Vienna, the Coffee Capital of the World, marks the birthplace of our friendship.
Though first introduced at our basic missionary training in 1972, she and I became friends in this Austrian center of culture, home to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Strauss. Our taste in decorating, our love of family, and our commitment to Eastern Europe bound our hearts together in an uncommon way. It would be decades before we actually lived in the same city in Hungary, but in the interim, our friendship reached across international boundaries.
Never ones to miss a good deal, we thought nothing of digging knee-deep through a pile of discarded bottles in Budapest in hopes of resurrecting a tossed treasure. Why, we even moved a piano together one Saturday afternoon, just the two of us!
Pranks hold a special place in this relationship. I’ll never forget, under the cover of darkness, depositing a large, black, raunchy, furry animal skin at her front door, ringing the doorbell, and running away. No, we weren’t teenagers; we were just in a season of trying to raise them.
But this is about a recipe. Diane was coming by for us to drive to a wicker basket outlet, and I wanted to celebrate life, friendship, and yes, Valentine’s Day. This called for cups of tea in travel mugs and Valentine cookies on festive napkins. Not just any cookie would do. This called for the BEST.
Shortbread Hearts
The Silver Palate Cookbook
Ingredients:
¾ pound (3 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions:
1. Cream butter and confectioners’ sugar together until light.
2. Sift flour and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla and blend thoroughly.
3. Gather dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper, and chill for 4 to 6 hours.
4. Roll out chilled dough to 5/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch-long heart-shaped cookie cutter cut out cookies. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar. Place cut-out cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and refrigerate for 45 minutes before baking.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until just starting to color lightly; cookies should not brown at all. Cool on a rack.
20 Cookies
Debby’s Note: The ingredients are simple; the instructions are essential.
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
“He has also set eternity in the heart of man” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Happy Valentine’s Day! Make a memory by sharing these with someone special. In fact, I have been known to wrap these hearts in individual bags—secure with festive ribbons—and deliver them to my local Grand Darlings! And all the while, the words from 1 John 4:19 stir around in my own heart.
“We love because He first loved us.”
