What : Love in the Air, When : February 14th, Where: Wherever the heart leads you

Well I am back, and it was nice to return to warm, non-threating weather to drive in. We are just in time for Valentine’s Day. So, I am keeping this short and to the point . Every year I ask Mike not to buy me roses. Every year he does anyway. Love is a splendid thing, isn’t it?

Well, this year I thought it would be fun to do something I really do not do ever, bake cookies!  Love cookies. If only I had that magic like the movie “Chocolate”—just a tear in the dough. Ah, what magic that would be.

But I do not have the magic, so I need help. I wanted to find a recipe that would be easy and well, turn out! So of course I went to the food network for help. I found two I am willing to challenge, both sugar cookies.

Now, I have to admit I know I could cheat on this, too. I do not want to say that too loud. I know I can purchase sugar cookie dough from the store, all ready to roll out. But I’ll try to keep that thought out of my head.  I’ll shape them like hearts and decorate them with red and pink frosting. Maybe I’ll even wrap them up and put them in a red bag. OK, that is maybe going a little too far. But I will put them on a plate. You know, if I really want to surprise Mike after the last 30 years of marriage, maybe I should buy him flowers. What do you think?

So have a great Valentine’s Day with your sweetie, and remember that getting those flowers, candy, cookies and hugs is welcomed everyday.

Regular sugar cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove one wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least one inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for seven to nine minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time.

Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to one week

Chewy Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk
Sprinkles or colored sugar, for decorating

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. With a brush or fingers, moisten the top of each cookie with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with raw sugar or colored sprinkles.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack. Both of the above recipes were taken from Food Network.

Have a great week and eat well. Until next week.