Two-tone Cocoa and Vanilla Cookies: The Perfect Heart Shortbread Recipe
If you’re looking for a sweet and scenic idea to celebrate love in all its forms, the two-tone cocoa and vanilla cookies are the perfect choice. Originally designed as a proposal for Valentine’s Day, these “heartsy” shortbreads are actually the ideal gift for any special occasion: from Mother’s Day to a sweet thought for a friend or your parents.
Besides being aesthetically beautiful, they are incredibly crumbly and fragrant, the non plus ultra when accompanied by a steaming cup of tea or a thick hot chocolate.
One dough for two shortbreads: the easy and quick recipe
The secret to making these cookies without going crazy in the kitchen is to start with a single base dough. I revisited the proven recipe of my famous swirl cookies, making small changes to make it even more practical.
Why choose this recipe
This shortbread dough is truly easy and practical because with a single procedure you get two shortbreads (a white one with vanilla and a dark one with cocoa), speeding up the preparation times. Moreover, making these cookies with children is a creative and fun activity, perfect for rainy afternoons. I chose the heart shape for their symbolic meaning, but you can use any mold to adapt them to your everyday life.
If you’re a cookie lover, I invite you to check out these other ideas and replicate them:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 30 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons, Valentine's Day
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it doesn’t cost you anything extra!
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup type 1 flour
- 5.3 oz butter (cold, diced)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp orange liqueur (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
- as needed strawberry jam
Tools:
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while it doesn’t cost you anything extra!
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Scraper
- 1 Plastic Wrap
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 Cookie Cutter
- 4 Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking Mat
- 1 Cooling Rack
- 1 Cookie Cutter
Steps:
In a large mixing bowl, sift and mix the two flours.
Add the cold butter cut into cubes.
Then work until you get a sandy mixture, but without working it too long, to avoid excessively heating the butter.
Add the egg, the vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and the sugar.
Knead everything quickly with your hands.
Once you have obtained a compact and uniform mixture, divide it into two equal parts with the help of a scraper.
Add the sifted cocoa to one of these with a tablespoon of liqueur* to facilitate faster absorption.
After the necessary time, roll out both doughs between 2 sheets of parchment paper lightly floured at the base to a thickness of 1/8 inch if you want to make double stuffed cookies, slightly thicker (½ cm) for traditional non-stuffed ones**.
Cut out the small hearts from the white dough with appropriate cutters.
Cut just as many small hearts from the cocoa dough.
Now, place the white hearts in the empty spaces of the cocoa dough.
Do the same with the cocoa hearts in the empty spaces of the white dough.
Roll the rolling pin over the doughs to make the hearts adhere well to the bases.
Cut out the cookies using a large heart cutter.
If you have decided to fill them, half of these will need to be pierced with the smaller heart cutter. Lift them one by one using a spatula and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or with a recyclable perforated mat.
If you decide not to pierce them, simply cut them to a slightly greater thickness of 3/16 inch. You decide. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350°F, for about 12 minutes. The cookies should be golden on the bottom and around the edges, but light on the surface.
Proceed to quickly re-knead the doughs and create other cookies with a really nice marbled effect, until all the doughs are used up. Once cooked, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Once cold, fill the bases of the unpierced cookies with strawberry jam and close sealing with the pierced ones.
Let the heart-to-heart cookies cool completely before storing them in airtight containers.
You can pair cocoa cookies with other cocoa ones or alternate them with plain ones to create color games. It will be really fun!
And there you have it… your two-tone heart-to-heart cookies are ready to be gifted and enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can store the two-tone heart-to-heart cookies either in a simple version or double as linzer cookies at room temperature, in airtight containers for 2-3 weeks.
Tips, Notes, Variations, and Suggestions
🟣*The choice to add a tablespoon of liqueur directly into the dough makes it special. The first combination I chose is with Orange (e.g., Grand Marnier or Cointreau): Orange and chocolate are an infallible combination. The citrus scent makes the cookie less cloying. Or, also excellent is the Coffee Liqueur. A touch of coffee in the cocoa dough enhances its intensity without overpowering the vanilla. Finally, rum, the classic pairing par excellence. Its caramel notes enhance the cocoa and add depth to the vanilla. Buy Rum for sweets.
🟣**For a perfect balance between crunchiness and crumbliness, roll the dough to a thickness of 3/16 inch. If you make them too thin, the two-tone contrast will be less visible; if too thick, they may remain moist inside.
🟣To achieve a sharp and precise two-tone effect like from a bakery, chilling the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes is essential. Cold dough is easier to work with and holds its shape during baking. The thicknesses must be uniform: Roll out the two doughs (vanilla and cocoa) to the same height to ensure even baking.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. Can the butter be replaced for a lactose-free version?
Yes, you can use clarified butter or a good vegetable butter. If you prefer oil, remember to add an extra egg or a bit of flour to balance the consistency, but bear in mind that oil-based shortbread is less suitable for two-tone interlocks than butter-based.
2. Can I prepare the dough in advance?
Absolutely yes. You can prepare the dough up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
