Red Velvet Melting Moments

Time has been flying along way too fast for me. I often wonder how people manage to keep up with all the crazy amounts of things they need to balance in their lives, since I find it pretty much impossible. Inevitably one aspect of my life gets messy and neglected at some point (it usually ends up being the housework since I am a total slob). It boggles my mind that it's July already.

Luckily my blog has never been the thing to be completely neglected in the last few years. It's probably because it's my hobby, with no obligations and nothing that makes it feel like work. It'll be sad if that ever changes. Unfortunately my baking ideas can't keep up with how fast time flies seeing as I came up with a lovely, simple idea for a Valentine's Day baking project months too late. Check out these Red Velvet Melting Moment Biscuits, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread biscuits (also known as yoyos) sandwiched with fluffy cream cheese icing. I couldn't resist making them heart-shaped, even though it does remind me of the red velvet whoopie pies that I saw around Valentine's day. I have issues with whoopie pies. These are much better.

I adapted these from the same recipe I used for my Neopolitan Melting Moments, cos they were so full of awesome. These ones have a bit of cocoa and a ton of red food colouring and taste so great with the smooth cream cheese icing. I was originally planning to try this icing for the filling but I had leftover cream cheese and couldn't let it go to waste. It worked out great since the biscuits are so delightfully light that they needed that bit of richness and tang from the cream cheese.

This recipe is incredibly easy and quick to whip up, the only fiddly part is pressing the dough into the little heart shapes. Of course there's no need for the heart shapes, you can just roll and press regular rounds of dough for normal melting moments, but I love the hearts. I also love that A came home the other day with a chopped up chunk of an old, worn blue wooden door from his work because he remembered that I saw it once and ranted about how perfect it would be for photos. We love him.

Red Velvet Melting Moments
(adapted from this Gourmet Traveller recipe, makes about 24 biscuits)
250g soft, good quality unsalted butter
80g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 1 tbsp liquid red food colour, adjust as you like (I used gel colouring, which only needed about 2 tsp)
75g (1/2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
225g (1 1/2 cups) plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
1/2 tsp salt

For the cream cheese icing:
113g cream cheese
1 tbsp (14g) butter
1 cup (150g) icing sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add red food colouring and vanilla and beat until just combined. Sift flours, cocoa powder and salt over butter mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir to form a soft dough. If you are making heart shapes you may want to chill your dough for about 10 mins before you start to shape them, to stop the butter in the dough melting from the heat of your hands.

Keeping your fingertips lightly floured, press heaped teaspoons of dough into heart shapes that are about 0.5cm thick and 3.5cm wide and place on baking sheets (do not knead your dough, work it as little as possible). I could fit about 24 biscuits on each sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly coloured. Stand biscuits on trays for 5 minutes, before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

To prepare the icing, remove the cream cheese and butter 30 mins before starting. Beat cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high until smooth and fluffy. Add sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth. Spoon on to cooled biscuits and sandwich together. Can be served immediately or stored in the fridge in an airtight container.