Directions

• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take 2-3 minutes.
• Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
• Slowly fold in the remaining ingredients except for the raspberry powder powder.
  *If your dough is too crumbly, simply at 1-2 Tablespoons of water or milk until it is soft and pliable.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces and set one aside.
• To one half of the dough mix in the raspberry powder and red food coloring.
• Break each of the colors into two equal pieces. At this point you should have four lumps of dough: two raspberry and two vanilla
• Shape one lump of dough of each color into a square log that is about 1 1/2 inches tall. Make sure that your logs are as close in size as you can make them.
• Take the other two lumps of dough and roll them into round logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
  
• At this point you should have two round logs, one raspberry and one vanilla and two square logs, one raspberry and one vanilla.
  It is okay if all of the logs are not exactly the same length. Just make sure that they are all the same in diameter.
  *Once the dough has firmed up a bit after chilling, it will be easier to refine the shapes to be more precise, so don’t worry if your shapes don’t look perfect at this point.
• Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or over night.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and while the dough is still cold gently refine the shape of the logs to make the edges more crisp. I do this by pressing the sides of the square log into the counter and pinching the corners until I am happy with my square shape. For the round logs, I roll them until I am happy with the shape. Make sure that your logs are all the same in diameter.
• Return the round logs to the refrigerator.
• With the dough still cold (pop it into the freezer for a few minutes if needed), cut each square log into nine equal pieces lengthwise. Start by cutting each log in thirds and then cut each third into thirds. Keep the pieces in order.
• Now you will create two new logs from your original two logs. Lay one strip of raspberry, one strip of vanilla, then another strip of raspberry. Brush a little water between the pieces and gently press them together. Top the three strips with alternating colors, and repeat for the last layer, brushing water between the strips before gently pressing them together.
• Repeat this with the alternating colors for the second log.
  At this point you should have two checker-print logs.
• Remove the round logs from the refrigerator and cut each round log in half lengthwise.
• Take one half of the round raspberry log and adhere it two either of the checker-print logs – brush a bit of water between the two to help them stick together. Take half of one of the round vanilla logs and adhere it to another side of the same checker-print log to make it look like a heart.
  Repeat this with the other checker print log to for your second heart.
• Return the dough to the refrigerator for 30 minutes and preheat an oven to 350°F.
• Slice the cookies into 1/4 inch pieces.
• Bake for 9-11 minutes. Enjoy!