Annabel Karmel's shortbread sweetheart biscuits

Method

• step 1

  Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extra, until smooth and creamy. Gently stir in the flour with a wooden spoon, then bring the dough together with your hands. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for around 30 minutes.

• step 2

  Roll the dough out on a floured surface to around 2mm thick. Cut out 16 hearts using a 6cm cutter.

• step 3

  Put 8 hearts on 1 lined baking sheet. Using the smaller heart-shaped cutter, cut heart centres from the remaining 8 dough heart. Transfer the hearts with the centres cut out to the 2nd lined baking sheet. Chill both sheets for 10 minutes in the freezer, while you preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

• step 4

  Bake the shortbread hearts until slightly golden. This will take 10 to 12 minutes for the ones with the hearts cut out, and 13 to 15 minutes for the solid ones. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

• step 5

  Melt the white chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of warm water. Stir often and watch carefully. Remove the bowl from pan when you can still see a few un-melted lumps of chocolate and stir until smooth. Set aside for a few minutes to let the chocolate cool and thicken slightly. Meanwhile, dust the cookies with the cut out centres with icing sugar.

• step 6

  Spread a scant 1 to 2 tbsp of chocolate over each solid cookie, leaving a border around the edge. Put a blob of jam in the centre of the cookie on top of the chocolate. Carefully place each cookie with a sugar-dusted top on top of a solid choc-and-jam-topped cookie to create a cookie sandwich. Add a little extra jam into the cut out centre, if needed.

• step 7

  Refrigerate for 10 to 20 minutes, until the white chocolate has set, then store in a cool place.