Bull’s Eye: delicious and easy filled shortbread cookies to make at home, perfect for any time of the day. To make them, I used my tested shortbread for decorated cookies: a crumbly shortbread, without baking powder, designed to maintain shape perfectly during baking. The dough is easy to make by hand, but if you want to speed up, you can use a stand mixer: just add all the ingredients together and in a few minutes, you’ll have a dough ready to roll out, without needing to rest. To shape the cookies, you just need two round cookie cutters of different sizes: one for the full disc and the other to create the “doughnut” effect. After a few minutes in the oven, you can fill them with jam, Nutella, or your preferred cream. They keep well in tin boxes and, for an elegant touch, you can sprinkle the top with powdered sugar before filling.
Before proceeding to the recipe, I remind you of other delicious cookies to sweeten your days
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 20 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 248.19 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 27.69 (g) of which sugars 10.24 (g)
- Proteins 3.99 (g)
- Fat 14.07 (g) of which saturated 6.93 (g)of which unsaturated 3.92 (g)
- Fibers 0.94 (g)
- Sodium 5.81 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 52 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 0.9 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 9 oz butter (cold)
- vanilla flavor
- hazelnut cream
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 2 Cookie Cutters
Preparation
Let’s prepare the shortcrust pastry by kneading all the ingredients by hand, or using the stand mixer to speed up the work. The process is really easy and fast, and there’s no need to let the dough rest. If you want to follow all the steps in detail, you can consult my decorated cookie shortbread recipe. Once ready, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is just over a quarter of an inch thick. The important thing is that it is uniform, so the cookies will bake evenly. At this point, cut out the cookies using a large round cookie cutter.
After cutting out all the large discs, gently arrange them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You’ll need at least two to distribute all the cookies well. At this point, take half of the discs and, with a smaller cookie cutter, create a hole in the center to achieve the classic bull’s eye shape. When all the cookies are ready, bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 12 minutes. The cookies should be just golden: check that the bottom is cooked, but without darkening too much on the surface.
After baking them, simply sprinkle the part of the cookie with the hole with powdered sugar, the one that will go on top. Then, fill the whole cookie with your preferred cream (jam, Nutella, or another cream of your choice) and stack the two cookies. And voilà, your bull’s eyes are ready to enjoy!
NOTES
You can fill them with apricot, strawberry, cherry jam, or hazelnut cream, depending on your taste.
For a more rustic version, you can use whole wheat flour or add a pinch of cinnamon to the dough.
They are perfect for breakfast, a snack, or as a gift in transparent bags with a colorful bow.
If you liked the recipe or if you have questions, feel free to comment here or on social media Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and X.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I prepare the dough in advance?
Yes! You can prepare the shortcrust pastry in advance and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days wrapped tightly in cling film, or freeze it for up to 1 month.
Can I use a butter-free shortcrust pastry?
Yes, you can try a version with margarine, but the texture will be slightly different.
