Valentine's Sugar Cookies

Here they are! The cookies I promised. This recipe came from a blog called All Things Thrifty. A lot of people I know have been making sugar cookies this Valentine's Day. I guess those soft, heart-shaped, frosting-covered cookies are a good way to say "I love you," even if only to yourself. :)

Remember how I said something like, "stay tuned to check out how creative I can be with no cookie cutters or sprinkles?" You will see two little heart cookies in these pictures. I made those with a drinking glass to cut out a circle and then I used a butterknife to make a heart. I lost interest after making two. So my husband got round cookies, no sprinkles, conversation hearts, and overly pink frosting. He's so lucky!

Ingredients:
3 sticks of salted butter softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 cups of all purpose flour


Directions:

*Cream the softened butter and sugar together until it is nice, smooth, and fluffy.

*Next, add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture.

*Add the vanilla. 

*Gradually add the flour and baking powder. Make sure that all the flour is mixed into the dough.

*Chill dough for 1-2 hours to stiffen up the dough. (very important step)

*When your dough has been chilled for the alloted time, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

*On a clean counter top, generously sprinkle powdered sugar (yep...not flour) onto the counter and begin rolling the dough with a rolling pin. Make sure to add some powdered sugar to your rolling pin and to the top of the dough to prevent it from sticking. (Keep adding a little powdered sugar as needed throughout this process).


*Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes and set them on an ungreased cookie sheet (mine stuck, so I greased it on later batches). Make sure there is at least 1 inch or so in between each cookie.

*Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. They won't look done, but they are. Do not overcook.

My thoughts: This recipe calls for the cookies to be rolled out in powdered sugar. I tried it both ways: powdered sugar and flour. I don't think it really matters. Flour helps the dough to not stick so badly, and you could skip the chilling step more easily if you use flour. The sugar makes the cookies sweeter, but if you are adding frosting on top they are overly-sweet anyway. I say just use flour, especially if little children are involved...that sugar is sticky!

Husband's Reaction:

He is tired and doing homework. His reaction was to keep asking when the cookies would be done and then to eat one in 3 bites. The heart on his cookie said, "my boy." <3