Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Recipe

It's that time of year again!  Don't you just LOVE Valentine's Day!  We homeschool and do so many fun things for Valentine's Day.  A large group of homeschool families meets at a local bowling alley that opens up paid bowling (with a large group discount) for a special Valentine's Day party where the kids of all ages bring homemade Valentine boxes and exchange valentines, eat pizza and bowl.  We do a Valentine Mail Exchange with other local homeschool families so the kids get Valentine's in the mail.  Some of our friends host Valentine's Day parties where the kids get together and play games and win little prizes and come home with a goodie bag of sweet treats.  And, at our local 4-H club, we have “Secret Pals” and give them a homemade card and sweet treats like heart shaped cookies.  Now you can make them for your next occasion with this simple, Valentine's Day sugar cookie recipe.

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Valentine's Day Sugar Cookie Recipe (yields 4 dozen small 2″ cookies)

Dough

2/3 cup butter (or 1 1/4 sticks), softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups flour (plus extra flour for rolling)

Icing

2 Tbsp. milk, warmed up

1 tsp. butter (melted)

2 cups confectioners powdered sugar

Topping

One container colorful sugar sprinkles

The Process

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2

Get out the above ingredients and the following tools: apron, ponytail holder for your hair, medium size mixing bowl, stirring spoon, mixer, two small bowls (3 cup size), two forks, butter-knife, three cookie baking pans, rolling pin, very small microwavable bowl (2 cup size), rubber spatula, metal flipper tool, measuring cups, measuring spoons, heart shaped cookie cutters, potholder, timer, airtight container for storage, parchment paper and cooling racks.

Step 3

Tie your hair back, put on your apron, wash and dry your hands and use the smallest bowl to soften 1 1/4 sticks of butter in the microwave.

Step 4

Put the softened butter in the medium sized mixing bowl.  Add sugar, egg, milk and vanilla.  Mix.

Step 5

In a 3 cup size bowl, add flour, salt, soda, and baking powder.  Use a fork to mix it up.  Slowly add this mixture to the wet ingredients while mixing.

Step 6

On a clean flat, dry surface, sprinkle flour onto your work area for a ball of dough to get rolled out onto.  Also put flour on the rolling pin surface.

Step 7

Use your stirring spoon and your hand to take a fistful size chunk of dough and place on the floured surface, sprinkle a little flour on top of it and roll it out until desired thickness.

Step 8

Take your heart shaped cookie cutter and rub it into the flour on your flat surface.  Then cut into the cookie.  Be sure to put them close together to maximize how many you can get out of one rolling.  If kids are helping, don't be picky about this.  It's about making memories and traditions, not being perfect.

Step 9

Take your metal flipper tool and carefully lift the cut hearts and transfer to a cookie baking pan.  Do not allow them to touch, leave space between them.

Step 10

Place pan in the bottom rack of your oven and set timer for 4 minutes.  Repeat steps 8 and 9 and when timer goes off, use potholder to move pan from bottom rack to top rack.  Place new, filled cold pan in the bottom rack and set timer for 4 minutes.

Step 11

You will repeat steps 8 and 9 and use your potholder to take out the top rack pan when the timer goes off, you will continue repeating this oven rotation of baking in step 10 and this step until all the dough has been used up.  Then shut off the oven.  As the cookies come out, use your metal flipper tool to take them off the pan and place on the cooling rack.  As cookies become cool, you may stack them to await decoration.

Step 12

In the remaining 3 cup bowl, add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and mix well with a fork.  If you would like it thicker, add more powdered sugar, to thin, add more milk.

Step 13

Use the butter-knife to frost the cookies.  While the frosting is still wet, add sprinkles.  Allow them to set out and dry.

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Step 14

Use an airtight container to store them in.  Use parchment paper for layers between them so they will not stick to each other.  These may be frozen and thawed the morning of use.

Don't forget to take a picture of those beautiful cookies, along with your smiling helper, if you had one!  Happy Valentine's Day!

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