Sweetheart Cookies

Jack's garden operation grows more ambitious every year. The greenhouse, the market sales, the Farm Fund jar that now holds over three hundred dollars. He's 15 and he farms the way some kids play video games — obsessively, joyfully, with the deep understanding that this is not a hobby but a vocation wearing a hobby's clothes.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made filet mignon Valentine Day earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The cookie season has ended and the soup season has settled in. The kitchen smells like broth and thyme and the slow simmer of food that takes hours and rewards the hours with warmth. Winter cooking is patient cooking. The patience is Marlene's gift. The cooking is mine.

Valentine’s Day in our house doesn’t announce itself loudly — it slips in between the Thursday hotdish schedule and the slow-simmered soups of soup season. But after making filet mignon earlier in the week and feeling that quiet pleasure of the kitchen reaching toward something more than the everyday, I wanted to bring something sweet to the table too. These Sweetheart Cookies felt exactly right: simple enough to fit inside a busy winter week, but shaped like something you give on purpose, to people you mean it for.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 35 min (plus chilling) | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
For the icing:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pink or red food coloring
Red and white sprinkles or sugar pearls, for decorating

Instructions

Cream the butter. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and 3/4 cup powdered sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix to combine.
Mix the dough. Add flour and salt to the butter mixture, mixing on low until just incorporated. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together and is smooth but not sticky.
Chill the dough. Divide dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out hearts using a heart-shaped cookie cutter (about 2 1/2 inches). Re-roll scraps as needed. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake. Bake for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are just barely golden. Do not overbake — the cookies will be pale. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2–3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla until smooth and drizzleable. Tint with pink or red food coloring as desired.
Decorate. Spread or drizzle icing over cooled cookies. Top with sprinkles or sugar pearls before the icing sets. Allow to dry completely before storing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sweetheart Cookies — The Kitchen That Grows Toward Love