CANDIED GINGER SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Candied Ginger Shortbread Hearts image

Yield Makes about 40 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 7

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2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
confectioners' sugar for sprinkling the cookies

Steps:

In a bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter, the brown sugar, and the ground ginger until the mixture is light and fluffy and add the flour and the salt. Beat the dough until it is just combined and beat in the candied ginger. Halve the dough, roll out each half 1/4 inch thick between sheets of wax paper, and freeze the dough on baking sheets for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is very firm. Working with half the dough at a time, remove the top sheets of wax paper and cut out cookies with a 2 1/4-inch heart-shaped cutter. (The dough should be cold so that the cookies retain their shape.) Arrange the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheets, bake them in batches in the middle of a preheated 300°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are pale golden, and transfer them to a rack. Gather the scraps, reroll the dough, and make more cookies in the same manner. Let the cookies cool completely and sprinkle them with the confectioners' sugar, sifted. The cookies keep in an airtight container for 5 days.