Shortbread Hearts

There are certain must-buy items for me on any trip to Ikea - candles, serviettes, a toilet brush, coat hangers and a couple of wine glasses. And then while I'm there a plate of meatballs and chips in the cafe always goes down well too. But of course there are always impulse buys such as a set of three heart-shaped boxes which found their way into my trolley on my lastest visit! Why I bought them I don't really know but I thought they'd look lovely with some some heart-shaped biscuits for Valentine's day. Hence this reason for this recipe. It's very easy and if you've got flour, butter, sugar and an egg in your kitchen you can get baking straightaway and be eating them within the hour. Serve them for a romantic dessert with a dollop of creme fraiche, raspberries and passion fruit or for a biscuit decorate with a drizzle of melted white chocolate and a few silver ball cake decorations. Dr Oetker's new Soft Silver Pearls are much easier on the teeth than traditional ones but they do contain beef gelatine so no good for vegetarians.

Makes 8 x 9cm hearts and 15 x 5cm hearts
Takes about 1 hour

175g plain flour
100g butter
75g caster sugar
1 small egg

1 Place the flour in a bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you prefer to use a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together to form crumbs.
2 Stir in the sugar and egg and mix to form a dough. In a food processor add the sugar and egg just pulse until the mixture forms a dough. Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth, wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins.
3 Heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Roll out half the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut out heart shapes using a cutter (I made two different sizes but you can make all the same size depending on the cutter you have), re-rolling the trimmings until all the mixture is used.
4 Bake for 8-12 mins, depending on size, until pale golden. Leave for a few mins until firm then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with creme fraiche, raspberries and passion fruit with a dusting of icing sugar or drizzle with melted white chocolate and decorate with silver balls. The biscuits will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.