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Italian Heart Cookies with Jam
Italian Heart Cookies with Jam are delicate sandwich cookies made with traditional pasta frolla, the classic Italian sweet shortcrust pastry used for crostata and many beloved home-style desserts. Buttery, fragrant and gently crumbly, pasta frolla gives these heart-shaped cookies their characteristic tender texture and rich flavor.
Ingredients
For Pasta Frolla (Italian Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)
- 250 g 00 flour or all-purpose - about 2 cups
- 100 g granulated sugar - ½ cup
- 120 g unsalted cold butter - ½ cup
- 1 medium egg - at room temperature
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean seeds or the zest of ½ organic lemon - optional
- powdered sugar - for decoration
For the Filling
- 4-5 tablespoons fruit jam, such as strawberry jam, raspberry jam or apricot jam
- 2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread - Optional Variation
- 2 tablespoons white chocolate cream spread - Optional Variation
Instructions
Make the Pasta Frolla
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cold butter cut into small cubes, sifted flour, sugar, egg, baking powder and salt. Add the lemon zest or vanilla seeds, if using.
- Mix for a few seconds with the paddle attachment until the ingredients start to come together. Switch to the dough hook and knead just until a compact dough forms. Do not overwork the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a smooth, firm ball with your hands. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
- After resting, roll out the pasta frolla on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about ½ cm (0.2 inch).
Cut Out the Cookies
- Using the larger heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as possible from the rolled dough.
- With the smaller heart cutter, remove the center from half of the cookies to create the top layer.Note: The small cut-out hearts can also be baked. They make lovely mini cookies on their own.
Bake and Serve
- Arrange all the cookies, both whole and cut-out, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, dust the cut-out cookies with powdered sugar.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of jam (or chocolate spread if you prefer) over each whole cookie, being careful not to overfill.
- Gently place the cut-out cookies on top of the filled ones, aligning the edges so the jam shows through the heart-shaped center. Your Italian heart cookies with jam are ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 123kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 79mgPotassium: 25mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 162IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
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