Heart Candy Sugar Cookies

It’s the new year and already Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! I’m sure a lot of you remember these heart candies from when we were younger. They were chalky, tasteless, and I’m not sure if there was any other reason they were around besides having cute Valentine’s words on them! I wanted to recreate them in a sugar cookie form. They’re much better than those chalky candies, I promise. These cookies are super easy to make, and a fun family project. This is the sugar cookie recipe I use for Christmas cookies as well- just an all around great sugar cookie and easy royal icing recipe to have on hand. 

We had the most wonderful Spring-esk January, most days reaching the 50’s. February is seeming to be not as kind as we’re in the teens today and the outlook does not appear too much warmer. Oh well! Layering up and double sockin’ it.

I’m off to my moms house for a couple days this weekend, so i’ll get my slightly warmer weather fix. Some good food and hiking as well! 

Happy early Valentine’s to all you lovely people!

Heart Candy Sugar Cookies

Yield 24-30 cookies

Flour 3 cups

Baking Powder ½ tsp

Salt ¼ tsp

Butter, soft 1 cup

Sugar 1 cup

Egg 1

Milk 1 Tbsp.

Royal Icing

Powdered Sugar 4 cups

Meringue Powder 3 Tbsp.

Water 8-12 Tbsp.

Food coloring

Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Put butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Beat with paddle attachment on low speed to blend, then increase speed to medium and beat until soft and light. Add egg, milk, and then flour mixture, beating after each addition until blended, and scraping inside of bowl as needed.

Divide dough into 2 equal sizes and wrap. Chill dough for a minimum of 30 minutes. Line 2-4 sheet pans with parchment paper.

Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll 1 dough disk to 1/4 inch thick, lifting and re-flouring board and rolling pin as needed to prevent sticking. Cut out cookies using whatever shapes you like. Transfer cookies to prepared sheet pans, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Dust cookie cutters in flour if dough starts to stick. Gather scraps, re-roll, and cut.

Chill cookies for 10 minutes while oven is preheating. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown. Cool cookies completely before icing.

Make royal icing, sift powdered sugar into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Add meringue powder. With mixer on low speed, add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time until combined, scraping bowl as needed. Increase speed to high and beat until icing is shiny, thickened, and smooth and holds a soft peak that flops over when whisk is lifted, 3-5 minutes. (If icing is too thick, add an additional Tbsp. water.) If it falls off the whisk, add an additional 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar.

Divide icing into a few 4 different bowls to color. Leave a smaller amount of icing in the mixing bowl to use later for lettering. Add a few drops of food gel to each and stir to mix evenly. Dunk the top of the cookie into your icing bowl and scrape it along the side of the bowl to get an easy fill on the cookie. Continue to do this with each cookie in various colors.

Take the remainder of the icing and color deeper with a red color. Transfer to a piping bag with a writing tip, or just cut a small tip on the piping bag to write. Write words on each of the cookie.

Once icing is complete, let the icing set up completely for 1 hour. Store in an airtight container.