Heart Shaped Spritz Cookies

There’s always enough time in the day to spare an hour to bake beautiful little Valentine’s Day cookies, especially with a friend. After all, isn’t life about the journey and not the reward? And, another cliché to make my point: All work and no play make Alison a dull girl.

Yes, I’ve been super busy writing, working and being a mom, but when I get a text or e-mail from a friend asking me to make cookies, how can I say no! So when I got this text from Kathe: “Are you coming over this afternoon to make cookies? Come!” I threw my sugar, eggs and flour in a bag, grabbed my Wilton cookie press and headed straight to Kathe’s to make some heart shaped spritz cookies.

It was a good thing I came when I did, since Kathe’s cookie press broke moments before I arrived. So, we pressed our dough through one press instead of two, but with her double ovens, we managed to crank out 10 dozen cookies in one hour! We fired questions at one another, quickly catching up on our busy lives.

I got to witness double the excitement for our homemade cookies when her kids came home from school. Our heart cookies glistening on a cooling on a rack triggered their excited chant — “cookies, cookies, cookies!” — as they gobbled more than a few. And then I packed my bags back up, hauled my stash with me and greeted my kids with cookies too. All but my little finicky one (who decided he didn’t like sugar cookies anymore) were thrilled.

When I awoke this morning to a magical dusting of snow, I placed my cookies on a heart shape plate and captured this beautiful hour with the snap of a button.

An extra ½ teaspoon of baking powder (a mishap from talking too much) and I now have a new favorite, fluffier Spritz cookie recipe. Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy!

Heart Shaped Spritz Cookies
Makes at least 6 dozen

3 sticks butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract (or almond)
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Beat the butter, sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Blend in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and blend well. Use a cookie press to press out heart shapes. Decorate with sprinkles and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. Watch them carefully though since they can burn easily!