment in. I am sure you will.

sunita said...

Nags, those are real cuties...and they look like hearts alright...enjoy!

Dhanggit said...

oh i love this crunchy heart cookies :-) perfect for valentine treat giveaways!! happy valentine!!

Shella said...

they are more precious than any other exotic n professional one's for the simple reason that there's love written all over them (for those who can see)!!!

Very very schweeet.
Hugs

Mriganayani said...

So sweet. I remember I made a red velvet cake for my first valentine with my husband - probably my first baking experiment- I filled the batter almost to the top of a heart shaped pan to bake - you can imagine how red my oven was - I made up a story and told my husband that my love for him was just overflowing! hahah

Anonymous said...

Looks really yummy!!

on what temperature do we need to bake it? - vidya

Nags said...

Vidya, you'd bake the heart shaped cookies at 180C. Have updated the post :)

Anonymous said...

You know, this is a vanilla cookie. Not a shortbread. Shortbread is a traditional Scottish and European biscuit and is made very similar to a shortcrust pastry.

Anonymous said...

You know, this is a vanilla cookie. Not a shortbread. Shortbread is a traditional Scottish and European biscuit and is made very similar to a shortcrust pastry.

Srivalli said...

Nags, they look very cute, as sia said you can send this to Pooja's valentine event and also account your fond memories of your valentine for us to enjoy!..:D

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