Valentine's Cookie Party

To celebrate Valentine's Day (a holiday I'm notoriously negative about), we decided to throw a little cookie party.  Of course, it was just me, Mum, and Dawn.  We could have invited more people, but then we'd have to share the cookies.  Yep... I'm selfish that way.

The end result of our cookie party looked something like this...

I'll tell you about the cake plate on tomorrow's blog posting, but in the mean time let's start with the cookie recipe.

Make sure you have your basic ingredients:  flour, sugar, salt, milk, shortening, baking powder, eggs, and vanilla.

Add 2/3 cup shortening and 2/4 cup sugar to the bowl.

Don't forget your 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Mum (my model in the above photo) always adds a heaping teaspoon.  She likes vanilla.  At this point, you'll also add your 1 egg and 4 teaspoons of milk.

Cream the ingredients together.  Make sure everything is blended well.  Some people use a stand mixture with the paddle attachment to mix the ingredients, but I prefer to mix it by hand - using a wooden spoon.  It allows me to really work out all the lumps and bumps.

Then add the sifted 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.  I love this photo.  I reminds me of snow.  I miss snow.  This winter has been such a disappointment with the amount of snow we've received - which isn't much.

Mix it all together until your dough looks something like this.  Then cover the bowl and put in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Once it has been in the fridge for the proper amount of time, you can start making your cookies.  We roll it out on a lightly floured surface and then go to town with our cookie cutters.  This is typically Dawn's job (as you can see from above).  Though, I admit, I get a fiendish delight in pushing those cutters through the dough.  However, Mum doesn't really like me doing that part because I often take the cut-out shape and twist it into another shape - not really resembling the original shape.  I call it creativity - she calls it annoying.

While the cookies are baking in the 375-degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes, I start making the frosting.  Keep in mind, when you use this frosting, it should be soon because royal frosting tends to get hard fast.  So, if you aren't going to decorate your cookies right away - wait on the frosting.  If you are going to decorate your cookies right away - stick them in the fridge for about 10 minutes so they can properly cool off.  The Royal Icing recipe is simple:  1 pound of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of meringue powder (better and safer than raw egg whites), and 6 tablespoons of water (to start with).  You'll be adding water as you mix it with a hand blender so you can achieve the right consistency.

I also melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips for dipping.  To ensure it melts properly, use a double boiler or a heat-proof  (make sure it is heat-proof) glass bowl on top of a sauce pan of water.  Also, make sure you are always stirring the chocolate.  This ensures a consistent melt and prefers your chocolate from going bad on you from too much heat.

I typically divide the frosting in half or thirds or fourths... depending on how many colors I'm going to need.  I also leave a little extra aside in case someone wants to frost their cookies with a knife instead of a pastry bag.  And for these type of frosting experiences, a regular plastic zip bag works just as well.  Just make sure you only snip off a little bit of the corner, or your tip will be too big.  You can always snip off more if the tip is too small, but it is impossible to reduce the size of your tip unless you start all over with a new bag.

And you cannot forget your little decorative additions.  We use all sorts - for sprinkles of color sugar, to little decorative bits like colored hearts.  Then we just go to town on those cookies...

More times than naught, our decorating parties result in a mess, but I believe that is part of the fun - until I have to clean up.

And before you know it, you have dozens of decorated cookies of all shapes, sizes, and frosted goodness.

And typically, you have a belly ache from having sampled along the way.  Or is that just me?  Happy Valentine's Day!

Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 teaspoons milk

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix shortening, sugar, and vanilla until it is creamy.  Mix in egg until the batter is light and fluffy.  Stir in milk.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together before adding to batter until it becomes cookie dough.  Chill dough for 3 hours.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out down to 1/8 thickness.  Cut out shapes and put on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet.  Bake in the oven at 375-degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes.  Let cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing Frosting
1 lb powdered sugar (sifted)
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1/4 cup of warm water

Put 1 lb of sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder in bowl.  Add 6 tablespoons of warm water.  With a hand mixer, mix on medium - adding a tablespoon of water (after you've already added 6 tablespoons) at a time until the mixture is the right consistency - fluffy peaks.  Much like marshmallow fluff.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Using a double boiler or a heat-proof glass bowl on a sauce pan filled with water, bring the water in the boiler or pan to a boil - reduce heat to medium-high and add chocolate chips.  Make sure you stir continuously to ensure all the chocolate is melted, but don't over-cook the chocolate or it will not sit correctly.  Once all the chocolate has melted, immediately moving it to a warm cup or bowl for dipping.