i have a dear friend named norni.
she is quite possibly the sweetest person in the entire world.
she is soft spoken. gentle. and impossibly kind.
the type of lady who makes everything feel like its going to be ok.
the type of lady that you know is just a wonderful mother. wife. & friend.
because with her kind & sweet heart comes a quiet strength that can move mountains.
she is the type of lady that has mastered the art of baking a pie.
creating the perfect buttery. flaky. pie crust.
& can roll out the most perfect sugar cookies.
she is quite an inspiration if you ask me.
i am so grateful that she invited me over
to give me a personal lesson on sugar cookie baking.
actually. i take that back.
i completely invited myself over.
so. norni. thank you for accepting my invitation.
after several hours of mixing. rolling. cutting. baking. frosting. & nibbling.
i left with flour covered clothes . a basketful of beautifully decorated sugar cookies.
& a recipe in my hand that i could try at home.
although mine are not quite as delicious. nor quite as beautiful as hers were . . .
i think these are a pretty good start.
i knew that i wanted my sugar cookies to be for a special valentines day treat.
so naturally i choose to bake pink ombre heart shaped cookies.
i found this darling little valentine tin mailbox at target {love the dollar section}
and just knew that it would make the perfect little box to deliver treats in.
i particularly love the pale pink hearts.
there is just something so lovely about the simplicity of them.
these cookies. when baked to perfection. have the most beautiful buttery color.
i love how the edges turn a light golden color.
i sprinkled sanding sugar on top of my cookies.
i just found that it gave an extra dash of whimsy to the look.
all packed up in my little valentine mailbox.
now i just need to sign. seal. & deliver.
how stinkin cute is that?!
i adore.
the beauty of this recipe is that you can cater it to any occasion.
use any cookie cutter. any color. any size. and so on.
i made snowflakes at christmas time that turned out beautifully
and i look forward to trying out many other styles.
so . . . i bet you want the recipe. huh?!
here it is.
for the cookies:
2 cups flour.
1/4 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder.
1 stick unsalted butter.
1 cup sugar.
1 large egg.
2 tablespoons water.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
for the icing:
i cup confectioners sugar.
i egg white.
almond extract to taste.
cream together the butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
add the egg. water. & extracts.
with the mixer on low. slowly add in the dry ingredients.
mix until just combined.
transfer the dough onto a floured working space.
roll out slightly. wrap in saran wrap & place in the fridge for about an hour.
then roll out the dough to about 1/8 of an inch thick.
use the cookie cutter of your choice to cut out the cookies.
place the cut outs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.
watch them carefully. because you do not want them to brown.
leftover scraps of cookie dough can be rolled out again.
after the cookies have cooled completely.
mix together the egg white. confectioners sugar. & the almond extract.
mix until it is smooth & there are no clumps left.
using a knife. spread the frosting on the cookies.
take the frosting all the way to the edge of the cookie but
clean up the edge of the cookie so that the frosting does not leak over.
allow them to dry completely before serving & packaging.
i hope you enjoy these delicious sugar cookies!
thank you. sweet norni. for sharing your perfect sugar cookie recipe with us.
xoxo
