Festive Sugar Cookies

I made these simple and delicious heart-shaped Nutella cookie sandwiches the other day!
All you need is homemade cookie dough, a fun cookie cutter, and some Nutella or another brand of chocolate hazelnut spread.

I used a basic sugar cookie dough recipe I got from Real Simple magazine. My Kitchen Aid stand  mixer did a wonderful job of creaming the butter and the sugar, but one could also cream the butter and sugar by hand. After the dough is prepared it needs to be chilled for an hour or two. After chilling, the dough can be rolled out, and cut, and then the scraps go back in the fridge or freezer to be chilled some more.

After the scraps have chilled, the process of cutting shapes is repeated. Meanwhile, the cut cookies should be chilled on a baking sheet in the fridge or freezer before baking. At the end, I had a few scraps left and I decided to make a few jam thumbprint cookies (though they need to bake a little longer than the thinner sugar cookies). After the cut cookies have baked and cooled, spread Nutella on the underside of one and sandwich it with another cookie. Make more cookie sandwiches and enjoy!

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe from Real Simple
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping the cookies
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each piece out 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Line baking sheets with parchment. Refrigerate on baking sheets until firm. Bake until just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool and then make sandwiches with chocolate-hazelnut spread.