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Broken-hearted Treats to Cheer the Broken-hearted by Taryn Long about the first week of January, just as the light is finally peeking through our post-holiday blues, the stores begin to stock their shelves with all manner of love-themed trinkets and goodies. For some, seeing rows upon rows of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates is cause for celebration, but for others, the sight of a single conversation heart can destroy a perfectly good appetite. And we just can't let that happen. Eating is definitely more fun than moping! So this year, instead of decorating the same old heart-shaped sugar cookies in perky pinks and bright reds, we're going to express how we really feel. We're going to whip up a batch of broken hearts, the likes of which have never been seen, and decorate them in true unrequited-love style. (And appropriately, since we're feeling more sour than sweet, this sugar cookie recipe calls for sour cream.) Sour Cream Sugar Cookies 1 cup sour cream 2 cups sugar 1 cup shortening 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 5 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder With an electric mixer, blend the sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Then, slowly add the dry ingredients to the large bowl until well blended. Refrigerate to chill overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover an area with wax paper to roll out the dough. Dust the wax paper with a tablespoon of flour to prevent sticking. Working with a quarter of the chilled dough at a time, flatten slightly with hands and then roll out to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with assorted Valentine's Day cookie cutters and bake cookies for 5 to 10 minutes--depending on size, until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet and remove to foil or wax paper. Broken-heart Variation: To make broken hearts, cut dough with heart-shaped cookie cutter and then using a knife, cut a lightning-shaped zigzag from the dough and then bake. Icing 1/2 stick butter 1/4 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla 2-3 cups powdered sugar food coloring various decorations, such as sprinkles, conversation hearts, and dragees Melt butter in a saucepan with milk and vanilla, being careful not to scorch it. Remove to a medium-sized mixing bowl and slowly add powdered sugar. Start with 2 cups of sugar and increase as needed. When icing reaches a workable but still drippy consistency, divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring. Now, use your creativity to decorate however you like. Here are some tips:
Colored sugar crystals: To imbed
these in the cookie, apply them before you put them in the oven
to bake. (Otherwise, add sugar, sprinkles, conversation hearts
and other decorations to wet frosting for best adhesion.) Marbleizing: Paint a cookie with
one color and before it dries, add stripes with another. Then
drag toothpicks across in the opposite direction to create the
marble effect. Share the love: After the frosting
has dried, you may want to make up some gift-bags for your nearest
and dearest. Place a few cookies and conversation hearts in a
zipped sandwich bag and close. Wrap with red film from the craft
store, tie with a bow and decorate with stickers. See? Now you
feel much better.
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If you're searching for dragees, the BB-like decorations that add that "bedazzled" appeal, you may have to go to a specialty cake-decorating store. It seems that some years ago, they were declared non-edible by the FDA due to minute quantities of heavy metal, such as silver. They are non-toxic, but are labeled "for decoration only" in the US. (Then again, this knowledge could be useful--these deceptive confections could add just the right touch to the cookies you happen to be giving to that not-so-special someone…Pile em on!)
Note: Craftygal does not endorse dragee abuse. Please decorate responsibly.--eds |
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