Sugar cookies make a perfect valentine's gift for kids, friends, family
Feb. 9—Valentine's Day is a special day for couples foremost, but it's also a day to show some appreciation of other people in your life.
Casey Igel, local baker and owner of Casey-Mo's Cookies, has just the thing to express how much everyone in your life means to you.
"When I think about Valentine's Day, I think about decorated sugar cookies," said Igel.
The sugar cookie connection likely comes from being a mom, Igel said.
"(Kids) like pretty colors, and they like things with sprinkles and things with their names on them. I just feel like it's a little kid holiday," she said.
And her sugar cookie recipe, which comes with a healthy coating of royal icing, can easily check all of those boxes.
The icing is a must, and she's a fan of dipping cookies as opposed to simply spreading icing on the top.
"It's a fun technique that's relatively simple and yields a pretty finished product," Igel said.
She offered up a sugar cookie recipe that is easy to roll out and holds its shape. Get the right cookie cutter, follow her Royal Icing recipe and add some sprinkles and you're set with a treat for anyone from family, school classes, neighbors and friends to a significant other.
Valentine's Day sugar cookies
5 cups all-purpose flour
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp salt
Directions: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add in flour. Store in two Ziplock bags in the fridge. Roll out cookies, and don't forget to use a pastry cloth and rolling pin sock.
Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until edges are brown.
Royal icing
2 lb powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
5 oz pasteurized egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
Food coloring
Directions: Beat egg whites and cream of tartar for 30 seconds. Add in sugar and then vanilla. Beat until thick and shiny. The icing may be thinned by adding water. Igel adds half a teaspoon at a time.
She has some additional tips for the icing. There are two ways to ice the cookies, either via dipping or spreading. Spreading is a traditional method that gets the job done, but dipping cookies is a fun activity for all ages. But either way, getting the right consistency is key.
"For dipped Valentine cookies you want the icing the consistency of soupy ice cream," Igel said.
"It needs to move when you turn the bowl but not be so loose that it will run off your cookie. Since it's Valentine's (Day) I'd suggest heart-shaped, and then you can get creative with the colors."
Once you nail that soupy texture, mix the desired background color into a shallow bowl and cover with Saran wrap and let it sit for 10 minutes. With a spoon, pop any air bubbles that rise to the top. Drizzle another color over the top of the icing. Here's where your creativity comes in. Drizzle back and forth, around in circles or whatever design you can think of.
Gently dip your cookie into the icing topside down, making sure you push enough so the edges of the cookie are covered. Lift it back up and let the excess drip off. Quickly flip over and the result will be a swirled marbled effect. Drizzle more color on the icing and you're good to go for the next one!
"Remember, if you mess up then scrape off the top or just eat it," Igel concluded. "You can let them dry and leave as they are, add sprinkles or pipe names on them with a thicker consistency royal icing."
Of course, it doesn't have to stop there. Igel recently made a batch with a gold luster dust flourish.
"Put it on with a high concentration alcohol that evaporates off, so I use Everclear. You can also use extracts, like a lemon extract or baking extracts from the store," Igel said.
She had plenty of other suggestions for additional adornment, including sanding sugar, sprinkles, and designs drawn on with edible markers.
"You can also put the royal icing in a piping bag and use that to write on the cookies," Igel said.
"If people want to decorate and they feel intimidated about rolling out and baking, then go to the grocery store and buy premade dough or even premade cookies.
"Don't feel like you have to tackle the baking and decorating, because the decorating is the most fun part."
For those who don't feel they're up to the challenge, Igel makes valentine's cookie kits.
Each kit includes 12 sugar cookies, three different food colors and sprinkles.
"It's something fun you can do with your kids or with a group of friends on short notice," Igel said.
"It's a way for me to do all the work and them to have all the fun."
For information, contact Igel at caseyigel@gmail.com or find Casey-Mo's Cookies on Instagram.
