Valentine Sugar Cookies

I wanted to do something different for Valentine's Day and I remembered the sugar cookies my mom used to make when we were younger. She would make sugar cookies, dye them pink and cut them out in hearts. So I wanted to make these sugar cookies, but with the Terracotta Café touch.




Sugar Cookies (3-4 dozen)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.) Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes (depending on size) or until brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Royal Icing

2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
6 drops red food colouring
red sugar crystals

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. Add the food colouring and beat until fully incorporated. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Frost the cookies and sprinkle with the sugar crystals. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours.) Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.