Soft Valentine Sugar Cookies

There are a few must-have treats every holiday. Valentine’s Day is no exception. Sugar cookies with red and pink sprinkles are as important as pink boxes filled with conversation hearts. Something about this holiday just screams sprinkles and sanding sugar. The memories of my kids standing on stools with adult-sized aprons falling off their tiny bodies as they decorate the perfect cookie for each classmate. Cookies so covered with frosting and sprinkles that you barely recognize the cookie buried beneath. Who needs date night with long-stemmed roses when you can decorate cookies to accompany handwritten Valentines. The cookies were almost as important as the box the Valentines would go in. Handwritten cards. Homemade Valentine boxes. sugar-dusted cookies. The sweet simplicity of childhood love!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 T. vanilla

3/4 cup sour cream

4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

sprinkles and sanding sugars

*For a simple buttercream frosting… Click the link below!

https://sweeterthymes.com/2019/10/20/buttercream-frosting

Instructions:

1. Place soft, room temperature butter in a mixer. Beat on high, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the butter becomes light and fluffy. Beat until butter doubles in size.
2. Add the granulated sugar and beat until well mixed.
3. Add 2 eggs and beat on high until eggs thicken and add volume to the mixture.
4. Add vanilla and sour cream. Beat just until incorporated.
5. In a separate bowl combine remaining dry ingredients. Once thoroughly mixed slowly add to the wet mixture. Beat on high scraping sides of bowl until all flour is incorporated into the wet mixture. This dough will still look “sticky”…do not add additional flour
6. Scoop out dough and place in the bottom of a gallon-sized zip-lock bag. Refrigerate dough overnight. This dough is too soft to roll without being chilled at least 5 hours.
7. When you are ready to bake cookies, cut the zip-lock bag down the sides and remove the plastic. Place dough on a very lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is malleable. Prepare a heavily floured surface by distributing flour evenly with a sifter.
8. Roll dough out to 1/3 inch thick and cut shapes. Toss cut shape between hands to knock off excess flour and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Do not re-roll scraps of dough. This incorporates too much flour into the dough and changes both the flavor and texture.
9. Bake cookies for 6-8 minutes or until edges start to show a golden color in an oven pre-heated to 375 degrees. You have under baked the cookies if when cooled they deflate and have wrinkled skin on top.
10. Cool completely before frosting and decorating. Cookies may be frozen up to 6 months.