I had come up with the idea of baking heart shaped chocolate cookies for my husband for Valentine’s Day several weeks ago but it wasn’t until now that I actually had a chance to make them. And since we’ll be on our family vacation during Valentine’s Day this Saturday, I decided to surprise him a little early. If you’re scrambling for a last minute surprise for your loved one, this is definitely something you might want to try. Let me just say two things about these rich chewy dark chocolate cookies, easy peasy and dang good. Need I say more?

The dough for these cookies is from an Austrian Chocolate Balls recipe, which I got from my oldest daughter’s Girls Scouts troop leader several years ago. We were asked to make a few dozen of these cookies for a special Girls Scouts’ gathering. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was and how good it tasted. Instead of rolling them into balls, I decided to spread the dough flat onto a baking pan and using cookie cutters, I cut out heart shapes and a teddy bear one for fun. Then, I decorated them with heart shaped sugar sprinkles. Seriously, it couldn’t have been easier and it was actually fun to make them.

Heart Shaped Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (I omitted this.)

Glaze:
1 (1 ounce) square unsweetenedchocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 2 squares of chocolate with 1/3 cup of butter. Stir frequently until melted; remove from heat, and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, mix sugar, egg, egg yolk, and almond extract until light and fluffy. Stir in the melted chocolate. Combine flour and chopped walnuts (if using walnuts). Stir flour mixture into the batter until just combined.

3. Spread dough flat onto a baking pan to about a half-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the dough into heart shapes, or whatever shape desired. If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before cutting it into shapes.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Transfer to wire racks immediately, and set aside to cool.

5. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 square of chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter together, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until well blended. Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time until the glaze is of the desired consistency.

6. Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze, letting excess glaze drip off of the cookies. Before the glaze sets, decorate the cookies with heart shaped sprinkles. Allow to dry completely before adding to a treat bag or container.

It makes about a dozen heart/teddy bear shaped cookies.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

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