Thinking about this upcoming Valentine's Day made me think of cut out cookies...
My mother-in-law {Shirley} and I used to make cut out sugar cookies and decorate them together every February for Valentine's Day plates. We'd get together the weekend before the holiday and roll and cut and talk and chat and learn more about each other in the process.
As a young gal I had little experience at making cut out cookies. I always wrestled with sticky dough that rolled out terribly..usually cut them way to thin which resulted in a hard crunchy cookie.
I didn't like making {or eating} cut out sugar cookies...definitely not worth the mess.
And then as a new bride, I learned his mom LOVED to make cut out sugar cookies....one year she asked me to make them with her...and a yearly tradition was born...
Making cut out cookies with her immediately started out different...she had an awesome, soft, nutmeggy {is that even a word?} cookie recipe that rolled out like play dough...oh was it fun to play with the dough. These cookies baked up nice and soft and had a wonderful delicious flavor and smell.
After they cooled, we'd whip up this soft, fluffy frosting. Now, I have to be honest with you here, after all that work rolling, cutting and baking up these beautiful heart cookies, I always felt a bit disappointed with the final product after frosting them with this wonderful, fluffy frosting.
They were ugly. {in my humble opinion}
They tasted heavenly and most people LOVED the cookie platters they received from us, but, the "presentation" of these cookies was lacking. Those of you that have frosted cookies with a fluffy frosting know what I'm talking about....it's just kind of messy and they don't look real pretty and they don't stack nice on a plate, and you can't package them up pretty.....
Fast forward to today, and Shirley has been gone for the last 12 Valentine's Days. Along with her went our traditional Valentine's Day cut out cookies...
but since then, along came Pinterest....and pictures of beautiful cut out sugar cookies...works of art really...using a Royal Icing so they could be detailed...stacked....presented oh so beautifully!
and then, I thought...
I should try this....
so I did...
and...
I liked the final product....so much that I kept trying and perfecting and playing in dough.
My new hobby developed into a love for cut out cookies...time invested in rolling, cutting and baking is oh...so...worth it... in the smiles it brings to those who recieve them.
I'm no expert, and I don't have any cookies on Pinterest {yet} but I've found a wonderful new hobby that brings back precious memories of my mother in law and the time we spent together every February....rolling, cutting, chatting and getting to know each other better!
I'm so glad I lived in those moments yesterday...they are precious memories today.
Enjoy your Valentine's Day this Thursday. Live in the moment and make a memory!
You can see my gallery of sweet things on my Facebook page HERE
Though I don't use this recipe in my creations today, I thought I'd share the memory with you! Enjoy!!
Mom Smith's Sugar Cookies
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups suga
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. nutmet
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk {approx}
Sift together all the dry ingredients.
Mix in the shortening w/a pastry cutter.
Break the 2 eggs into a one cup measuring cup. Fill to the one cup measure with milk. Mix this with the dry ingredients. Knead on a heavily floured surface until you can roll it out and cut. Cut with floured cookie cutters. Bake at 325* for 8 minutes. Cool and frost.
Fluffy Decorator's Frosting
4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup shortening
3 t. vanilla
2 egg whites
3 T. cold wather
1 t. lemon juice
Dump in a large mixer and whip until light and fluffy. Add color and frost cookies.
