Simple shortbread cookies with a rich, chocolate ganache inside. These heart cookies are egg-free and have just 6 ingredients.
Hi there! It’s Julie from Tastes of Lizzy T. I’m sharing our first recipe on Simple As That today and I couldn’t be more excited. I blog with my two daughters, Maddie and Kinslee. We love spending time together in the kitchen, creating everything from healthy, family-friendly dinner recipes to decadent desserts for special occasions. We love to travel, so you can travel along with us as we share pictures of our adventures. We make our home in Ohio, so escaping the brutal winters to warmer weather is one of our favorite things.
If we girls are known for one thing amongst our friends, it’s our cookies. I knew a simple cookie recipe would be the perfect thing to share with you!
Even if you are not a pro-baker, you can easily make these heart cookies and have them turn out beautifully.
The cookies themselves have just 4 ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and flour. No eggs? You’re right! We have family members that have egg allergies, so finding a cookie recipe that doesn’t have eggs is priceless.
Here’s a few hints for the cookies themselves:
1. Use real 100% butter. There’s no substitute when it comes to baking. I normally use salted butter.
2. Refrigerate the dough before you roll out the cookies. Divide the dough in half, press the halves into discs, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for just 1 hour, then you’ll be ready to roll.
3. One of my favorite kitchen accessories is a pastry mat. I don’t have a huge kitchen, so I’m often rolling out cookies on the dining room table. I use a large silicone baking mat to easily roll out cookies and pie crusts. It keeps the messiness off the table and makes for an easy clean up.
These small heart cookies are filled with chocolate ganache. I used to be afraid of making chocolate ganache, mostly because I didn’t know how it was made. It’s so simple, though.
Here’s how to do it. Heat 1/2 cup heavy cream in a microwave-safe dish or cup. You want the cream to get hot, but not boiling. It only takes about 30-40 seconds in my microwave, but all microwaves are different. If the cream is so hot you can’t touch it, allow it to cool just a bit. Place 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips in a large medium-size bowl, then pour the warmed cream overtop the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with a plate or lid and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes.
When you take the lid off, the chocolate chips should be mostly melted. Simply stir the chocolate and cream together until it is completely combined. This may take a few minutes, but it should be smooth, rich and lovely.
Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature. It will get to the consistency of thick frosting. Spread this on the bottom of a heart cookie, then top it with another cookie.
And there you have simple, sweet, heart cookies that would make a delicious gift for someone you love!
- 3 sticks (1½ cups) salted butter, softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Chocolate Cream Filling:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- In a bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in the vanilla and mix well.
- Lastly, add the flour and mix just until thoroughly mixed.
- Divide the dough in half and flatten the dough into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- After the dough has been chilled, roll the dough on a floured surface to ¼" thick. Cut out small hearts (my cutter was about 1½-2" in diameter), or use whatever cutter you'd like. Continue rolling and cutting until all the cookie dough is used.
- Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 14 minutes. The exact time will depend on exactly how thick your cookies are. Thinner cookies will take less time to bake. Remove them from the oven before the edges turn brown for the softest cookie.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- To prepare the chocolate cream filling, heat the heavy cream for about 30 seconds in the microwave. Do not allow the heavy cream to boil.**
- Place the chocolate chips in a medium-size bowl and pour the heated cream over the chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with a plate or a lid and allow it to sit for 3-4 minutes.
- Mix the chocolate chips and the cream together until the cream is completely mixed in with the chocolate. The ganache should be completely smooth.
- Allow the ganache to cool to room temperature.
- Spread about a teaspoon of ganache on a heart cookie and top it with another cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container. These cookies also freeze well!
***The amount of cookies this recipe makes depends on the size of your cookie cutter.
Looking for more cookie recipes? Try these!
Buckeye Brownie Cookies
Our BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
Bakery-Style Snickerdoodle Cookies (with homemade cinnamon chips)
Double Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Latest posts by Julie (see all)
- Maple Walnut Bars - Thursday, November 17, 2016
- Chocolate Coconut Cookie Bars - Thursday, October 6, 2016
- Oatmeal Granola Topping - Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Oh yum! These look fantastic!
I can’t wait to try these out, they look delicious! Scheduled to pin and stumbled, thanks for sharing!