Cinnamon Heart Cookies

This Valentine’s Day, show everyone just how much you care with a giant heart-shaped cookie. The perfect small gift for a co-worker or a scrumptious alternative to paper valentines for your children’s classmates.

DIRECTIONS;

All-purpose flour 3 cups /750 mL
Ground cinnamon 1 tbsp. /15 mL
Salt 1/2 tsp. /2 mL
Butter (or hard margarine), 1 cup /250 mL
softened
Brown sugar, packed 1 cup/ 250 mL
Large eggs, fork-beaten 2
Vanilla extract 1 tsp. /5 mL

ROYAL ICING
Icing (confectioner’s) sugar 7 1/3 cups /1.8 L
Water 1 cup/ 250 mL
Meringue (egg white) powder 1/4 cup/ 60 mL
(see Note)
Red paste food colouring 1/8 tsp./ 0.5 mL
(see Tip, this page)
Red paste food colouring 1/8 tsp./ 0.5 mL
(see Tip, this page)

Cinnamon Cookies: Combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, beating well after each addition until no dry flour remains. Shape into flattened disc. Wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard plastic wrap.

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch (6 mm) thickness. Cut out shapes with lightly floured 5 inch (12.5 cm) heart-shaped cookie cutter. Roll out scraps to cut more heart shapes.

Arrange cookies, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on greased cookie sheets. Bake,

1 sheet at a time, in 350°F (175°C) oven for about 12 minutes until golden.

Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool. Cool cookie sheets between batches.

Royal Icing: Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Add first amount of food colouring. Beat for about 8 minutes until soft peaks form. Spoon icing into piping bag fitted with small plain tip or small resealable freezer bag with tiny piece snipped off 1 corner. Pipe border around each cookie. Pipe icing to fill (see photo). Let stand overnight until set. Cover remaining icing with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature.

Add second amount of food colouring to remaining icing. Stir well. Spoon icing into same piping or freezer bag. Pipe decorative patterns on cookies. Makes about 12 cookies.

1 cookie: 622 Calories; 16.0 g Total Fat (4.0 g Mono, 0.6 g Poly, 9.9 g Sat); 76 mg Cholesterol; 114 g Carbohydrate; 1 g Fibre; 8 g Protein; 223 mg Sodium

Note: Meringue powder is available at kitchen stores or cake decorating suppliers.

Tip: The advantage to using paste food colouring is that it allows for more vibrant colours than does liquid food colouring. If you try to substitute liquid food colouring for paste food colouring, the addition of the additional liquid may affect the success of the recipe.