Sweetheart (Sweet & Tart!) Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Show someone you love how sweet you think they are with these wonderful, refreshing, and RICH heart-shaped cookies. Found original recipe in a newspaper and just tweaked until the "Ooooo's!" and "Ahhhhh's!" convinced me it was ready for prime-time sharing! Trick is to get the lemon glaze just the right consistency, so that it spreads easily, but sets firm enough. Depends on your weather/humidity/ambient temperature on the day you bake. WORTH IT!

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Yields: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3⁄4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup  cold unsalted butter
• 3⁄4 cup powdered sugar
• 2  teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated

• Lemon Glaze

• 1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
• 1  teaspoon lemon juice (or 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
• 1  teaspoon lemon zest, grated
• 5 -6  tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Position rack in middle of oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla, until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
4. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until it is incorporated and the dough holds together in large clumps and comes away from the side of the bowl.
5. Form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly flour the rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough out to an EVEN ¼-inch+ thickness. Using a 3-inch long heart-shaped cutter, cut out the hearts. Use a thin metal spatula to transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, placing them about 1”apart. Gather together the dough scraps, roll, and cut out additional hearts.
6. Bake one sheet at a time, until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide, metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Glaze: In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest (or vanilla) together with enough cream to form a thick, spreadable glaze. Use a thin metal spatula to spread HALF (right or left half) of each cookie heart with glaze. Let the cookies sit until the glaze is firm. Cookies can be layered between sheets of waxed paper in a tightly covered container and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days. Makes apx. (24) 3-4" cookies.