Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Red or pink gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light.
- Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- On low speed, add dry ingredients to butter and egg mixture. Blend until mixture forms a ball.
- Divide dough into thirds. Color one third of the dough a light pink, the second third a red to contrast with the pink. Leave the last third plain.
- Wrap the three different colored doughs in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour.
- On a floured surface, roll out a portion of each of the three doughs close together so that they blend together forming a pattern of swirls and stripes. Dough should be rolled out to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Using heart-shaped cookie-cutters of different sizes, make heart-shaped cookies and place them carefully onto two parchment covered sheet pans spacing them about an inch apart. You can use tiny letter cutters to create words as well. Let your imagination go wild.
- Bake cookies for 6-8 minutes or until barely light brown. They will firm up as they cool. Transfer cookies to clean, wax paper lined sheet pans.
- Continue rolling out remaining dough in different creative patterns and bake on parchment lined pans.
Notes
Makes approximately 3-4 dozen cookies