Valentine's Day is right around the corner! For us, it means Teacher Appreciation at MOMS- a group where I can fellowship with other moms, eat a lovely meal (that I don't have to share), and hear a new speaker every week who encourages me in my role as 'Mommy'. Last year I waited till the night before to even think about teacher appreciation, so I was determined to put a little more thought into it this year. I really appreciate that while I'm NOT sharing my meal, my daughter is well cared for!This is a basic shortbread recipe, it's flaky and delicious. Making the shortbread into cookie pops is a little time consuming, but the end result makes it worth it!
3/4 lb. butter (yep--that's three cubes!)
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
cookie pop sticks
1 package of milk chocolate chips
Valentine sprinkles
Combine flour and salt and set aside. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla. Cut in flour and salt with a pastry cutter or 2 forks. (A stand mixer can probably handle the task with the paddle attachment.) Form into two balls, wrap in waxed paper and chill for 2 hours. Roll out to just over 1/4 inch thick on a pastry cloth, or lightly floured surface. Cut w/ heart cutter. Carefully insert the pop stick into bottom of cookie, going about 3/4 of the way up. Carefully lay on cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and using a spatula, place shortbread pops on a cooling rack.
Allow to cool completely. Cover cool cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Melt chocolate according to package directions, usually about 2 minutes on 50% power in the microwave. You can add a little canola oil to thin the chocolate out if you need to. Carefully dip the shortbread pop in the chocolate covering the front, tap gently to get rid of the extra chocolate. Lay pop on covered cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles. (Fun for the kids!)
Out of 14 pops, only one stick came loose, I dipped the stick in chocolate and reinserted it into the cookie. It doesn't look the prettiest, but it got the job done! I used a medium sized heart cutter and got about 14 shortbread pops and 6 regular cookies (no sticks).
