Braided Sweetheart Cookies Food

SWEETHEART COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk; mix well. Stir in the flour by hand. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough for 2-3 minutes or until thoroughly combined. , Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indention in the center of each. Fill each with 1/4 teaspoon preserves. , Bake for 13-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Dust warm cookies with confectioners' sugar if desired. Cool.

SPARKLE SWEETHEART COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
• In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until relatively smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until combined and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 30-60 minutes and up to 3-4 days. If chilling for longer than 2-3 hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard and the cookies may not spread.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
• Pour sanding sugar in a bowl or, if using multiple colors, a few separate bowls.
• Roll balls of cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie, then roll each ball in the sanding sugar to coat. Place each dough ball 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Using the back of a measuring cup or drinking glass, gently press down on each dough ball to slightly flatten. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Press a chocolate heart into each cookie and quickly stick the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge so the warm cookie does not completely melt the chocolate heart. Let the chocolate set (about 15 minutes) on the cookies in the freezer/refrigerator.
• Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.

SWEETHEART SLICES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Whisk together flour and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Remove 2/3 of the dough to another bowl; stir in chocolate chips. Tint remaining 1/3 of the dough pink., On a lightly floured surface, roll smaller portion to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a 1-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. Brush 1 side of hearts with water and gently stack together to form two 5-in.-long logs, running a finger along sides to smooth edges. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes., Divide chocolate chip dough into 10 portions. Roll each into a 5-in. coil. Brush outsides of heart logs with water; mold coils around heart logs, gently pressing to adhere. Roll to mold the dough into smooth rolls. Place wrapped cookie logs in airtight containers. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. Cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 2-in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 12-14 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

BRAIDED SWEETHEART COOKIES

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; tint one portion pink, leaving the remaining portion white. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. For each cookie, shape a 1-in. ball of each color into an 8-in. rope. Place a pink and white rope side-by-side; press together gently and twist. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; shape into a heart and pinch ends to seal. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

SWEETHEART (SWEET & TART!) LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Position rack in middle of oven. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla, until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
• On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing until it is incorporated and the dough holds together in large clumps and comes away from the side of the bowl.
• Form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly flour the rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough out to an EVEN ¼-inch+ thickness. Using a 3-inch long heart-shaped cutter, cut out the hearts. Use a thin metal spatula to transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, placing them about 1"apart. Gather together the dough scraps, roll, and cut out additional hearts.
• Bake one sheet at a time, until the edges and bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide, metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Glaze: In a small bowl, stir the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest (or vanilla) together with enough cream to form a thick, spreadable glaze. Use a thin metal spatula to spread HALF (right or left half) of each cookie heart with glaze. Let the cookies sit until the glaze is firm. Cookies can be layered between sheets of waxed paper in a tightly covered container and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days. Makes apx. (24) 3-4" cookies.