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Celebrating Valentine's Day usually involves something sweet, but edible gifts don't have to be loaded with sugar, or expensive either. When children are involved, making gifts can also be a fun, family activity, especially if those presents are cookies. The cookies that can be the most fun to make are ones the kids can help decorate. A shortbread cookie provides a nice smooth surface and a mild taste that pairs well with sweet toppings.
After making cookies with the recipe below, consider these ideas for decorating them. People who don't like icing may like a dusting of powdered sugar, which can be made fancy-looking by using a paper doily for a stencil. Cookie sandwiches can be made by spreading either jam or icing between two cookies which can then be iced or not.
Cookies can be covered with icing (recipe below) using a butter knife before coloring the rest of the icing and putting it in a zip lock bag to make designs on top by cutting off one corner of the bag. An easy way to decorate frosted cookies is to scatter candy shapes, confetti, sprinkles, or colored sugar crystals on top of the icing, or place candy hearts, before the icing hardens.
"I love you", or other messages can be written with gel icing that comes in tubes, or spelled out with chocolate chips, small candies, or licorice strings. Ground up nuts and/or melted chocolate are tasty alternatives to the other toppings, and adding flavoring to the icing (like lemon or cherry) will give the cookies some extra zing.
Of course, taking into account who the cookies will be given to and catering the flavors and decorations to that special someone's tastes will guarantee that the cookies will be a delightful gift on Valentine's Day.
Total Time: 2 hr 10 minPrep: 5 minInactive: 1 hr 40 minCook: 25 minYield: 36 cookiesLevel: Easy
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Recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond and www.foodnetwork.com
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