Cherry shortbread hearts

Cherry shortbread hearts

By James Martin
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(29 ratings)
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Prep: 15 mins Cook: 15 mins

Easy

Makes 14-16, depending on cutter

James Martin's easy biscuits taste as good as they look and make an ideal Valentine's Day gift

Nutrition and extra info

  • Biscuits can be frozen before adding jam

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal242
  • fat15g
  • saturates8g
  • carbs27g
  • sugars14g
  • fibre1g
  • protein2g
  • salt0.21g
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Ingredients

  • 100g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
  • 200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 50g cornflour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 250g pack cold butter, cut into cubes
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 50g glacé cherries, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp almond extract
    Almond

    Almond

    arr-mund or al-mund

    Sweet almonds have a subtle fragrance that lends itself well to baking and also works well with…

  • 8 tbsp cherry jam, sieved

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sift the icing sugar, flour and cornflour together into a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds and butter, then rub in the butter until smooth. Stir in the chopped glacé cherries and almond extract, and bring together to form a dough.

  2. Roll out on a lightly floured surface, then stamp out biscuits using a heartshaped cutter. Keep re-rolling the trimmings until all the dough is used. Carefully transfer the biscuits to baking trays lined with parchment and bake for just 8-10 mins until just pale golden.

  3. Using an upturned bottle top or similar, press gently into the centre of each biscuit to make a round indent. Spoon in a little jam and return to the oven for 2 mins. Remove and cool on a wire rack, before dusting with icing sugar to serve.

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Comments, questions and tips

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flauffy
17th Feb, 2019
3.05
These biscuits tasted lovely but these didn't quite come out as desired for me. I cooled the mix in the fridge for half an hour and it was much easier to handle, roll and cut. My first batch that went in had the holes cut out and filled with jam but sadly the jam wasn't sufficient as glue and all these broke and crumbled. I made the next batch without holes and jam filling and these stuck just fine. But that's not the point, I wanted my ruby red centres!!!
maizy
14th Feb, 2015
3.05
I did everything I could to keep this mixture as cold as possible (put the dough in the fridge before rolling it out, put the baking trays in the fridge before putting the cookies on them, then put them back in the fridge to cool before putting them in the oven) but they still spread and the shape is pretty much unidentifiable, which is a shame. I won't be making them again.
stellafrances1
14th Feb, 2013
I'VE JUST MADE THESE AND THEY DID SPREAD A BIT BUT KEPT THEIR SHAPE. VERY CRUMBLY, I DIDN'T ATTEMPT TO PUT THE JAM IN THE MIDDLE AS THEY WERE QUITE THIN, WHICH I THINK STOPS THEM SPREADING TOO MUCH, THEY LOOK AND TASTE GOOD!!!
lolodyer
1st Jan, 2013
5.05
Very Easy to make and also look fantastic! A real crowd pleaser. Look complicated but they arent. Would reccomend this recipie.
MFJB's picture
MFJB
20th Nov, 2012
5.05
I thought at first that the recipe looked a bit long winded for shortbread. But they were yummy. I didn't use any jam, I just made the biscuits. They were really nice.
clarington
29th Oct, 2012
Made these biscuits as per the recipe about 8 mm thick / height and substituted the cherry jam for half a cherry pushed in slightly when fresh from the oven. The biscuit tin emptied very quickly and were an absolute hit with everyone (I'm making some more tonight but cutting the cherries less finely as few people said they could taste cherry properly).
patsy1999
26th Apr, 2012
4.05
Made these biscuits found them very sweet but very moorish. They didn't spread in the oven and didn't need to add milk, the dough came together with a bit of perseverance. Very nice without jam centre but dipped in chocolate :)
xxtizzyxx
23rd Feb, 2012
5.05
My husband loves these biscuits, and as previous people have said it does help to chill the dough before rolling out. I also wondered if the almond could be left out, as my son has recently been diagnosed with a nut allergy... If anyone has tried this I'd be grateful to know.
dulciedotcom
14th Feb, 2012
Total disaster.
lizleicester
13th Feb, 2012
4.05
Very pretty-looking despite not having glace cherries. Just left them out and they still look and taste delicious.

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xxtizzyxx
27th Oct, 2015
5.05
I haven't made these biscuits since my son was diagnosed with a nut allergy, so if anyone knows if the almond could be left out or substituted for this recipe I would really appreciate it - Thanks
flyingwoolf
27th May, 2014
5.05
Three tips: 1. Chill the dough in the fridge before cutting out and baking the biscuits - they keep their shape much better when they bake. 2. If you don't want to put the jam in the middle then bake them for 12 minutes to make them nice and golden. 3. Serve them with ice cream sandwiched between and a few fresh cherries or strawberries on top for a fantastic quick dessert.
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