Easy Strawberry Shortbread Cookies for Valentine's Day

INGREDIENTS

2 cups unsalted butter 2 cups confectioner's sugar 2 egg yolks 1/2 cups orange juice 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 6 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 6 cups strawberry preserves

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add flour and baking powder, and mix slowly until a dough forms.
4. Remove dough from mixer and knead with hands until it becomes stretchy.
5. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and using a rolling pin, roll flat.
6. Remove top parchment paper and cut dough in half. Punch out solid bottom halves of cookies on one half of the dough. Punch out the heart window top halves of the cookies on the other half of the dough.
7. Line up cookies on a lined cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, and remove before they are browned. Let cool completely.
8. Carefully spread strawberry preserves on solid bottom halves of cookies and place the top of each cookie on top.

For the Frosting:

1. Place each cookie in a cellophane wrapper and tie up with a ribbon to give as a Valentine’s Day gift!

This recipe appears in: Valentine's Day