Heart shaped chocolate chip cookies

'Tis the season for heart shaped desserts! I wanted an excuse to create a small batch cookie recipe and this was the perfect reason.

You can either make these cookies into two big hearts to share, five single serve heart cookies or really anything in between but I'll share guidance specifically for those two options. There is no special equipment required for this recipe and you can either use room temperature butter of soften the butter quickly in the microwave so you really can get started on the dough right away.

I do highly recommend chilling your dough for two hours prior to baking so you get the perfect chewy cookie texture. You can make and shape your dough, then chill the dough while you eat dinner and bake your cookies for dessert!

To shape your heart cookies, you'll gently press two clumps of rectangular dough together and then gently connect them to make almost a V shape (see the pictures below). To make two big hearts you'll need four rectangular logs. If you'd instead like to make five cookies, you'll need 10 smaller logs to form your five hearts.

A trick to keep in mind is to quickly shape your hearts when they come out of the oven. As long as you chill your dough, the cookies should spread into nice hearts and will mostly keep their shape when baking, but you may want to reshape them a bit. To do this, have a butter knife or flat tool ready right when your cookies come out of the oven and use the flat edge to gently move and shape the edges of your hearts to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/4 cup, 4 tablespoons) 57g

• 1/4 cup brown sugar 48g

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 24g

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 egg yolk

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour 60g

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• 3 oz semisweet chocolate (1/2 cup)

Total time: About two and a half hours including chill time

Prep time: About 10 minutes

Bake time (2 hearts): 10-12 minutes

Bake time (5 hearts): 8-10 minutes

Equipment:

• Cookie sheets

• Spatula or large spoon

• Parchment paper

Cooking instructions:

If you don't have room temperature butter, you can place your cold butter in a medium bowl and into the microwave for 10-15 seconds. You do not want to melt your butter but the goal is to soften it.

Add in both sugars and use a spatula or large spoon to completely combine your butter and sugar. Continue mixing until you see no streaks of butter. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and if needed, use a knife or other utensil to scrape off your spatula/spoon.

Next, add in your egg yolk and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined.

Add in your dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and pinch of salt and use your spatula to fold your dough together. Once your dough is almost fully formed, add in most of your chocolate chips, reserving some for later. Mix your dough until your chips are evenly dispersed.

Use a large spoon to portion out your dough. If you'd like to make two big hearts, split your dough into four portions (about 70 grams each) and for five hearts you'll split your dough into ten portions (about 25-30 grams each). Roll each portion into a rectangular log and then press two logs together to form a V shape that looks like an elongated heart. Space out your dough onto one large lined cookie sheet or two cookie sheets. I used parchment paper. If you reserved some chocolate, gently press the chocolate pieces on top of your dough hearts. Place your cookie sheet into the fridge to chill for 1 to 2 hours. This will ensure that your cookies spread the right amount when you bake them and have a perfectly chewy center.

When you're ready, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes for two big hearts or 8-10 minutes for five hearts. Immediately when your cookies come out of the oven, you can use a butter knife or long flat tool to gently shape the edges of your cookie into the "perfect" heart shapes while your cookies are still hot. Allow them to cool and enjoy! These will taste best when freshly baked.

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 2 large cookies or 5 regular cookies

Carbs per serving (1 of 2 cookies): 88

Carbs per serving (1 of 5 cookies): 35

Carbs for full recipe: 177

Carbs from chocolate: 55 (adjust this if you use a different type of chocolate!)

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.