It's so difficult to resist an iced sugar cookie, especially when it is bright and colorful. For Valentine's Day, heart and cupcake cookies iced in reds and pinks make for very festive treats to give to your loved ones. Who doesn't remember having to pass out Valentine's Day cards in elementary school, making sure that every single classmate had a card in his or her little "mailbox"? These days, handing out iced sugar cookies to those kids and teachers who are allowed to eat such treats, seems very appropriate for the holiday.
Variations of sugar cookies in the shapes of hearts and cupcakes abound online, which is why I think it's a great idea to ice them as you see fit. There really is no way to go wrong because the end result is always sweet.
For my Valentine's Day cookies this year, I decided to give each one a little sparkle, a little pizzaz and lots of eye popping colors. All of the designs are easy and I may have even repeated myself from year's past. Oh well, it's bound to happen!
Valentine's Day Cupcakes: On a baked cupcake-shaped sugar cookie, outline and flood the cupcake liner area using a #4 piping tip in a bright red-red royal icing and immediately, yet carefully, flock the area with red edible glitter; let dry. Outline and flood alternating layers of "cupcake frosting" in either electric pink or white royal icing using a #3 piping tip, letting the alternating layers dry slightly (15 minutes is good), and then outline and flood the remaining layers of "cupcake frosting" in the other color. This will give you the desired "layered section look". Immediately flock the frosting area with red, pink & white nonpareils, and affix a heart-shaped candy at the top. Let dry. Outline the folds of the cupcake liner as shown, using the same red-red royal icing and a #1 piping tip; let dry completely. Done!
Valentine's Day Hearts: Outline the heart with a bead of white royal icing using a #3 piping tip and let dry slightly. Outline and and flood the entire base of the heart in either pink or red royal icing using a #4 piping tip and immediately, but carefully, flock the base of the heart with sparkly, edible glitter. Let dry. Pipe inner hearts in different colors with either a #1 or #2 piping tip. Let dry completely.
What could be easier? Nothing fancy, nothing difficult. Everything is beginner's royal icing technique, easily achievable by anyone with a piping bag. If you want to be nice, you can carefully package each cookie in a clear cellophane bag tied with a red ribbon, and hand them out as you see fit.
If you're hosting a Valentine's Day dinner or a party, simply put all of your cookies on pink glass platters and cake stands. If you want to surprise the kids, put them in their lunch bags with a little note attached. For your honey, put one next to the coffeemaker the night before or place one in their car before they go to work. They're going to love you for it.
Happy Valentine's Day!
