Sweetheart Cup Cookies For Valentines Day Food

VALENTINE'S DAY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• For the cookies: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until well combined, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, about 2 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll the dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper until it's about 1/8-inch thick. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut the dough and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (a small off-set spatula is really helpful when transferring the cookies). After both pieces of dough have been rolled out and cut, combine the dough scraps and re-roll and cut to utilize as much of the dough as possible.
• Bake until the cookies are just barely golden around the edges, rotating halfway through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
• For the icing: Meanwhile, whisk the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. The consistency should be similar to that of slightly thinned yogurt and should coat the back of a spoon. Adjust with additional confectioners' sugar or milk, if needed.
• Place 2 tablespoons of icing into each of 2 small bowls. Add 4 drops of red gel food coloring to one bowl and 2 drops of pink gel food coloring to the other and stir until fully incorporated. Using a small spoon, drizzle a small amount of each color over the white icing and then repeatedly drag a toothpick through the icing until you create a marbled effect.
• Working with one cooled cookie at a time, carefully dip it face-side down into the icing and allow any excess to drip off before placing the cooking back on the cooling rack. Add additional red and pink icing to the bigger bowl of icing as needed to maintain the marbling effect. Decorate with sprinkles (if using) before allowing to the icing to fully set, about 4 to 5 hours.

SWEETHEART CUP COOKIES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a separate bowl using a mixer at low speed. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Beat in flour until just blended and press together by hand into a dough. Divide dough into 4 equal portions and flatten each into a disk. Wrap disks individually in plastic and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.
• Remove 2 disks of dough from the refrigerator; keep remaining dough in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray 36 mini muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
• Roll 1 rounded teaspoon of dough into a ball and press into the bottom and up the sides of a mini muffin cup to form a shell. Repeat with remaining dough to make 36 shells.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Pour filling into a pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off.
• Remove from the oven and press the end of a wooden spoon into each cookie cup to reshape. Cool 2 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Fill each cooled cookie cup with about 1 tablespoons filling. Top each with 1 chocolate kiss candy.