Valentine's Day Heart Sugar Cookies

Ingredients & Tools
Instructions

Instructions

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Make the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric stand mixer on high speed or use a hand mixer, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, add the egg and almond and vanilla extracts.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the combined dry ingredients to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
On a floured surface, divide the roll out dough into 2 balls that are approximately 12 in. diameter x 1/8 in. thick. Using the rolling pin, flatten the balls.
Use the heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the sugar cookie dough, dipping it in flour before each cut.
Bake the cut-out cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-11 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a cooling grid or wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Make the royal icing. Beat all ingredients together until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).
Let the icing sit for 15 minutes to an hour to let air bubbles rise naturally.
Tap the bowl on the table several times to force the air bubbles up. Gently stir the top surface to release the air.
Thin the royal icing for decorating. Thin the royal icing by adding 1 teaspoon of water per 1 cup of icing. Use a grease-free spoon or spatula to stir the icing slowly in a figure 8 motion. Avoid beating or mixing vigorously, which will introduce more air bubbles into your icing.
Make sure that the icing is thinned to a count of 18. To do this, use a spatula to pick up some icing and drop it back into the bowl. If it sinks and disappears back into the icing after you count to 18, then you’re good to go!
If it disappears before your count, your icing is too thin. You can thicken it by adding a little more confectioners’ (powdered) sugar.
If your icing doesn’t disappear after you’ve reached your count, it’s too thick. You can thin it further by adding a little bit of water.
Tint the royal icing for decorating.
- Tint 1/4 cup red using red food coloring.
- Tint 1/4 cup rose using rose food coloring.
- Reserve the rest of the thinned white icing.
Prepare decorating bags & decorate cookies.
Put red, rose and white icing into three separate decorating bags. Cut off the tips.
Use the white thinned icing to outline and fill in a cookie. Immediately pipe either red or rose dots on top and use a toothpick to swirl the dots to create a marbleized effect. Repeat this process for each cookie, alternating between each color. When done, let them dry for at least 2 hours to set and then enjoy!

Notes

Tips for making roll out cookie dough:
Make sure your butter is at room temperature so it can easily combine with the sugar. As you scrape down the bowl, don't forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl, as dry ingredients can sometimes get trapped there. Be careful not to overmix your dough! As soon as your dough starts to clump together, you're ready to roll (literally and figuratively!)

Tips when making and using royal icing:
Keep all icing utensils and bowls completely grease-free for proper icing consistency and to ensure the icing properly sets. When not using your bag and tip, cover the tip with a warm, damp towel to prevent the royal icing from drying.

Hints for coloring royal icing:
Dip a toothpick into the color and swipe against the icing. Always use a fresh toothpick to add more color to avoid contaminating the icing color. A little goes a long way. Try adding only a little at a time and mix to check whether you've achieved the right shade.

How to store leftover royal icing:
Place leftover icing in zip-top freezer bags and freeze for up to 2 months. When you're ready to use it again, thaw your royal icing for at least 12 hours in the fridge. Before reusing, re-whip using a paddle attachment on low speed until it's back to the correct consistency.

How To

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