Make the pastry:
Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the cold cubed butter.
Rub the butter and flour together with your fingers or a mixer on low speed until the mixture resembles sand.
Add the icing sugar, egg, salt and vanilla extract. Mix quickly until the ingredients are well combined and the dough begins to come together.
Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Shape the biscuits:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until about 5mm thick.
Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out biscuits and arrange on the prepared tray.
Bake the biscuits:
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Decorate the cookies:
Once cooled, you can decorate the cookie hearts with powdered sugar, royal icing, melted chocolate or other decorations of your choice.
Tips
Cocoa variation: For chocolate cookie hearts, you can add 20-30 g of bitter cocoa powder to the flour.
Filling: You can make sandwich cookies with a filling of jam, hazelnut cream or chocolate ganache.
Storage: The shortcrust pastry cookies can be stored in an airtight container for several days, maintaining their fragrance and crunchiness.
Have fun preparing them and enjoy your meal!
