Cookies for my Valentine!

I spoke to both of my adult children yesterday, it isn't uncommon that one calls while I am on the phone with the other (love it...makes me feel SO important)! They were both busy preparing for the big day...Valentines Day!

Daughter Erin ventured out in 8" of wet snow to do her shopping. Took her an hour and a half to drive the 2o minute drive home from the mall. She was white knuckled and nearly in tears by the time she got home. She bought her "love" a sweater and said it was too much money, but bought it anyway. Erin isn't participating in the recession, she is stimulating the economy!

Son Matthew has been planning a meal of marinated beef tenderloin & the trimmings for his "love" for several weeks now. He's called me several times for recipes & then followed by recipe questions. One call was to ask me if tenderloin is really $23.oo per pound. I proceeded to tell him he had probably picked the most expensive cut of meat...Matthew is stimulating the butcher shop economy as well! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that butcher shop! Another phone call... "Is there really 2 Tablespoons of salt in this marinade?" I got him set straight & said it was teaspoons not tablespoons...just a minor detail! Another phone call...I don't feel like going to the grocery store AGAIN, can I substitute white wine vinegar for red wine vinegar? I reassured him that it could be substituted as long as you are not a wine connoisseur!

I hung up the phone and began to feel somewhat guilty that I had only bought my "love" a Valentines card...I was being out-done by my children! You see, I get hit hard in February...first there is our anniversary, then it's Valentines and then a few days later it is his birthday. Any good gift ideas that I had for him for the year were all used up at Christmas time! Then I remembered a saying my mother would say..."The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach". It was with that thought that I knew the perfect gift for my "sweet heart"...a batch of his favorite frosted cut-out sugar cookies. I awoke early this morning and they were freshly baked & just frosted when he arose for the day. Today there was no need for Cream of Wheat...he had cookies to eat for breakfast on this Valentines Day!

CREAM CHEESE CUT-OUT SUGAR COOKIES

"Deliciously thin, crispy & buttery cookies to tease your taste buds!"

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond & vanilla extracts and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. On floured pastry cloth, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8" thick. Cut into desired shapes.

4. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet & bake for 7 - 10 minutes, or until light & golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

DECORATOR FROSTING

2/3 cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 drops of red food coloring

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, powdered sugar & milk until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Frost your cookies & enjoy!

happy valentines day,

brenda