Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

I spent about 2-3 hours in the kitchen on Saturday running back and forth from the refrigerator... to the kitchen table... to the oven... to my cooling table outside... back to the refrigerator... etc. Eventually I ended up with 98 cookies! I would've had 99, but I had to sneak one right off the hot pan. Sunday, I just chilled because I was sick of looking at the little golden brown hearts. Monday and Tuesday I spent a few more hours putting icing on the cookies. I've said before that I'm definitely not an artist, so they don't look as good as I wanted them to. But they taste great, and that's what matters most to me!

Sunday - 98 cookiesTuesday - not nearly 98... there are cookie thieves in my house!I put them in these cute bags I found at Dollar Tree!

"The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies" from Allrecipes.com
One batch made almost 100 assorted sized cookies.
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely on wire rack.

"Sugar Cookie Icing" from Allrecipes.com
You'll end up playing with the amount of milk and corn syrup in this depending on how thick you want your icing to be. I had to use 1 tablespoon of each. I made 2 1/2 batches to ice about 50-60 cookies.
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I used strawberry extract for some of them)
assorted food coloring

In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings and extracts to each to desired intensity and flavor. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.