Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Hearts . . . these tasty shortbread cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day. Who can resist a cute buttery cookie dipped in chocolate?
Valentine’s Day just isn’t complete at my house without a few fun treats like these cookies, heart shaped brownie bites, or cherry chocolate thumbprint cookies.
I made these cute little shortbread cookies a few months ago, but after I got them all finished I thought they would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. So I waited until now to share the recipe.
Although they are not quite as decadent as some of my valentine recipe like Brownie Trifle and Chocolate Lava Cake, they are much easier to package up to share with friends! And they are pretty cute if I do say so myself.
They are nice and buttery and just melt in your mouth. I love the flavor of the almond extract, but I suppose you could substitute vanilla instead. Just don’t tell me about it. 😉
If you prefer white chocolate, you could certainly dip them in that instead. You could even use pink chocolate melts. I’m not a fan of eating sprinkles, but they would definitely be cute on top of the chocolate. So if you like them, then go for it!
How to make shortbread hearts:
Ingredients needed:
- flour
- sugar
- salt
- butter
- almond extract
- chocolate candy coating
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter till mixture is crumbly. Stir in a tablespoon of water and the almond extract. Mix with your hands till dough comes together and forms a ball.
Chill dough for 20-30 minutes. Roll out on a floured counter to about 1/4″ thick. Cut into heart shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheets. (I used tiny cookie cutters.)
Bake at 325° for about 15 minutes or till edges are very lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks.
Melt the chocolate at half power in the microwave, stirring about every 30 seconds. Dip one side of the heart into melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper till set.
Ways to change up your shortbread cookies:
– Instead of dipping them in dark chocolate, dip them in white chocolate or pink candy melts.
-After dipping them in chocolate, add some holiday sprinkles. You could even sprinkle them with toffee bits, chopped nuts, or coconut.
-If you’re in a hurry, you can just drizzle chocolate over the top of the cookies. They actually look really pretty that way, especially if you do some dark and some white chocolate.
Love shortbread? Here are a few more melt in your mouth recipes:
- Shortbread Cookies with Lime Frosting
- Brown Sugar Shortbread
- Shortbread Sugar Cookies
- Caramel Filled Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Hearts
Shortbread Hearts
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- dash salt
- 1 cup cold butter
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ½ pound chocolate candy coating melted
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter till mixture is all crumbly. Stir in the water and almond extract till dough comes together and forms a ball. (I used my hands.)
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes. Roll dough out on a floured counter to about 1/4″ thick. Cut into heart shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheets. (I used my tiny cookie cutter, and I thought they turned out adorable!)
- Bake at 325° for about 15 minutes or till edges are very lightly browned. Cool completely on cooling racks.
- Place the chocolate in a glass bowl. Melt in the microwave at half power, stirring every 30 seconds.
- Dip one side of each heart into melted chocolate. Place on silicone baking liners or waxed paper till set.
Nutrition
Recipe originally published 2/6/2012. Updated January 2019.
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Worst recipe for cookies ever. Followed the directions and even added more water, chilled the dough. Tried to roll them about and they just crumbled. Had to throw out the dough
Sorry to hear that. Sounds like maybe your flour was compacted, so you ended up with too much. Or it could be that the dough chilled for too long and just needed to sit at room temperature for a bit before rolling.
So simple but soooo delicious! My family loved these cookies!
I adore shortbread and these are darling!
Thanks so much Tanya!
I love how adorable and simple to make these are…thanks for sharing!
Chocolate and shortbread are the perfect combination! Thank you so much!
These are so simple but so elegant! I’m definitely handing this recipe to my husband before Feburary!
Great idea! 🙂
Can you use white whole wheat flour or a 50/50 mixture – or do you need to use 100% AP flour?
You could definitely try it! I’d start with a 50/50 mixture first to see how they turn out. Good luck, and let me know if they work! 🙂
that really made me drool!
Do you have to use butter or will margarine work?
For most cookie recipes, you can substitute margarine with pretty good results. For true shortbread though, you must use butter. You can use margarine, but the cookies will be different. The dough will be more wet (margarine has water in it), so it will be trickier to work with. And instead of melting in your mouth, the cookies will have a more chewier texture. They will still taste good, but they won’t be true shortbread.
If you do use margarine, make sure it is a good quality. Don’t use light margarine or the kind that comes in a tub. They have way too much water. Good luck! Let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Love shortbread and shortbread dipped in chocolate is the best!
This was the first time I’ve actually tried shortbread dipped in chocolate. Can’t believe I waited so long–it is so yummy!