Old Skool Holidays – Valentines Sugar Cookies

Editor’s Note: This fantastic recipe was first posted on Ourbigearth.com in February, 2008 by local mom and baker Christa Herrling. As Valentines Day 2011 catches up with us, I thought it was time to revisit it and get our baking groove on with delicious, sweet and gorgeous sugar cookies. Enjoy.

For this Valentines edition of Food and Your Family, I thought I’d search the Martha Stewart website for a tasty holiday recipe.

Surely Martha would have the most adorable, impeccably perfect holiday treat ideas imaginable. She would have thought of something so great, so totally outstanding and unbelievable, that perhaps my head would explode.

Thinking of Valentines baking, what typically comes to mind is heart-shaped cookies and cutesy cupcakes, the type of which were brought to the classroom to share on Valentine’s Day- one of the 3 most sugar-filled, euphoric days in one’s elementary school career (second only to Halloween, and one notch above the last day before winter break).

I thought I needed a new take on the traditional fare. Martha, or any number of trend savvy food bloggers would enlighten me.

After much fruitless web surfing, I realized that the tried and true might be best for this occasion.

From the time I first started baking independently- around age 10 or 11- I have experimented with the sumptuous traditional recipes in my mother’s dusty old copy of the Robin Hood Flour Cookbook. When I moved out of my parent’s house, I secretly removed pages from the binder-style book to take with me, and eventually, in 2004, when my grandmother passed away, I inherited my own copy.

This cookbook, printed in 1967, extols the virtues of refined sugar, white flour, and lovely butter. It’s sure as heck not a health food book, nor is it one that makes any attempt at being low cal, high fiber, or sensitive to any allergies. However, if you can handle a little of this old fashioned, sugared-up goodness, it’s genius.

I’ve tried several sugar cookie recipes over the years. None have compared to this luscious, buttery batch of versatile, easy to work with treats from my well-loved, dusty old Robin Hood Flour Cookbook.

The recipe makes 5-6 dozen cookies, and the dough will keep in the fridge overnight if you don’t get all of your baking done in one day. In the past I have decorated with buttercream frosting and sprinkles. This time I opted for raspberry jam sandwiched between two hearts, and dusted with icing sugar. Apricot jam would be good too. So would a drizzle of white chocolate. The possibilities are endless, unlike your supply of cookies once your family smells them cooking.

Here’s the recipe:

Rich Sugar Cookies

3 1⁄2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1⁄4 tsp salt
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1⁄2 cup butter
1⁄2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Spoon or pour flour into dry measuring cup. Level off and pour onto waxed paper. Add baking powder and salt; stir well to blend.

Cream sugar, butter, shortening, eggs and vanilla thoroughly.

Add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Mix well.

Chill several hours until firm.

Roll out small portions of dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8” thickness. Cut with floured 3” cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Bake at 375° F. for 8-10 minutes.

Tags: desert, family, food, Kids, Martha Stewart, recipe, Robin Hood Flour Cookbook, sugar cookies

Category: Dessert, EAT LOCAL, Recipes