It’s the season where mom’s across the US are searching Pinterest for what to do for their kids Valentine’s Day parties, and I am here for it!  We have a few mainstays that we do for various holidays that all start with a basic sugar cookie dough recipe.  Scroll to the bottom for the recipes for the dough & royal icing and check out one of our projects on the way!  Iced sugar cookies, stained glass windows and cookie pops are all easy to do and the kids can help!!

If you don’t want to make the cookie dough from scratch, an easy hack is to get the regular tubes of dough from the store and add 1/2 cup to a cup of flower ( add a little at a time) until it isn’t as sticky and is much easier to work with.

What you will need:

• Heart cookie cutters
• Dum Dums/Old lollipops
• Skewer or toothpick
• Ziploc Bags

Stained Glass Window Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray/butter the pans so they are ready for you to work
3. Take your dough and roll it out flat onto a floured surface.
4. Take the larger of the cookie cutters and cut them out and place them on the tray.
5. Once on the tray, take the smaller cookie cutter and cut out the middle of the cookie and set aside for the cookie pops.
6. Crush up old dum dums or lollipops in a bag until they are in sprinkle size pieces.  ( I advise putting them in a Ziploc bag, wrapping them in a hand towel and hitting it with a rolling pin).
7. Sprinkle the crushed candies in the center of the cookies filling it about 2/3 of the way full and being careful to not get any on the actual cookie itself.   
8. Place in the oven for 10 minutes being sure to rotate halfway through.
9. Once cooled, remove very carefully with a spatula going around the edges to try to alleviate any breakage.

 

Sugar Cookie Pops

1. Take on of your center hearts from the stainglass windows and place on a greased sheet tray.  ( if you did not make the stainglass cookies, cut out the same cookie an even amount of times)
2. Take a lollipop stick (from the crushed Dum Dums or buy new) and place in the center of the cookie – press down slightly.
3. Take another cookie and line it up evenly over the bottom.  Push down to ensure it meets the other cookie below it and creates a seal
4. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven

**These are great by themselves ( and fun for toddler size kids).  You can also ice and put sprinkles on them or heat up candy chocolate and dip them in that for different designs.

Traditional Iced Sugar Cookies 

1. Cut out sugar cookies and bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool completely.
2. Mix royal icing and colors needed for designs.  ** Mix in separate bowls and then pour into the bags.  Place the bag in a cup with the seal out over the edges of the cup so it can stand upright
3. Make an outline on the outermost edge of the cookie.    
4. Fill in until it is almost full and wait for it to settle out to a solid base.
5. Follow any of the  designs below with dots of your choice
6. Use a skewer or  toothpick to swirl/stretch the dots and make an abstract design   
7. Let sit until it is dry completely.  Please note that little hands and fingers will want to touch them…. you may want to put them up high.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter (softened)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour ( with another 1/2 cup set aside)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt

Instructions

1. Cream salt, sugar, eggs & vanilla in a bowl until smooth
2. Slowly add in dry ingredients mixed together until all 2 1/2 cups have been incorporated
3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is firm but pliable ( not sticky)
4. Wrap and place in fridge for 2 hours before working with it

Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites ( recommend separating them in a separate bowl first)
• 1 tsp vanilla ( use clear if you can)
• 4 cups powdered sugar ( more if you want it thicker)
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions

1. Beat egg whites in a clean bowl with the cream of tartar until peaks begin to form  ** They should look like little meringue mountains
2. Turn off your mixer and put in vanilla and 1/4 of your sugar – begin beating slowly or you will be wearing it
3. Continue to add sugar (slowly) until it has all been put in and completely dissolved.
4. At this point you an split it up and color as desired.  Please note that once complete you will want to put these directly into bags to use or into an air tight container