Melt in your mouth cinnamon hearts

A no-bake treat that’s fun for the whole family!

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve sneaking sweets out of my grandparents’ always-stocked candy dishes. In hindsight, I now realize that I likely wasn’t very sneaky at all and they surely knew who the candy-napper in the house was, but they were ever so kind not to thwart my thievery. Among my favourite treats as a kid were pillow-shaped butter mints. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re pastel-coloured, melt-in-your mouth candies that resemble the texture of thick frosting. For Valentine’s Day this year, I decided to recreate this retro sweet in a cinnamon version. They’re super easy and absolutely delightful and you could easily use peppermint extract if you prefer that flavour to cinnamon. Cake decorating supply stores are a great source for good quality, affordable extracts.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups (340 mL) powdered (icing) sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) milk
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) cinnamon extract (available at cake decorating supply shops)
• Red or pink food colouring (optional)

Method

• Put the butter in a medium sized bowl with high sides. Beat on medium-low speed with an electric mixer (or beat vigorously by hand) for 1 minute.
• Add the icing sugar, milk and cinnamon extract and continue beating until the mixture takes on a crumbly texture.
• Stop mixing and test the dough by pinching a small amount between two fingertips. It should stick together when pressed and have the consistency of play-dough. If the dough is too wet, add a bit more icing sugar (1 tablespoon / 15 mL) at a time) or a bit more milk (1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 mL at a time) until dough achieves desired consistency.
• Add just a few drops of food colouring and continue beating until the colour is thoroughly mixed in.
• Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch / .6 cm thickness. Cut with a small cookie cutter (I used a 3/4 inch heart) and place on a wire rack to dry overnight. Dough scraps can be re-rolled.
• Note: if not rolling dough out immediately, wrap well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks before bringing to room temperature and rolling out.
• If you have difficulty picking the hearts up off the parchment paper, refrigerate the oval of ‘stamped’ dough for 10 minutes and it will be easier to peel the individual hearts off the paper.
• After 12 – 18 hours of drying, transfer the hearts to a container with a tight lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Makes approximately 75 hearts.