makes
40
prep
30 minutes
cook
25 minutes
difficulty
Easy
makes
40
serves
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
25
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 250 g butter, softened
- 115 g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (see Note)
- 225 g (1½ cups) plain flour
- 120 g (¾ cup) fine rice flour
- 60 g dark chocolate
Chilling time 30 minutes
Instructions
Place butter, sugar and vanilla bean paste into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in sifted flours and mix until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly until smooth (don’t over-knead). Divide dough into two and flatten into discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line four baking trays with baking paper.
Working in batches, roll dough between two sheets of greaseproof paper to 4 mm thick. Using a floured 5 cm heart cutter, cut hearts from dough. Place cookies onto lined trays, allowing room for spreading. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until cookies are just starting to go golden around edges. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on trays.
Melt chocolate in a small heatproof bowl in a microwave oven. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool for 1 minute then spoon chocolate into a small plastic zip-lock sandwich bag. Snip corner off bag and pipe chocolate onto cookies to decorate.
Allow chocolate to set at room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Note
• Vanilla bean paste is available from supermarkets.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
