Heart Shaped Shortbread Cookies

                                   I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
                                   A church filled with family and friends.
                                   I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
                                   He said one that would make me his wife.
                                                                                    ~Author Unknown

 I read the above quote years ago and found it to be the sweetest quote I have ever read about love.

The month of February has always been dear to me, what with the color red and little hearts every where you go. 

For someone who has narrated DDLJ and KKHH countless times to friends who didn't follow Hindi, Valentine's day was something I always waited for. And each year, around this time, I would get to hear about someone's love story. I laughed with them and cried with them. Involuntarily, I would slip into their stories and I still remember each of the stories I have ever heard. That's when I fell in love with Love, and have been in Love ever since. 

I survived the first 25 years of my life with just my heart. Then, along comes this guy who thinks DDLJ and KKHH are the worst  movies ever made. That's when I realized, I had to dust out my brain and start using it.

After 9 years of marriage, I still cannot sit with him and watch mushy romances. I choose to watch such movies when he is working.That way, I can cry my heart out without being laughed at.

I have changed quiet a lot, but this is one area where the girl in me keeps creeping out ever so often.

There is one consolation though, he doesn't laugh at me when I declare " Casablanca "
is my favorite romantic movie. It is definitely not his favorite, but I am happy he does not dislike it. I had wanted to bake these cookies on Valentine's Day. I know, the post is delayed, but like Love - better late than never.

Food color is something that is never allowed inside my house. I would rather eat a plain looking cake than dress it up with colors. I am making an exception this time for my kids, and what better time for exceptions than the month of Love.
 

Ingredients :

All purpose flour - 1Cup
Unsalted Butter - 1/2 Cup
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Salt - a pinch
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Food Color - 1/4 tsp ( Optional)

Method :

1. Sieve the flour and salt together and keep aside. Add food color to this, if using and sieve again. Keep aside.
2.  Cream together the butter and sugar till the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Fold in the flour and make a soft dough. Cling wrap the dough and refrigerate for an hour.
5. Roll out the dough and cut into desired shape.
6. Line the baking tray with parchment paper or just butter the tray and place the cut cookies an inch apart. 
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 10 minutes or till the sides turn slightly brown.




Note : Do not go by the color of the cookies in the picture. When baked without food color, they turn out in a nice cream color. I added just a pinch of Orange color, to convince my daughter. So the deep color that you see in the picture. You can omit it altogether.

Recipe from here.