Shortbread cookies

This recipe is from "the barefoot contessa cookbook" and is a recipe from Eli Zabar. We used to live close to Zabars and loved going into his food store to check out the amazing food they sold there. These are so good and so simple! I'm excited to keep making them throughout the month for Valentine's Day.

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 C sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)

1 t pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 C AP flour

1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 c of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 min. 

Roll the dough 1/4 in thick and cut with a 3 in heart cutter (or a 2 3/4 in round cutter for the liner cookies, cutting a small heart or hole in half of them). Bake for 15 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
 

For the heart cookies, I dipped half of the cookie in melted semi sweet chocolate. For the linzer cookies, I sprinkled the cookies with the heart cut out with powdered sugar and put a dollop of raspberry jam on the cookies without cutouts and sandwiched them together.