Sweetest Day of the Year

Make these sweet sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day this year!  The recipe reposted from the delicious foodpluswords.com.

Yield: depends on the size of your cutter. i got 50 small heart cookies with plenty of dough left over!

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus chilling time

Cook Time: 5-8 minutes

 

this dough needs to rest for at least an hour in the fridge before rolling it out, but feel free to let it chill out in there for up to three days before baking! pretty good pun, right?

the dough also freezes beautifully! wrap it well and store it in the freezer, and when you’re ready to bake cookies, simply transfer the frozen dough to the fridge the night before you bake.

 

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
milk, cream or half & half, for brushing atop cookies
sanding sugar or sprinkles, for topping cookies

special equipment necessary

heart-shaped cookie cutter (Mine is a 1 1/4″inch wide, but you could probably get away with one that’s up to 2″ wide! any bigger and you’ll need to make cookie necklaces, my friend.)
wooden skewer, for punching out the hole your twine or ribbon will string through (if you’re making a larger cookie, i would use a drinking straw instead to form a larger opening!)
small brush for applying milk to the surface of the cookies
baker’s twine or thin ribbon
tape measurer

directions:

Making the sugar cookie dough

Sift the flour, baking powder and kosher salt together into a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted on, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale in color, about 1-2 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl. Mix just until the ingredients come together to form a soft dough, about 30 seconds.

Using a silicone spatula, turn the dough out of the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape the dough into a slightly flattened disk. Wrap the dough disk with the plastic wrap well and transfer to the fridge to firm up.

The dough needs to chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or you can leave it be for up to three days before baking.

To freeze the dough, just wrap the dough in a layer of aluminum foil, stick it in a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag and freeze for up to six months. When you’re ready to make cookies, transfer the still-wrapped frozen dough to the fridge the night before baking!

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