One of my fondest childhood memories is of my mother helping me make a Valentine's box to take to school. We pulled out white paste, an old shoebox, scraps of doilies, and construction paper. There was a flurry of activity as I cut and pasted, and imagined my box filled with homemade Valentines from classmates and secret admirers.
My favorite teacher in
fourth grade was Mrs. Dearing. For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make her something special. My mother had a recipe for sugar cookies that she had made as a child. We stayed up late rolling out dough, long after my brothers had gone to bed. Carefully, we sprinkled cookies with sugar and waited for sparkling wafers to emerge from oven.
To this day, when I smell sugar cookies baking, I think about Valentine's Day and that special present for my teacher.
SUGAR COOKIES
Ingredients 1/2-cup unsalted butter at room temperature 3/4-cup sugar 1 large egg 1 Tablespoon milk 1/8-teaspoon salt 1/2-teaspoon vanilla 2-cups flour Granulated sugar for decoration
1 ceramic cookie mold (available at craft stores or from www.cookieartexchange.com ) A plastic drinking straw 1/4 inch satin ribbon Directions
1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix in flour and salt.
2. Knead mixture into a dough. Chill for 15 minutes. 3. Use ceramic cookie mold make a fancy Valentine cookie. Coat mold with cooking spray. Pour a little granulated sugar into mold, tilt until sugar covers bottom, and tap out any excess. Press dough into mold and turn it out onto a greased baking sheet. Use a plastic drinking straw to make a hole in top of cookie. Sprinkle with sugar and chill for 30 minutes.
