Valentine Sugar Cookies

by Jennifer
(Toulon, IL USA)

Spread some Cookie Love with Valentine sugar cookies!


Our special Valentine activity takes place at our church. On the Sunday evening nearest to Valentine's Day we gather in the church basement and decorate jumbo heart-shaped sugar cookies. I am getting ahead of myself!


First, my children and I mix together many batches of sugar cookie dough and let it cool in the refrigerator (see Valentine cookie recipe below).


Then we have the fun of rolling, cutting and baking. There is always laughter and flour galore!


We mix up some buttercream frosting: white, pink, and purple (frosting recipe below), and gather sprinkles of different colors and shapes to give the cookies that special touch.


In the church basement we have three stations: decorating, wrapping, and ribbon/card attaching.


There is much laughter and fun as kids and adults try their hand at making a cookie masterpiece.


When we're finished, two cookies are each placed on a red plate, covered with plastic wrap, and tied with a bow and card. We also make larger plates with 4 cookies for family deliveries.


Before heading out to deliver the sweets, we take time to pray for the recipients of the cookies.


We have delivered our Valentine sugar cookies to Assisted Living apartments, Nursing Home residents, and this year to families in our community who have experienced the recent loss of loved ones.


Although we are spreading some "cookie love" to others, truly the blessing is ours as we assemble the cookies, pray for others, and have a time of visiting!

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Valentine Cookie Recipe:


To make our Valentine's Day cookies, we use this sugar cookie recipe...

• 1 1/2 c. of softened butter
  
• 2 c. of white sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
  
• 5 c. of plain all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tsp. of baking powder
  
• 1 tsp. of salt

1. You begin by creaming together the butter and sugar until it is smooth. Use a large bowl for this because you are then going to beat in the eggs and vanilla, followed by the flour, baking powder, and salt.
   
   
   
2. Once you have your sugar cookie dough prepared, you need to cover it and chill it for at least an hour, but you can even mix it the day before and chill it overnight if it's more convenient for you.
   
   
3. Set the oven to 400° F. (or 200° C.) to preheat while you are rolling out your dough.
   
   
4. On a floured surface, you'll need to roll out your cookie dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thickness, depending on how thick you want your Valentine cookies to be.
   
   
5. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter (or any shape you like) to cut out your cookies and place them about an inch apart on your ungreased baking tray.
   
   
6. Allow the cookies to bake for about 6-8 minutes, depending on thickness. Cool them completely before frosting them!

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Buttercream Frosting Recipe:


Valentine sugar cookies aren't really special until they're topped with a delicious frosting. Here's the buttercream recipe we use for our Valentine cookie treats...

• 1 c. of softened butter
  
• 8 c. of powdered sugar (also called icing sugar or confectioner's sugar)
  
• 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 cup milk (approximately - you'll use a bit more or less as needed)

1. Start by creaming your butter in the mixing bowl.
   
   
2. Beat in the vanilla and the powdered sugar (best to do a cup or so at a time). Gradually add the milk until you get just the consistency you're looking for to ice your Valentine sugar cookies

Hint! Don't substitute the real butter in this recipe for anything else or you just won't get the same results. ;)


See how easy that is? Hope you enjoy!