Nearly a year ago now, I began a post on these divine little biccies, took photos, the whole works, and then disappeared from the blogosphere. I make them fairly regularly, as the dough is perfect for the kids to roll out and cut cookies, but I still haven’t finished off that post. So I’ve abandoned it and started this new one.
Usually when I make these with the kids, we don’t douse them in cinnamon sugar at the end, in some vague attempt to make these delectable biccies healthy, which is a bit of a joke really, but I made these last week for a friend in need, sugar coating included, and was reminded (again) that sometimes it is worth going the whole way and making them sweet and sinful. The generous dusting of icing sugar and cinnamon combined with the shortest delicate pastry makes them melt on the tongue, and really turns them into what my kids call Fairy Food.
❀
Cinnamon Shortbread Hearts
250g butter
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
280 g plain or wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup icing sugar, sifted with 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flour and cinnamon and lightly mix into a dough. Wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Preheat oven to 190ºC. Roll out dough on a floured flat surface til just over 1/2 a cm thick. Place on baking paper lined tray and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on rack over a tray then sprinkle heavily with icing sugar and cinnamon mixture, from a fine sieve. Turn biscuits and repeat to coat well. You could toss them carefully on a tray with the sugar and cinnamon but I find using a sieve to coat them works a bit bettter.
To be honest, they don’t really need the coating, but it does turn them into something special.
Your cookies are such sweet looking things ;] I like how you’re trying to raise your children “poor” too. After working in the country side, I’ve started to notice things in the city…I like the nice way that you’ve put it, “the modern stress on the material and the confusion of consumerism”–it’d be nice to live without that stuff on your mind.
Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving your lovely comment, fattydumpling
I couldn’t agree more with your comments about how we become more aware of the consumer spell when we are less immersed in it. It is wonderful not to be so caught up in it, and I feel very lucky that we are part of the 2% of Australia who misses out on mobile phone cover and television reception!
Drool and may I add, beautiful: the words, the photographs and the gentle contentment suffusing the whole post.
Thank you lovely – you are very perceptive. Contentment is a new and welcome pair of comfy shoes I’ve been wearing around a bit lately. Unexpected but very welcome. x