Rose Creme Sandwich Cookies

I really have been avoiding the large pink elephant that's been standing in the room for the last four days. All the other super-blogs around have already invited it in and embraced it. But I have yet to follow suit. Oops.

Honestly, Valentine's Day is not too big in this household. Not because we're anti-love or anti-fake-holiday-created-by-the-card-companies. It's just not our thing. Why book a restaurant that will be packed? Why buy each other stuff we don't need? Why designate a special day to stuff ourselves with chocolate when we do that the other 364 days of the year? All good questions. But, even with all the reasons out there to forget about Valentine's Day, there will still be thousands of couples out on the 14th gargling bubbly. Hey, my friends, more power to you.

So, I guess it's my dessert-blogger duty to pander to the all the lovey dovies out there. For you, my little shmoopies, I have a delicate little sandwich cookie that will quickly replace that stale box of chocoaltes you picked up at the grocery store. The flavour is pure, liquid love - exotic rosewater. The creamy filling just seals the deal.  I know this treat will really kick off your Valentine's Day.





Rose Creme Sandwich Cookies
Makes about two and a half dozen sandwiches

1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons rosewater

1) Whisk to combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in the bowl. In a separate bowl, beat utter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add rosewater, and mix until combined. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Divide dough in half, shape into disks, and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Chill for about 1 hour.

2) Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll one of the disks on parchment thin (anywhere between 1/4th to 1/8th of an inch) and chill for about 15 minutes. Cut 1 1/2-inch rounds from the dough and space one inch apart on your baking sheets. Using a small cookie cutter, cut a 1/2-inch hole off-center in half the rounds. Bake for about 14 minutes, until golden. Transfer cookies to wire wracks to cool completely.

Rosewater Creme Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons rosewater
1 1/2 teaspoons milk (plus more if needed)
Candied violets or rose petals for garnish

1) Cream together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the rosewater and milk, stirring until smooth.

2) Dust the cooled cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the filling onto the whole cookies and top with the cut-out cookies. Place the candied violet or rose petal candies in each hole. Sandwich and enjoy