Conversation Heart Cookies & More

Still reeling from the chocolate-and-cheesecake pleasure that is Lincoln's Brownies, I made Sugar Cookie Cutouts today for Valentine's Day. I haven't done that since Mom came over for Charlie's third birthday (he's having a party for his 12th this weekend). She helped me frost them all and Charlie shared them with his classmates at Montessori school. 

I decided to go way back in time and use the recipe we used to use from "Joy of Cooking". However, this time I used a different suggested addition: 1 teaspoon of lemon zest (instead of cinnamon). My valentine cookies were teasing me the whole time that they baked with their zingy aroma. They did not disappoint in the sampling either. I love them.

I used a common Royal Icing (4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder and 1/3 cup water) and it contrasted nicely with the zesty cookies. I think I will look into getting some glycerin for future endeavors — it's supposed to make the icing glossier. These still turned out nice though. 

I made a few pink-and-white Valentine cookies that are pretty and quaint. I used the biggest and smallest hearts in a set of cutters so the cookies are true cut-outs. These dainties won't do for my son and the mates he's having round this weekend though.

Instead of pink and white cookies, decorated with pearlized nonpareils, I made a pile of Conversation Heart Cookies for them. I used white, green, blue and purple to mimic the colors of the pastel candies. And the pithy sayings were updated to reflect the taste (or lack thereof) of 12-year-old boys today. Some are cool: L8R and LOL; some are funny: FART and KMN; and some are personalized: CHAZ and DYLAN, etc.

That was the best part of these cookies. Not only was it fun coming up with the expressions on the cookies, it was made simple with a Rainbow Dust food pen. I found it at the Creative Cook Shop in town and I love it because it works — I wrote on the cookies with edible ink. There's a 0.5mm nib and a 2.5mm nib. It's Kosher and suitable for veggies. Do I sound like a commercial, or what? I had fun is all. Since the icing had completely set overnight, it took less than a half hour to finish the "decorations". 

Hope the boys enjoy scoffing down my Valentine's cookies as much as I loved making them. They'll keep in the freezer till Saturday for the party. Next time you make Valentine's cookies, get the conversation (and the laughs) going with an edible food pen! Meanwhile, the elegant ones are calling to me and a cuppa tea. Happy Valentine's Day all!

I shared this recipe with the Hearth & Soul blog hop, sponsored by 21st Century Housewife and Savoring Today.