Edible Valentines
My kiddos and I really love Valentine's Day. Ever since my oldest was wee, we have really enjoyed creating something special and unique. Last year, while my youngest daughter loves to give out those ring pops, my older two got in the spirit with handcut heart people with homemade suckers, and wafer paper cookie valentines.
Every year I give them a few ideas and let them run with it. This year, again, my youngest is handing out ring pops--but we came up with a really cute saying to go with:" You Sparkle & Shine Valentine". Cute I know. Creative lil' monsters I have.
This year we collectively decided to create an edible Valentine. With cookie dough, powdered sugar, meringue powder, food coloring markers, and a lil' creativity we were ready to go. We used a really great "adapted" sugar cookie recipe from "Fancy Flours", for a no fail, no spreading, great tasting sugar cookie!
Ingredients:
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well.
2. Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to desired thickness. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Put the rolled dough, including the parchment paper, on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes or
longer. Your dough will be chilled and ready to cut and bake with no wait and no added flour needed! This is great for all hands, with a little help of course.
3. Bake at 350° F for 8 -10 minutes. Let cool. Recipe makes 8 dozen 3" cookies.
Alright now that you have your super cute heart shaped cookies, try not to eat them before you apply royal icing. Royal icing is simply in my baking experience, the best icing ever, especially for creating beautifully decorated cookies! Royal it is,
it drys hard and shiny. Love it! Here is what you will need.
- 1 pound confectioners sugar
- 5 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1/2 cup of water*
Mix well
How thick or thin you want your icing all depends on your design. If you add too much water, you can always put in a little more powdered sugar; and if the icing is too thick, add water a teaspoon at a time.
Once you have the perfect consistency, you can use a sandwich bag to create a piping bag to make the outline of the cookie, by snipping off a small corner.
Make sure to cover your unused portion of icing as it hardens the longer it is not covered. Once you have created the outline, you "flood" the cookie. Which means you fill it will the icing. I typically like to use a long slender spoon, but do whatever is easiest for you. If you want to color your icing, add one drop of food coloring at a time to reach desired shade. Once iced, let them completely dry (uncovered on a counter), and I do mean completely, because if you try to use the markers and they are not dry you will poke the icing and ruin your markers. Some say 8 hours, I say 12-24 hours, better safe than sorry. The icing part can be tricky so this is best for bigger hands (8 years and up).
Now on to the fun stuff, the decorating! I adore these markers because they are easy to use, even for small hands (3 and up).
They have almost a paint brush tip and gently add color to your cookie.
You can get these at speciality local and online baking supply stores. Personalize them for family and friends; they will be excited to receive them, and happy to eat them!
My daughters really enjoyed making these and are looking forward to Valentine's Day to pass out their homemade goodies.
As for my son, he really just likes the eating part.
Have a Great Valentine's Day!