Sweetheart Cookies

For almost two years now, we’ve been on buckle-down-and-get-Sam-through-grad-school mode. That said, our gift exchanges have been pretty minimal, and homemade wherever possible. From coupons to hand-drawn notes, we've pulled every creative card in the book.

Valentine's Day is no exception – and love it or hate it, the holiday is right around the corner. This year, I wanted to test a new recipe that plays off the classic Valentine’s Day treat, Sweethearts. The recipe turned out to be successful (and an inexpensive treat!) so I thought I’d share the idea.

{Traditional Candy Sweethearts}

{My Sweetheart Cookies}

1.  Mix together your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe. Here’s mine:

Super Soft and Cake-Like Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces light sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
Approximately 4 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add wet ingredients – eggs, sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly mix into wet ingredients. Add flour slowly, adding more or less if needed.

2. Chill dough.
3. Once chilled, separate dough into six sections. Re-mix each ball of dough with a different color icing gel.

4. Once all the dough is colored, roll each colored section out ¼ inch thick onto a lightly floured surface. Stamp with heart cookie cutter.

5. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake.
6. Wait patiently for cookies to cool. Or don't, and sample one.

7. Once cookies are cool (and taste-test approved), write messages carefully using edible color markers.

Voila, candy heart cookies! And, if I do say so myself, they taste way better than the traditional candy treat. Try the recipe for yourself, and let me know what you think.

Cost of Materials
Baking ingredients – items already in pantry: $0
Cookie Cutter: $0.99
Wilton Icing Gel color pack: $6
FoodWriter Edible Color Markers: $5
Total: $12