Valentine’s Day Cutout Cookies

 Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!

On Valentine’s Day, I made these heart-shaped cookies for my boyfriend and I to decorate. It was kind of my gift to him because I knew he’d enjoy eating them, but he also had to help me and work for it! Haha but he’s actually pretty artsy and admitted to being a perfectionist with them, so he did better than I did at decorating them. It was really fun and a great date idea not to mention, they taste delicious. Slightly buttery and melt-in-your-mouth, yet just the right amount of crunch and a blast of sweet frosting!

This recipe works well for any holiday or occasion, just use whatever cookies cutters you want! I used 3 different heart shapes that I found in my cabinet. I’ve never actually made these for Valentine’s Day, so I’m not sure if we’ve even ever used these cutters before. We usually make them for Christmas in shapes like snowmen, trees, and gingerbread men, but I had this crazyyy idea to make them for Valentine’s Day! (Brilliant, right? I know.) They are super easy, just follow along!

Ingredients

First, mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Try to make sure the butter is really soft, preferably fully at room temperature, otherwise the batter will be really lumpy, like mine was.

Blend in dry ingredients. (flour, baking powder, salt)

Make sure to chill this for atleast an hour so it can get firmer. I just covered mine with plastic wrap and put it in my garage because it was like 30 degress out! I hate cold weather.

Roll dough 1/8” thick and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake!

For the frosting, I just used the generic frosting recipe my mom taught me when I was little for these cookies. Dump piles (about 1 cup each, depending on how much frosting you plan to use) of powdered sugar in bowls (depending on how many colors you want. I made pink, purple, and left one white). Mix in a small amount of milk – trust me, you only need a few teaspoons! Add desired food colorings and frost your heart away! I think plastic knifes work best for decorating and sprinkles are definately needed =)

And… devour.

Sugar Cookie:

¾ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Chill. Roll dough 1/8” thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes at 400°.

Frosting:

Powdered/confectioners’ sugar

Minimal amount of milk

Food coloring of choice

My boyfriend ate a few and took a bunch home for his family, and I brought some to school and shared it with friends in a few of my classes. Lets just say, I had only a few left at the end of the day... =0