Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

I've been really wanting to try my hand at baking and decorating sugar cookies for a while now and I thought around Valentine's Day would be the perfect time because a) I would have a theme, and b) I can give them as gifts! I'm shipping these out ASAP :) (yes they will be a bit late for the holiday but I doubt the recipients will mind much once they see/taste them)!

I think they turned out really nice! I know they aren't as pretty as those of someone who is more experienced, but for my first time I think they look great.

Oh, and besides looking cute, they taste great too! I attribute that to the 2 tablespoons of brandy in the dough, yummm!

Make these for your sweetie this Valentine's Day; you won't regret it (and if you do, you are free to come here and tell me all about it, ha ha)!

Thanks to my Valentine, Mikey for these beautiful pictures. I need him to teach me to take better photos myself, hah!

Sugar Cookie Dough

recipe from Martha Stewart

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes. Add in the egg, brandy and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and separate into two equal sections. Roll each into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with silicone mats of parchment paper and set aside.
6. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and place cookies onto prepared baking sheets an inch apart.
7. Bake only until barely lightly-golden- about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Royal Icing

recipe adapted from Joy of Baking

ingredients:

• 440g (4 cups) confectioners' sugar
• 30g (3 tbsp) meringue powder
• 1/4-3/4 cup warm water (make sure to have two consistencies of icing- one stiffer for lining your cookies, and one runnier for flooding)
• gel food colorings

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or you can do this by hand with a hand-held beater), combine the sugar and meringue powder. Add in the water and beat on medium to high speed until glossy and stiff peaks form- 5 to 7 minutes. You can add more water or sugar to get the consistency you desire.
2. Stir in the food coloring in small batches (as a reminder, a tiny, tiny bit goes a long way with gel food colorings- we're talking pin pricks here).
3. Transfer stiffer icing to piping bags for lining cookies and squeeze bottles for the runnier flooding icing.

*This icing needs to be used right away or stored in an airtight container since it hardens when it is exposed to air.

No calorie counts for holiday treats. C'mon you can indulge a bit ;) Just don't overdo it :P