Hello ladies!
Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I thought I would share a favorite sugar cookie recipe with you that my family loves. I use this recipe for any cutout cookie I want to make--especially heart shapes! The dough needs to chill for several hours or overnight (so if you make the dough today, you can always surprise the family with fresh cookies tomorrow!)
Rich Sugar Cookies
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (room temperature works best)
1/2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
Spoon flour into a bowl. Add baking powder and salt to the flour. Stir to mix the dry ingredients together and set this mixture aside.
In a large bowl (I use a stand mixer), cream sugar, butter, shortening, eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. I like to mix these ingredients until they are creamy and there are no lumps. Make sure your butter is room temperature so it mixes well.
Add the flour mixture to your creamed mixture, one cup at a time. Beat well after each addition. After all the flour mixture is added in, cover the dough and place the dough in the refrigerator for several hours to chill. I usually make my dough a day ahead of time.
After your dough is chilled, it's time to make heart cutout cookies! Take your dough out of the refrigerator. Flour a board or surface well and dust your rolling pin in flour (I use a wooden rolling pin). I usually take about 2 large heaps of dough (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of dough) to work with at a time. I like to have enough to roll out at least 4 big cookies, but not too much at one time so the dough does not get "over-worked." The heart cookie cutter I use is pretty big, so I can fit about 6 to 8 hearts on a large cookie sheet. You don't want the cookies too close because if they raise a little when baking, they may stick together. I try to roll out the dough to at least a 1/4" thickness so the cookies are a little softer.
Bake your cookies at 375 degrees for approximately 6 to 8 minutes. I like my cookies a little softer, so I stick with 6 minutes. If you like a crisper cookie, then roll your dough a little thinner and/or bake a little longer.
To frost or not to frost? (These cookies are so good, you don't need to frost.) I use a very simple frosting my mom always made. It is just powdered sugar, a little milk, and some food coloring. It takes very little milk to make the frosting. For each color I want to make, I put a couple cups of powdered sugar in a bowl and then add a few drops of milk at a time to the powdered sugar until I get the desired consistency. Then, I use a little bit of the paste food coloring to get the desired color (you can use a tooth pick to take a little paste coloring and add it to the frosting). Have fun and think outside the box. Who said a heart sugar cookie cannot be blue or green, especially if children are designing the cookies? Children see things differently than we do!
Frost your cookie and then lay them out to dry (single layer). Keep them in an airtight container and they will stay soft. You can freeze them, also, and enjoy them at a later date. I like to eat them frozen!
If you have cake decorating tools, you can write on the cookies and leave "love" messages for your family. Today, I wrote some scripture verse references on the hearts so that we will remember to have God's word and His love "in our hearts."
If you have any questions about this recipe, please let me know. If you have a special cookie recipe, please feel free to share it with The Mom Squad!
Blessings!
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