Sweets for the Sweet…Valentine Treats
Valentine treats are sweets for our sweethearts. Valentine’s Day is exciting for kids with homemade cards, conversation heart candies, red gumdrops and shoe boxes covered in doilies and construction paper hearts. The holiday is a good reminder for us to love one another.
This recipe is my family’s very favorite cutout cookie recipe. I remember making cookie hearts in all sizes each year for Valentine’s Day with my mom when I was a little girl. We would make huge cookies too, decorating them with the names of every family member. The best part of the baking day was being with my mom.
This recipe is special. Rolling the dough out in powdered sugar gives the cookies an added sweetness and crunch. The almond extract in the frosting makes the valentine treat even more delicious! I hope you enjoy the recipe and have a fabulous time baking with your children.
Louise’s BEST Cutout Cookies
2 C butter
2 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. milk
5 C flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
powdered sugar
colored sugar, pink & red
Mix butter and granulated sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Combine flour, salt, and soda. Add to butter mixture. Don’t over mix dough. Roll in a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Allow dough to soften. Roll out the dough on a well-powdered sugared surface to ¼ inch thick. Cut out cookies with heart-shaped cookie cutters. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8-11 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (Bake the same size cookies together as smaller cookies will bake faster.)
OPTION: Rather than frosting, sprinkle the cookies prior to baking with colored sugar.
Almond Frosting
½ C butter
2 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. cream
¼ almond extract
Optional: sprinkles, candies
Mix all ingredients. Add more cream by the teaspoon to create a soft, spreadable consistency. Use food coloring for desired colors. Frost the cookies and enjoy!
“Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Title photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
Cookie photos by Becky