Some favorite cookies for Valentine's Day

It's cold and oh-so-snowy in New England today and my thoughts are turning toward baking, just to help warm up the house.  Here we are, at two in the afternoon on Saturday -- this is a scheduled post for Monday -- and the temperature is 14 measly degrees!  14º!  It actually feels colder than that to me, so it would seem this is the perfect time to do some Valentine baking.

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When I think of Valentine cookies, I always think of heart-shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting, like my mother would make for our Valentine parties in elementary school.  And I will share some cut-out cookie recipes in this post, along with some non-traditional Valentine baking ideas like the cookies at top, from Taste of Home: Dipped Cherry Cookies.  I originally made these as a Christmas cookie, but they are perfect for Valentine's Day!

These Almond-Raspberry Kisses are also very pretty

Photo from Taste of Home

 and just right for Valentine's Day.

Another great recipe, this one all chocolate, is

HUGS & KISSES COOKIES

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 Tblsp. milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
9-ounce bag chocolate kisses or hugs, unwrapped

Heat oven to 350º. Beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla until blended. Add eggs and milk; beat well.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in chocolate chips.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake 11 minutes.

Cool 1 minute; press a chocolate kiss or hug into the center of each cookie. Cool another minute before removing cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies.

These were a big favorite when our kids were away at school, regardless of the season. Each weekend I would send a tin of cookies back with them, to get them and their friends through the week.

For Valentine's Day, any cookie topped with a Hershey's kiss or hug would be very appropriate!

Another easy cookie is made with a strawberry cake mix.

(Photo from Tasty Kitchen)

Very pretty and very appropriate for Valentine's Day! They happen to be delicious, too:
Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Now for a few cut-out cookies!  These are not as easy or quick, but they are fun.
There are several cut-out cookie recipes here in this post at my Christmas kitchen blog: Cut-out Cookies . Any of them would make a nice Valentine cookie.
For a chocolate cut-out cookie, this one is my favorite: Cocoa-Molasses Cookies.
But this one, from Cook & Tell, is a close second:

CHOCOLATE JUMBOS
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup melted shortening (for example, one Crisco® stick, melted)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup warm water or coffee
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat the egg; add sugar and molasses and beat 1 minute more. Dissolve the cocoa in the melted shortening, cool slightly; then add to batter and beat again. Dissolve the soda in the warm water or coffee and vanilla. Sift together the flour and salt. Add soda mixture to the batter alternately with the sifted dry ingredients, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Chill dough for 1 hour before using.

Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface; cut into shapes. Bake about 8 minutes at 350º; do not overbake; you want them to be fudgy, so watch carefully. Remove to racks to cool.

When cool, frost generously with a vanilla butter frosting. If you need a recipe, try this: 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tblsp. softened butter, 1 tsp. vanilla, and up to 5 Tblsp. milk -- start with half that amount and stir in more milk as needed until smooth and spreadable.

Makes a good amount of cookies!

Or, even more special for Valentine's Day, try these:

CHERRY SWEETHEARTS

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups flour
2/3 cup finely chopped maraschino cherries, drained and dried well on paper towels
Glaze:
1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 to 4 Tblsp. cherry juice (from jar of maraschino cherries)
Topping:
About 30 maraschino cherries, halved, blotted well on paper towels
Filling:
About 1/2 cup cherry or raspberry jam

Beat the butter, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift together the nutmeg and flour and beat about half of it into the mixture; add the remaining flour to the dough and beat well. Form dough into a ball; wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a circle, about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the cookies with a 2-1/2-inch scalloped cutter (hearts would be pretty, too) and place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 13-16 minutes at 350º. Remove and cool on racks.

For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and cherry juice to make a thick glaze. Place waxed paper under cooling rack. Pour the glaze carefully over half of the cookies to within a half inch of edges. Let stand 4 to 5 minutes, then place a cherry half (rounded side up) in center of each glazed cookie. Let glaze set completely.

Sandwich together with remaining, unglazed cookies with a thin layer of jam between. Store these cookies airtight at room temperature. Makes about 5 dozen sandwich cookies.

I wish that I had a picture of these to show you.  I have only made them a couple of times, but they are picture-perfect for Valentine's Day -- like something you would see in a child's storybook.  Visualize pink scalloped sandwich cookies with a cherry glaze and a perfect half cherry centered on top.  So pretty!

Tomorrow I will be back with a few simple candies for Valentine's Day.  Meanwhile, why not bake a batch of Valentine cookies?  If you live in New England, you may not be able to get out to the store, so pick a recipe with ingredients already in your pantry and get baking!