Valentine's Cookies

Yesterday we took Valentine's treats to the nursing home. I figured no matter how sad and lonely I was, the people there were sadder and lonelier (is that a word?). Anyhow, we had a good time, and everyone raved about the heart-shaped sugar cookies I made.

The interesting thing about having all your cookbooks in storage is that sometimes you don't have your old standby recipes and have to try something new. And sometimes you find a gem that replaces your old standby, which is the case with this sugar cookie recipe.

On allrecipes.com, they called it "The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie" recipe, and they would be correct. My former roommate even asked me if I used store-bought dough because she said the cookies were so perfect. She knows me better than that.

The recipe is down below, in case this link ever stops working.

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 8 Min
Ready In: 3 Hrs

Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Most people make their sugar cookie icing by mixing powdered sugar and milk, which is perfectly adequate, but I made a batch of delicious buttercream icing instead.

It was also from allrecipes.com, which is becoming one of my favorite Web sites.

Butter frosting (link)
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
In a bowl beat butter or margarine until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, beating well.
Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make of spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.

This recipe made just enough frosting for the cookies. The recipe said it would make 5 dozen, but with a pretty nice sized heart cookie cutter, I still think I got more than 60 cookies. Instead of using food coloring on the icing, I did them in white and sprinkled pink sprinkles and red sugar on them. They looked beautiful. Actually, I have a picture on my Facebook, so maybe I can post it here too.