February 10th, 2022

Rather obviously, I'm preparing for Valentine's Day. And how cute are these cookies?  (If I do say so myself)  I  have to admit, that a huge part of the adorableness is thanks to my sister.  Joy gave me for Christmas some new toys that I couldn't wait to use!

Knowing me as you all do by now, I'm sure you are not surprised in the least that I'm always on the lookout for something new and fun by way of cookie making. This year I not only got a new idea but also a bonus round.  First of all there were new cookie cutters:

Not only 4 different sizes of hearts but two different edges:  one is smooth and one is scalloped.  It's a small thing I know but the results are huge.  For me, in life, it's all about the tiny details.  

The other thing Joy gave me was a huge surprise. I had never even seen one of these before.  It 's a patterned rolling pin.  What?  

How clever is that?  It's a silicone on the outside so easily used and easily cleaned. But of course it came with no instructions so I had to really think it through before I began.

Selecting Valentine's Day as my test run was a no brainer. Hearts?  Come on!  And sugar cookies obviously.  Perfect for showing off those cutiecute details!    So yesterday morning I knocked out the sugar cookie dough (which I  got from Joy a very long time ago and honestly it is the best) then put in the fridge to chill.  By early afternoon I was ready to roll.  Literally.

After a very brief amount of experimentation I came to realize that essentially the dough is rolled out twice.  Once to the proper thickness with the smooth regular rolling pin that I already had. Then over it once again with the patterned roller.  The only tricky part was matching up the pattern in spots that got missed.  But eventually I even got the hang of that.

They came out of the oven so stinkin' cute that I could hardly stand it!  And I was excited to get started on decorating. What's a sugar cookie without a decoration?  

I decided that a frosting would be too thick and would obscure the pattern.  The pattern was at least half of the point of making them so I didn't want to hide it!  It seemed obvious that a glaze would be a far better choice.  Makes sense, right?   Turns out, nope.  I made two thin glazes, one pink and one white. And as it turns out, no matter how small a portion I put on the cookies, it covered the pattern. Drat!  I would even put the glaze on and then, basically wipe it back off, but nope, still too much.  And by the time the sprinkles went on, it was game over.  Dang.

After experimenting in any number of different ways, I briefly considered no glaze at all, but really, that's no fun.  So then it occurred to me that I could ice half the cookie and the pattern would still show. It was a moment of  genius!  And exactly the right idea.  Too bad I had already glazed and decorated so many other cookies!  Still, there were several dozen still left to play with and so I did.  Sometimes I surprise myself ;)

I had a wonderful time playing with the glazes and various sprinkles and finishing it up.  I can't wait to share them (and eat a few myself).

And now I know for the next time how to have my glaze and my pattern too!  The Best of Both Worlds.

Thank you once again, Joy!  

Oh and if anybody wants the cookie recipe, (which I got from Joy actually) I am always happy to share.

If I don't happen to talk to you guys before Valentine's Day, I hope yours is wonderful :)  Hugs all 'round.