Heart Sugar Cookies with Almond Berry Glazes
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 24+
 
Berry juice gives these Valentine's Day hearts their naturally beautiful colors, a delicious technique that can be used for frosting and icing any time of year.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
  • 3¼ cups flour
Almond Berry Glaze(s)
  • Powdered sugar
  • Almond extract
  • Frozen berries or berry juice
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
  1. Beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.
  3. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
  4. Gradually add the flour and mix until blended.
  5. Divide the dough in half, cover each half with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.
  6. Working with a small amount of dough at a time {and leaving the remaining dough wrapped in the refrigerator} roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface to ΒΌ-inch thickness.
  7. Cut the dough into the shapes of your choice.
  8. Place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
  9. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 4-7 minutes or until the edges are just starting to firm up. They will continue to set as they cool so do not over bake them or let them brown if you want soft, chewy cookies.
  10. Cool the cookies for one minute and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
  11. Frost and decorate them as desired.
Almond Berry Glaze
  1. Place frozen berries in a small bowl (separate bowls if using different types of berries) and begin to defrost them in the microwave, for 30+ seconds, until the berries start to cook.
  2. Use the resulting berry juice to naturally color your icing.
  3. Pour powdered sugar into small bowls (as many as the different colors you would like.)
  4. Stir some berry juice into each one.
  5. Add a capful of milk and a splash of almond or vanilla extract.
  6. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a smooth, fairly runny icing.
  7. Stir in more powdered sugar or more berry juice or milk to reach your desired consistency. (I have never followed a strict recipe for this icing but have always made it to consistency.)
  8. Working with one cookie at a time, dip the cookie into the icing, making sure that it glazes the cookie all the way to the edges.
  9. Gently shake the cookie to let excess icing drip off.
  10. Let the iced cookies set on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
Recipe by Itsy Bitsy Foodies at http://itsybitsyfoodies.com/heart-sugar-cookies-with-almond-berry-icing/