Help! I think I'm having a heart attack!

Hey - I originally wanted to call this entry "heart on" so be glad I changed it to the above listing. :P

This selection was chosen of course due to Valentine's Day, and I thought maybe I'd make the cookies look like conversation hearts. =) My normal issue with conversation hearts is that they are chalky and unpalatable - which is usually what my issue is with sugar cookies. Not the case with the recipe from the Red Lion Inn Cookbook.

Ingredient List
1/2 c room temp butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (save the whites though)
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
Sugar Cookie Frosting - to follow

1. Cream the butter, then add in the sugar, egg yolks vanilla and the milk.
2. Sift flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and combine well. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (at least).
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cookie sheets with a silpat sheet on them or butter a sheet of parchment.
4. Flour worksurface and roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Flour cookie cutters and cut out the desired shapes. Place the cookies on the baking sheets and bake until golden (not brown!!) 8-10 minutes. Remove the cookies and place on racks to cool. Frost the cookies with Sugar Cookie Frosting.




Sugar Cookie Frosting - not from the same recipe.... The recipe in The Red Lion Inn Cookbook is great, don't get me wrong. It just isn't my type. So here's what I use instead.

Royal Icing with Egg Whites
2 large egg whites
2 teaspons fresh lemon juice
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a large bowl beat the egg whites and lemon juice using your hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. The icing should be used immediately as it will harden when exposed to air.




As an expirement we added more milk to the red icing than the others pictured here. It spead a lot smoother, and neither of them is good for writing on. =(

I need to find an icing that doesn't always crack under my food markers!!! Any ideas???

Cookies - 3 out of 5
Icing - 2 out of 5