Honey Hearts
These cookies combine the sweet taste of honey, candied peels, and a hint of spice. Sandwiched together with raspberry preserves and then a dunking in chocolate makes these cookies complete. The flavor of Honey hearts seem to improve after a day, giving the flavors a chance to blend together.
Recipe type: Dessert | Rolled and Cutout Cookies | Sandwich Cookies | Chocolate | Raspberry
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Recipe Notes
Pan: Two Large Baking Sheets Pan Prep: Ungreased or Parchment Lined Oven Temp: 425° Yield: 1½ Dozen Sandwiches Storage: Airtight Container, Room Temperature
Help: Cookie Hints and Tips, Melting Chocolate, Chocolate Types
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Help: Cookie Hints and Tips, Melting Chocolate, Chocolate Types
TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast,
accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.Ingredients
Dough:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons mixed candied peel, finely chopped (use a combination of orange peel and lemon peel)
Filling:
- ½ cup raspberry preserves
Topping:
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons shortening
Instructions
Dough:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Baking sheets may be ungreased, lined with parchment paper, or lined with a non-stick baking mat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Whisk together to mix. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, combine sugar, butter, and honey; stir constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until heated and butter is melted. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Pour the cooled honey mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add egg and candied peel. Beat with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until well mixed. Add flour mixture and beat until well mixed. The dough will be stiff.
- Form dough into a 6 inch flattened disk. On a lightly floured pastry mat or pastry board, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut dough with a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter that has been dipped in flour (to help prevent dough from sticking to the cutter.)
- Bake: Place cutout dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are set and the edges are very lightly browned. Don’t overbake as these cookies can get tough. Remove cookies from baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on a wire cooling rack.
Filling:
- While cookies are still warm, spread about 1 teaspoon raspberry preserves on a cookie. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich. Place cookies back on wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Topping:
- In top of a double boiler over hot water, Melt the semi-sweet chocolate.
- Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and place a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.
- Dip half of each heart sandwich into the melted chocolate. Place on wax paper; let sit until the chocolate is hardened.
Adapted from: Wolter, Annette, Teubner, Christian, Best of Baking Fisher Publishing, 1980