Win hearts with our adorable Valentine’s Day Shortbread recipe! Buttery, crumbly, sweet and jammy, these Valentine’s Day Shortbread Hearts are an easy gift to bake for your loved one this February 14th.
Who wouldn’t love a wee box of these jammy biscuits? Baking biscuits or a sweet treat for friends and family is a little bit of effort that shows you care more than a supermarket card or petrol station bouquet!
Wrap these bite-sized delights in pretty tissue paper and tie them with tartan ribbon for extra style points.
Shortbread Hearts With A Scottish Twist
We’re making these Valentine’s Shortbread Hearts the traditional Scottish way with simple ingredients. Flour, Sugar, Butter and Jam are the main ingredients. The results? A quick, simple biscuit that’s so good you’ll want second helpings.
Because traditional Scottish shortbread relies on simple ingredients make sure they’re the best quality you can afford – high quality butter in particular makes all the difference. We recommend Graham’s Dairy – they just came top in a recent Scotland Food and Drink survey!
Recipe for Valentine’s Day Shortbread Hearts
Begin by mixing the butter and sugar together. You can do this with a mixer or by hand. I like mixing by hand – your beloved will thank you for the extra effort!
Once mixed add the flour and a pinch of salt.
Should I refrigerate the dough?
This step is really important.
You must chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. This ensures the classic, crumbly texture and creamy taste that Scottish shortbread is renowned for. It also stops the biscuits from spreading in the oven.
How hard should I work shortbread dough?
Once chilled form the dough into a ball with your hands. Don’t overwork the dough. Unless you want tough shortbread hearts, but I’m sure you’d rather they were crumbly and sweet!
Flour a clean surface and roll out your dough.
Take a mini heart-shaped cutter and cut out as many shapes as you can. Re-roll the dough and cut more if you need to, but be careful not to re-roll the dough too many times. This recipe should make roughly 40 biscuits (remember you’ll sandwich them together once they’re baked).
Now, take your mini heart cutter and cut a miniature heart out of half of the heart biscuits. When layered on top of a plain heart spread with jam it will look like a heart-shaped jammy dodger!
Any leftover dough (and teensy hearts!) can be baked in the oven as a special treat for yourself to nibble on later.
Chill your shortbread hearts – again!
Chilling your Valentine’s biscuit hearts might seem excessive but this step makes all the difference to the final taste. And if you’re giving them as a gift to someone special it’s worth making the extra time and effort.
Place your adorable wee Valentine’s shortbread hearts on a tray. Cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes:
After 30 minutes take your shortbread out and remove the clingfilm. Dust with icing sugar then bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes:
Keep an eye on your shortbread hearts! Once they’re a delicious golden shade they’re ready.
Cool your Valentine’s shortbread on a baking rack. Once they’re cool enough spread a layer of raspberry jam on two hearts and sandwich together.
Pop your biscuits in a dainty box or mason jar and tie it with a red ribbon to finish off your sweet Valentine’s gift.
Why make shortbread hearts for Valentine’s Day?
These shortbread hearts are:
- Quick and easy to make
- Incredibly tasty
- A sweet alternative to the usual chocolate
- Perfect for sharing
- Adaptable – check our suggestions below for ways to spice up your shortbread hearts!
Personally, I’d take homemade shortbread baked with love over a fancy restaurant or cheap box of chocolates any day! And these shortbread hearts are so jammy and delicious that they really shouldn’t be confined to just one day of the year *hint hint*.
If you’re loved one has less of a sweet tooth you could try these different fillings.
Different filling ideas for your shortbread biscuits
• Is you’re loved one a chocolate lover? Then gooey, indulgent Nutella is a no-brainer!
• Sharpen things up with the zingy, citrus tang of lemon curd
• What about flavouring buttercream with coconut, almond or orange?
You can also personalise the shortbread dough!
Ideas for your Valentine’s Day Shortbread Dough
• Add candied citrus peel or try candied ginger for a bit of warmth
• Press dried cranberries into the dough, inspired by a red, red rose for Valentine’s!
• Rosemary adds a fragrant note
• A few drops of vanilla essence
How To Store Your Valentine’s Day Biscuits
Store your tiny hearts in an air-tight container at room temperature until you’re ready to gift them. They’re best eaten within 24-48 hours so make sure to make them on the 13th or the morning of the 14th.
Ingredients For Valentine’s Day Shortbread Hearts
• 200g soft, unsalted butter
• 95g caster sugar
• 240g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• Raspberry jam (or filling of your choice)
Method For Valentine’s Day Shortbread Hearts
• Mix the butter and sugar by hand. This is Valentine’s Day after all, and extra effort is required! Once you’ve mixed the butter and sugar, add the plain flour and mix again
• Once the mixture is combined, form the dough into a ball and place a clean, floured surface. Roll out the dough until it’s roughly 6mm thick. As this is a shortbread dough you might that it crumbles in places. This is normal, simply push the dough back in place.
• Using heart shaped cutters, cut out as many wee hearts as you can. Use mini heart cutters to cut a heart shape from the centre of half the biscuits.
• Put them on baking trays and cover with clingfilm to chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins. You can leave them overnight if you want.
• Preheat the oven to 180c. Take the biscuits out of the fridge and take off the clingfilm. Dust your shortbread hearts with icing sugar then bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. They’re ready when the edges turn golden.
• Once the shortbread is baked, leave to cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack.
• Once cool, sandwich two shortbread hearts together with the raspberry jam or your desired filling.
• Gift your shortbread hearts to a loved one! If they love you back I’m sure they’ll share 😉
If you’re looking for more sweet Scottish treats to gift to friends and family this Valentine’s Day why not read our Top 5 Scrumptious Scottish Puddings? And of course, you can never go wrong with a clootie dumpling for two! We think our sticky Cherry, Date & Lindores Aqua Vitae and Plum & Gin flavours are perfect romantic options for Valentine’s Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Michelle xx
