Valentine Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Heart-shaped cookie cutters

Cream butter and sugar until the mixture is light. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat thoroughly. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in thirds, stirring well with a large spoon to form a soft dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill several hours or overnight.

On a floured pastry cloth or counter, roll half the cookie dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with heart-shaped cookie cutters, dipping the cutter in flour between each use. Place the cookies on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the edges are barely brown. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets while warm and transfer them to wire racks to cool.

Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• Pink, red, or white decorator sugars

In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Tint the glaze with paste food coloring, if desired. Spread the glaze on the cookies with a knife or offset spatula, and sprinkle them with decorator sugars. Set the cookies aside until the glaze has set, about 2 to 3 hours.

Yield: 3 to 4 dozen cookies

Chef's Note: When making the cookies at high altitude, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to the cookie dough mixture.