Simple Heart Cookies

You don't need the skills of a pastry chef to make these adorable cookies - with just a few simple tools, you can make them too!  Follow me into the kitchen and I'll show you how it's done. 

To begin, you'll need waxed paper, a small fondant rolling pin, rolling guides (1/8-inch and 1/16-inch thicknesses to make these cookies)....

And fondant plunger cutters.  There are all kinds of shapes available so have fun so this technique can be used for endless occasions.

You'll also need some good quality fondant.  Some of the brands available in my area that I like are satin ice, fondarific, duff goldman, and fat daddios.  I do not care for wilton. 

I always keep white fondant on hand because I can custom color it any way I like, but it's also nice to keep darker colors on hand (red, brown, black) because it's hard to achieve the deep saturation mixing gel colors in manually.

(this isn't a necessary tool, but it sure is handy) 

When I'm working with large quantities of fondant, I keep it in a bread proofing box set at 90F (keeping the fondant sealed in an airtight container the whole time).  When I'm ready to work with the fondant, it's warm enough that I can roll it easily without first having to knead it until it's soft and workable.

Love my bread proofing box from Brod & Taylor.  It's great for proofing bread dough, of course, but it has a temperature range of 70-120F, so it's good for making yogurt, melting chocolate, and keeping tempered chocolate in temper too. 

Alright, while the fondant is still warm and soft, roll it out between two layers of waxed paper (1/16-inch thickness) and use fondant plunger to cut shapes and imprint designs.  

Remove scraps and allow fondant shapes to sit at room temperature until needed (they'll firm up as they rest).  Do this step before baking the cookiesbecause you'll want them ready to go when the cookies come out of the oven.

For the cookies:  roll cookie dough between two layers of waxed paper (1/8-inch thickness) and use fondant plunger to cut out shapes (no need to imprint the designs here).

Note:  If the cookie dough cutouts get too soft to move without getting distorted, slide the waxed paper onto a sheet pan and pop it in the fridge to firm the dough before transferring the cutouts to a silpat lined half sheet pan to bake as directed (as shown in this graham cracker post I shared a number of years ago).

Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately place the prepared fondant cutouts on top. 

As the cookies cool, the residual heat will melt the fondant cutouts just enough that they will bond to the cookies.   

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• rolling guides https://amzn.to/34qGmZi

• small fondant rolling pin https://amzn.to/3LepFkt

• heart plunger https://amzn.to/3j4UkXL

• valentine plunger set https://amzn.to/3Lvr5aq

• more valentine plungers https://amzn.to/3YviIlx

• multi-occasion plunger cutters https://amzn.to/3Px2Evw

• red fondant https://amzn.to/3B802wY

• white fondant https://amzn.to/3hzErZ0

• gel food coloring https://amzn.to/3HJ2rDF

• silpat liner https://amzn.to/3GBKDWM

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3GvYdek

• folding bread proofing box https://amzn.to/3LkXosh

---

CHOCOLATE CUTOUT COOKIES

makes 40-60 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

To make the cookie dough:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the BeaterBlade attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium high speed for 30 seconds.

3. Add egg and vanilla; beat to combine.

4. Add flour mixture and beat until incorporated.

5. Remove dough from mixer bowl and wrap well with plastic wrap; chill for 1-3 hours.

6. Preheat oven to 375F.

7. Roll each dough portion to 1/8-inch thickness between 2 layers of wax paper.

8. Cut out desired shapes with plunger cutters, without plunging the design into the cutout (dust cutter in flour if needed).

9. Chill dough before transferring cutouts to sheet pan to prevent distorting.

10. Place cookies 2-inches apart on silpat lined sheet pan.

11. Bake for 6-8 minutes; remove from oven and top with fondant cutouts (cut to 1/16-inch thick) that have the design pressed into them.

12. Cool completely before serving. Store in airtight container between with wax paper between layers.

Notes

• Recipe makes 40-60 cookies, depending on size.  

• Plan to use about 1/2 pound fondant (I like to buy white fondant so I can color it any way I like).  

• Fondant cutouts can be made a day or more in advance if stored on wax or parchment paper in an airtight container.  

• If the cookies cool before fondant toppers are applied, you can warm the cookies for a few seconds in the microwave (but I recommend applying the fondant to cookies as soon as they come out of the oven).

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking.  There's no way gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are going to be any good, right?  Wrong!!  These cookies are super soft and chewy and incredibly delicious.  Since the recipe contains no flour, it's vitally important to make sure the cookie dough is well chilled before baking.  Let me show you how easy these are to make.

In a bowl, combine almond meal, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Next you'll need pure vanilla extract (please use the good stuff), almond butter, coconut palm sugar, liquid coconut oil, and an egg.

Combine those ingredients together well.  I've used my stand mixer fitted with a BeaterBlade attachment, but you can certainly mix it by hand, just be sure  to mix until any coconut sugar lumps disappear. 

Now add the almond meal mixture.

Mix to combine.

Add bittersweet chocolate chips.

Mix one last time until the chips are evenly distributed through the batter.

Transfer the batter to a quart-size zipper bag and chill for at least an hour, but you can do this step a day or two in advance. 

When you're ready to portion the dough, simply rip the bag open and cut the dough into 24 even portions.

Easy!

Roll each portion into a ball and place on a sheet pan.

This step is completely optional, but I like to press a few extra chips on the top of each dough ball.  Now before we bake the cookies, it's really important to chill the dough again - I just pop them back in the fridge while my oven preheats.

When the oven has preheated, space 12 dough balls evenly on a silpat lined sheet pan and bake for exactly 10 minutes, then allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the pan.

Enjoy!! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• almond meal https://amzn.to/3PEP9w5

• almond butter https://amzn.to/46rPKH7

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/44lhvzl

• coconut oil https://amzn.to/3CP0dij

• coconut palm sugar https://amzn.to/3CV99mc

• BeaterBlade attachment https://amzn.to/3NTzWpG

• professional stand mixer https://amzn.to/46opldn

• half sheet pans https://amzn.to/3sphKYV

• silpat liners https://amzn.to/3Jc40Hz

---

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 24 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup finely ground almond flour (or meal), sifted

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (virgin or unrefined)

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons almond butter

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (plus more for garnish)

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together almond meal, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a BeaterBlade attachment, combine the coconut palm sugar, coconut oil (melt gently in microwave to liquify if necessary), egg, almond butter, and pure vanilla extract on medium speed for 30 seconds.

3. Add reserved almond meal and mix on medium for 30 seconds; add chocolate chips and mix just until combined.

4. Transfer cookie dough to a quart size storage bag and seal well, pressing the dough into an even layer; chill for at least 1 hour.

5. To bake cookies, preheat oven to 350F, place rack in center of oven, and line two half sheet pans with silpat liners.

6. Divide chilled dough into 24 equal pieces and roll into balls; return to refrigerator to chill for 5 minutes or longer.

7. Place 12 chilled dough balls each on two silicone lined half sheet pans and immediately bake for 10 minutes (one pan at a time, chilling the remaining dough until ready to bake); remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely before removing from the pan; repeat with the 2nd pan of cookie dough.