Valentines Cookies



A packaged heart cookie



This is one of my favorite recipes for mint chocolate cookies. It is an American recipe so it uses cups (this is a special measurement system not just a kitchen cup!). If you do not have any cups it is very easy to find a conversion chart on the Internet.

These are great cut out chocolate cookies to give to your valentine. After making the cookies you can decorate the cookies with your own style and personalise them for your Valentine. To finish put the cookies or cookie in a bag and tie with a ribbon or stick onto a card to give to your valentine!



Small Hearts



Mint Chocolate Cookies

Makes 12 4 to 5 inch hearts. 

Ingredients:  

1 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
400ml royal icing mix (I used the Tate Lyle Royal Icing Sugar)
80ml water


Method:

1. Combine the butter, sugar, egg,  peppermint extract in the bowl of a electric mixer. Mix at a medium speed until the mixture is soft and creamy.
2. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Mix this at a low speed, until the mixture comes together as a dough. This will take about 5 minutes of mixing so be patient.
3. Divide the dough into two and shape each one into a ball and then flatten. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to C200. Grease 3 baking sheets. Take dough out of the fridge and roll it out to 1/8 inch thick. This will seem quite thick but these cookies are! Now cut out heart shapes and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. They will seem soft when you take them out of the oven but they will harden up. After removing the cookies from the oven leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before you transfer them to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool for 60 minutes before icing them.
5. To make the icing: In one bowl mix 200g of the royal icing mixture with 45ml of water. This will make the 'flooding icing'. The 'flooding icing' is used to fill the middle of the cookies. Split this mixture into two; you can know dye this any colour you want to (I dyed one half a light pink and left the other half white). In another bowl mix 200g of the royal icing mixture with 35ml water. This will make the 'lining' icing, which is used to make a barrier for the 'flooding' icing. You can dye this any colour (I dyed mine a dark pink).
6. Now its time to decorate. You can decorate the cookies in any way you like, but this is the way I did mine. Put the 'llining' icing in a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice. Pipe this around the edge of the hearts. Next use the 'filling' icing to fill in the middle of the heart. Now its time to decorate the middle in the style of your choice. Some suggestions are to write words or put dots on.

 

Broken Hearts

 

Molly's 'LOVE' Cookie