Servings: 8 servings; makes two 9 1/2- to 10-inch cookies, plus leftovers ( 16 smaller hearts)
Preheat: 350
Prep Time: fast
Source: Deb Lindsey, Washington Post
Use heart cookie cutter
Ingredients:
FOR THE COOKIES
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) cold unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces
1 cold large egg yolk
1 tablespoon ice-cold water
Sanding sugar (optional)
For the Frosting
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 Cup heavy cream
Directions:
DIRECTIONS
For the cookies: Combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Scatter the pieces of butter over the mixture and pulse until they are cut in and the mixture looks grainy.
Lightly whisk together the yolk and water in a small bowl; add to the food processor a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When incorporated, process in 10-second pulses until the dough forms clumps and curds. Pinch the dough, and it should hold together; if it doesn’t, pulse a few more times.
Turn the dough onto a work surface (not floured), divide it in half, shape each piece into a disk and put each disk between sheets of parchment or wax paper. One at a time, roll the dough out into a round, turning it over frequently and peeling away the paper often. Try to get a circle that’s 9 to 10 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick (a little thicker is fine). Slide each of the rounds, still between the papers, onto a baking sheet (you can stack them). Refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour.
When you’re ready to bake, position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Have a few large baking sheets at hand.
Peel away the top and bottom pieces of paper on each round and then replace them. (If you don’t peel them first, the dough may buckle during baking.)
Use a pencil to draw a large heart on the top paper of each circle, then use a sharp knife to cut the dough around the heart. Lift off the paper, remove the excess dough (reserve the scraps) and slide the hearts, still on the bottom pieces of paper, onto separate baking sheets. (While they are baking, gather the scraps together, reroll them, chill and then use heart-shaped cutters to make additional cookies; bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes.)
At this point, If you don’t plan to ice the cookies, you can sprinkle them with sanding sugar, if you’d like.
Bake the large hearts for 19 to 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back after 10 minutes, until they’re dull-looking, a little crinkled, set around the edges and almost firm at their centers. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes, then carefully slide them, paper and all, onto racks; cool to room temperature. (smaller hearts – 10 minutes)
Frosting
Bring heavy cream to boil. Then pour it into a heatproof bowl that contains the chopped chocolate. Stir until combined and thick. Cool Ganache and spread.