Something sweet for my Valentines.

It is the time of year to break out the heart shaped cookie cutters!  Okay, so maybe I should confess to cutting things into heart shapes all year long, but the behavior seems so much more excusable when it is done in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.  It could be worse.  I could still be dotting my “i”(s) with hearts (perfectly, excusable behavior for a middle school girl. *cringe*).  Now I am just trying to justify the proliferation of heart shaped baked goods that crop up in my kitchen throughout the year.  Anyways, I came up with a heart shaped cookie that happens to also embody two other aspects of the Valentine’s holiday: red food coloring and chocolate.

Red Velvet Hearts

Recipe makes about 18 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted Butter (room temp)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 tbsp Buttermilk
• 6-8 drops Red Food Coloring
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and the sugar.
2. Beat in the egg, extracts, and buttermilk.
3. Shift in the cocoa powder, and continue to mix the dough until the cocoa has been fully incorporated.
4. Gradually shift and mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Place the cookie dough in refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out between two pieces of parchment or wax paper until it is about 1/4″ thick.  You want to avoid using flour during this step to keep your cookies from discoloring hence the parchment or wax paper.
8. Cut out the hearts, and place them on parchment lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake them for about 8-10 minutes, or until they are no longer appear shiny.  This is a very caky cookie, but it should have a slight crunch. The cookies will also harden slightly as they cool.
10. Allow the cookies cool completely before you frost them.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 6 oz Cream Cheese (room temp)
• 6 oz salted Butter (room temp)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Zest from 1 Lemon
• dash of Salt
• 2 1/2 cups Confectionary (Powdered) Sugar

Directions:

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter.
2. Beat in the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt.
3. Gradually add the confectionary sugar, and continue to beat the frosting until all the ingredients are well combined.
4. Frost your cookies.