Valentine Cookies

Published February 9, 2013

Frosted cookies

I had a great time on Friday with the kids in Beachwood. One of the things we did is decorate sugar cookie hearts. While chocolate is the traditional choice for Valentine’s Day you can think outside the chocolate box and try something like sugar cookies. One thing to always remember with sugar cookies is to roll them all to the same thickness so they will bake evenly. These were big cookies so I rolled them to 1/8 -inch thickness. Bake, cool and top with a simple buttercream.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

3 T. milk, optional

Extra sugar for sprinkling, if desired

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Beat in milk if dough is not too soft. Heat oven to 375-degrees. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/3- inch thickness. Cut out with lightly floured cutters and sprinkle with sugar or colored sugar if you like and if you are not going to frost them. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 3 minutes before placing on wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.

Note: I used a very large cookie cutter and got 20 out of a single batch of dough. Size matters!!!

To decorate the cookies frost and sprinkle with tinted sugar or sprinkles, if desired.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 c. butter, softened

5-6 cups powdered sugar

1 T. vanilla

Few drops of food coloring, optional

Beat butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add food coloring and beat until light and fluffy.