2017, Community, Geeky

Flirty Shortbread Cookies ::Valentine’s Day Recipe linkup::

Flirty Shortbread Cookies

Both my husband and I are gaming geeks. While he has his specific games, and I have my specific games, we mostly support each other’s gaming habits. And sometimes things from one or two games pull into our daily life–enter one that tends to pop up a little more than others–the Sims 4.The Sims 4_AlwaysReiding

Sometimes games have a way of moving into real life–especially with the cooking aspect of the Sims games. For Valentine’s day, I knew I wanted to make something really nice that might make my husband smile. Enter the Sims. It’s a game by Electronic Arts celebrating it’s 17th anniversary. You can create fully customizable characters, homes and cities. It’s pretty awesome. While the game has come a long way, it can be quite dramatic.

If you’re character doesn’t spend time learning about cooking, they can set the kitchen (or other family members) on fire. Yep, that happens. And if you don’t have a fire alarm, well, you could lose your home. Luckily my latest character, Katarina Brand, is a whiz in the kitchen. A writer by trade, she’s married to her soulmate. Originally she was drawn to him because she was researching a vampire romance novel (apparently that’s a thing in the Sims) and fell in love. He’s way more emo-looking than he ends up being. And while they had a whirlwind courtship and a really happy wedding, they’ve settled into married life (and parenthood) pretty easily.

Katarina was looking for something special to make in anticipation for Valentine’s Day. And it just so happened that her husband, Caleb, came home and gave her a sweet kiss–she got into a flirty mood and I was able to unlock something special–Sweetheart Cookies! Luckily, she’s good enough in the kitchen that she was able to bake the cookies and get them out of the oven without incident, while she was still in a flirty mood! He saw the cookies and decided he needed to kiss her before sampling a cookie.

SimsCookies_AlwaysReiding

Of course, the recipe jumped into real life. It was absolutely perfect for a simple Valentine’ day treat!

I have a super easy, and customizable recipe that is really geared toward your particular favorites. These are cookies that can really work in any type of situation. If you don’t have cookie cutters, the shapes are simple enough to cut out of your cookie dough! I recommend the following recipe as it is my favorite.

Shortbread Cookies

COOK TIME:
20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 sticks Butter, Softened (I sometimes will add a little more, if the batter ‘looks’ like it needs it)
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 cup (scant) Cornstarch
  • 1 jar, red or dark pink jelly/preserves (We LOVE Knott’s raspberry!)
  • Fun cookie cutters, or a knife to cut out the hearts (based on a paper template)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If you’re using a toaster oven, I recommend 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together. Lightly sprinkle flour and cornstarch and blend together using a pastry cutter (or a fork) until the ingredients all come together (If mixture seems excessively dry, you can cut in 1 more tablespoon of butter or two if it really needs it).

Form dough into a big ball, pop in a gallon freezer bag, and refrigerate 20 minutes. I usually make this and give it an hour, halfway through this I will mush it up in the ziplock and re-form it.

Roll onto a lightly floured surface and cut into shape. If you’re making sandwich cookies like me, make sure there is 1 solid cookie for 1 cutout cookie. You’ll be making a cookie sandwich. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake for 20 minutes–be sure to watch it, in the toaster oven, it’s usually a little more time than our stove. Look at the edges–they should be slightly golden.

Once the cookies are done, put the cookies on a rack to cool. Once cool, then spoon a little of the jam on the solid cookie, then add more until it’s a good consistency (like Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches). Then place the remaining cookie on the top. Usually once I put them on a plate, my husband starts breaking them into pieces (much like in the photo below!).

 

AlwaysReiding_Shortbread

 

This was posted as part of an awesome Valentine’s Day Recipe linkup. Be sure to check out the following blogs and support them!

Kelly’s Ultimate Mimosa Bar
Laurence’s Marbled Strawberry Pancakes
Chava’s Pressure Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon
Tiffany’s Truffle PB Brownies
Vy’s Perfect Paleo Valentine’s Dessert
Sybil’s Spinach Mushroom Ravioli, with Champagne Cream Sauce
Ashlen’s Mommy and Me Valentine’s Dinner Date
Meg’s Valentine’s Day Recipes
Puspanjalee’s Axomiya Payokh
Kay’s Romantic Creamy Chicken Carbonara and Wine

Please share your favorite recipe from the linkup below–or let me know about what you could do to put one of your interests into a Valentine’s day celebration.

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4 Comments

  1. Kelly

    February 10, 2017 at 7:19 am

    Love shortbread! These are so cute for Valentine’s Day, can’t wait to try them!

  2. Tiffany

    February 10, 2017 at 8:20 am

    Mmm, I love shortbread and I haven’t tried making my own shortbread cookies yet!! Thanks!!

  3. Agness of Run Agness Run

    February 19, 2017 at 11:22 am

    Tasty cookies, Nicole! Great recipes when in need for fast and sweet dessert.

    1. gothamgal

      March 3, 2017 at 9:29 am

      Thank you, Agness! I think it’s a lot of fun when gaming and food can meet.

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