Valentine’s Day Recipes

Sugar Hearts

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup half-and-half

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat the butter and

sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Add the

vanilla and almond extracts and half-and-half. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating

until just blended.

Mix in the dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Divide the dough in half. Press the

dough into disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll out

one of the disks of dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of l/4 inch.

Use a 2 1/2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Gather the dough scraps,

re-roll, and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used.

Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them 2

inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12-15

minutes, or until just golden. Transfer to racks and let cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Dip the hearts

half-way into the chocolate and let stand for 30 minutes until set.

Valentine Recipes