Mmmm, gorgeously ripe, fresh British strawberries. Is there anything better?
Well…please allow me to humbly present these yummy Strawberry Cookie Hearts.
They look really complicated to make, but I promise they are easy as anything. All you need it is a bit of patience and a steady hand!
They keep happily in the fridge for up to three days, and make a welcome and unusual change from the ubiquitous chunky peanut butter or chocolate variety (not that there is anything wrong with those, obviously; these just make a pretty change!)
What you’ll need:
1 batch basic foolproof chewy cookie dough
A punnet of strawberries
A heart-shaped pastry cutter, or sharp knife and cutting board
A saucepan and wooden spoon
A pot of good-quality strawberry jam
Water
A knife
Step One:
Make your cookie dough as per the instructions.
After the dough has rested in the fridge, roll it out and, using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, or sharp knife if you don’t have one, cut heart shapes into your cookie dough and place on a greased, lined baking tray.
Bake for slightly longer than a normal cookie – about 15-20 minutes, depending on size.
The texture ought to be a little firmer than usual, as the fruit will moisten the cookie up a lot. Structural integrity must be preserved!
Take your cookies out of the oven, and leave them for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool.
Step Two:
Whilst the cookies are cooling, prepare your strawberries.
The idea of this biscuit is to have little hearts within the overall heart shape – this is easily done by slicing your strawberries in a certain way.
All you do is take a strawberry in your hand and a small sharp paring knife with the other. Gently and carefully cut a little ‘v’ shape around and under the stalk, thus removing it.
Like this:
Then, just cut them into thin slices – three or four per strawberry, depending on size, so that you have little heart-shaped strawberry slices.
Step Three:
Now, your cookies ought to have cooled and hardened slightly, and so you are ready to decorate them!
First, take your pot of strawberry jam. Using a knife, lightly spread a thin layer of jam over the surface of your biscuits; this will stick the fruit to the surface of the biscuit.
Next, arrange your strawberry slices neatly on top, so that it is as covered as possible. This can be a bit fiddly but fun; play around with it!
A little line of the end of the fruit looks really pretty in the middle of the biscuit.
However, try to keep one fairly even layer; if you pile too much fruit on top these will go soggy very quickly.
Step Four:
Next, in a saucepan, mix together a tablespoonful of strawberry jam and a tablespoonful of water.
Heat them over a low heat, stirring gently, until melted and combined.
Take the pan off the heat and, using a basting brush or pastry brush (a paintbrush works just as well) very lightly and carefully brush a thin layer of jam glaze over the top of the fruit on your tart, covering it completely.
This, when it dries, creates a glaze on top of the fruit which not only makes the fruit look it’s best, it also stops it from going gooey in the fridge!
Now…eat them!
These little biscuits will keep in the fridge quite happily for up to two days, but are much better when eaten within a few hours.
See you tomorrow.
Love,
Jessy xxx
Do you have any questions you’d like answered? Ever wondered how to make a bed properly, how to cook easy bread from scratch, how to make the perfect cake, how to get tough stains out easily and quickly? My friends, I am rubbish at many things but due to a strange addiction to Mrs Beeton in my early teens and a very accomplished group of friends and family, I have access to a fairly sizeable amount of domestic knowledge. Test me – send me your domestic conundrums and we will see what we can do!
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