Sugar for your sweetheart

Valentine's Day is all about spending time with a special someone. Whether that person is a friend or a significant other, the pressure is on to give a present that shows how much you care. Chocolates, flowers and greeting cards make great gifts, but baking is a creative way to show your affection, bond with a loved one and satisfy that sweet tooth. Soft, warm and buttery, sugar cookies are a perfect Valentine's Day goodie because they can be made and decorated in a snap. Colored icing transforms these classic cookies into pretty works of art and you can boost the creativity with a few flourishes of sprinkles and tubes of frosting. Make this holiday special and show your love through sugar!

Sugar cookies
Prep time is about 25 minutes. Cooking time is about 10 minutes per baking sheet. Makes three-dozen cookies based on a large cookie cutter.

Kitchenware:
- oven
- refrigerator
- 2 baking sheets (ungreased)
- 1 large bowl
- 1 medium bowl
- 4 small bowls
- mixing spoon or fork
- measuring cups and spoons
- Saran wrap
- cookie cutters (preferably heart-shaped)
- rolling pin

Ingredients:
Dough
- 2/3 cup butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 4 teaspoons milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- about 1/2 cup extra flour for rolling out dough
Icing
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup warm water
- red food coloring
- blue food coloring
- icing pens, tubes of colored icing, sprinkles (optional)

Preparation:
1. Mix sugar, butter and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.
2. Add egg and milk; beat with fork until fluffy.
3. Mix together remaining dry ingredients in medium bowl.
4. Combine all dry and wet ingredients.
5. Divide dough in half; cover both halves with saran wrap.
6. Chill dough for at least 1 hour in refrigerator.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out half of dough with rolling pin.
9. Shape cookies using cookie cutters.
10. Put cookies on baking sheet; bake in oven for 8 -10 minutes.
11. Repeat steps 7 – 9 with second half of dough.
12. Let cookies cool for about 1 hour at room temperature.
13. Pour 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in each small bowl.
14. Stir in 1 – 2 tablespoons of warm water depending on desired consistency of icing.
15. Stir in food coloring of choice.
16. Spread icing evenly over cookies, decorate with sprinkles, let dry and then enjoy!