Here is the recipe:
Pie crust pastry :
114 gms butter
225 gms all purpose flour
A pinch of salt
2-3 tbsp ice cold water
Usually the secret of melt in the mouth pastry is butter - half the quantity of flour ! I had about 112 gms of unsalted cooking butter in my freezer, so I used 225 gms of all purpose flour. You can increase or decease the quantity of butter and flour or substitute half wheat flour if you're health conscious! This made about 50 biscuits !
You could do this the old fashioned way by rubbing the butter and flour between your fingers till it resembles bread crumbs or just blitz it in a food processor like me ! When it resembles breadcrumbs slowly keep adding teaspoons of cold water till the mix turns into dough - don't over mix it! As soon as the dough clumps together make it into a round ball and wrap in cling film and rest in the refrigerator at last half an hour or more.
After it has rested, divide it into two and keep one portion in the fridge, working with one portion at a time, roll out till around 8mm thin using a little flour. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter cut out hearts and place on a baking tray (lined with butter paper if its not non stick). Place a small dollop of jam in the centre of each heart (I used raspberry jam) and then wet the edges of the heart with water and place another heart on top of it (this is important because it allows the top heart to stick to the bottom heart properly) Press down with your finger lightly and crimp edges with a fork. Gently prick the center with the fork to allow steam to escape. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins or slightly brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm. Cool and pack in an airtight container.
Share these hearts with your loved ones an have a Happy Valentines Day !
