When I think of Valentines Day...

I can't help but think of yummy sugar cookies with delicious frosting. Yum! Yum! Really when I think about it, its kind of funny that chocolate doesn't pop into my mind. It just seems that chocolate = Valentines. However, as a child growing up I had the chance to make cut out cookies with my mom. Putting hard labor into mixing, rolling and decorating. These wonderful moments will be treasured forever.

So, when I stopped over to my friend Peg's house she had just got done making these beautiful cookies. The timing could not have been better. Don't get me wrong....I love making these tasty morsels, but receiving is always much more fun. (Thanks Peg!) Just what I was needing after a stressful day. These cookies are like high class, compared to my younger days. We didn't always use decorator tips, I think manly due to not wanting to deal with the hassle. We used candy. Oh, how I loved to decorate with Valentine conversation hearts, M&M's, and JuJu hearts. Pretty basic but still cute. No two were ever alike.

So the recipe that I grew up on is posted below. I have tried many recipes over the years, some with powdered sugar, or sour cream, or lemon zest. But I always resort back to my family recipe. It's still a winner in my heart. I just love the buttery flavor with the hint of almond. It always gets me at that first bite.

Cut Out Cookies (family recipe)
3/4 cup margarine or butter (we always use butter)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and extracts and beat. Stir in dry ingredients. Works best if you chill the dough for at least one hour. Roll out and bake on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for about 7 minutes. Cool and frost to your likening. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!