VALETINES HEARTS RECIPES

Steps:

• Cream 1 cup butter or margarine and 3/4 cup white sugar together. Blend in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and grated lemon peel. Sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Cover and refrigerate dough for approximately 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a floured heart shaped 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter and cut dough into heart shapes. Place the cut-out hearts on greased cookie sheets.
• Using the drinking straw, make a hole at the top center of each heart before baking. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until very lightly browned. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
• To Make Butter Frosting: Mix 3 cups confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup butter together. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat until smooth making sure frosting is of spreading consistency. Stir in food coloring to create a pink or red colored frosting, if desired.
• After cookies have cooled, frost and decorate them with nonpareils, sprinkles, dragees, or colored sugar. Use a toothpick to dislodge the hole, if necessary. Let the frosting dry.
• To make a necklace, tie the ends off of two pieces of red colored licorice with a knot. Thread it through the hole at the top center of the cookie. Tie the other ends off with another knot to create a "chain." Makes approximately 30 heart necklaces.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with Reynolds® Parchment Paper.
• Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough about 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
• Roll half the dough at a time between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch heart-shape cookie cutter, cut out cookie shapes, re rolling dough as needed until all the dough is cut out. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very light brown. Transfer the parchment paper with baked cookies to wire racks and let cool. Once cooled, slide the parchment paper onto a work surface.
• Tint frosting as desired with food coloring. Frost cookies with one color and use another color to pipe a message over the frosted cookies.