Popes Valentine Cookies Recipes

POPE'S VALENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).
• Mix butter in a mixer until light, add remaining ingredients.
• Knead until velvety. Roll one-half of the dough at a time to about 1/4 inch thickness using the smallest amount of flour possible.
• Cut out and bake on a lightly greased pan for 12 minutes. Cookies will be almost white when cooked.

VALENTINE SANDWICH COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well incorporated. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, beating on the lowest speed. Continue to mix on the lowest setting until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
• Divide the dough in half, and shape it into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Set aside. Taking only one portion of dough out of the refrigerator at a time, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to 1/8-1/4 inch thickness. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cookies are cooled, prepare the filling. Combine the softened butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar slowly until the filling is smooth. It should be slightly stiffer than cupcake frosting. Add pink or red food coloring until the desired color is reached.
• Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or a freezer zip-lock bag with the corner snipped off.) Pipe the filling onto half of the cookies, and top with the remaining cookies to form a cookie sandwich.

VALENTINE RICH ROLLED COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Beat in egg and flavoring.
• Combine and add flour and salt.
• Chill dough 3-4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Roll thinly and cut.
• Bake 5-7 minutes, (this is because I roll them very thin,you might want to cook them longer if you don't roll them thin -- see other peoples notes).
• Ice with either Almond or Royal Icing.
• The Almond Icing is a thin icing that you can "paint" on the cookies. I actually use paint brushes, and have fun coloring the icing.
• The Royal Icing dries hard. It can be used to "glue" tails back on kittens (cookies) and trunks on elephants. It also holds the cookies together better for shipping. I use a small metal spatula for spreading this, and use a lot of sprinkles and other adornments with this icing.
• The amounts of sugar and liquid are flexible to your own preferred consistency.