Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

 Be sure to celebrate with your family and friends. This day exists for everyone to enjoy. Its all about putting in that extra time in for the ones we love, so that they know they are truly special to us.

Also never forget,to reward yourself as well,especially with some homemade valentine baked goods and furthermore if you are feeling considerably generous, you can also offer some as a gift.

If you want to celebrate Valentines day in a simple and thoughtful way. Then choose to go the homemade direction by creating these delectable heart sugar cookies. These treats are not just your run of the mill sugar cookie either,they come with their own exceptional qualities. These hearts have been marbled with pink and purple food color to suit the themes of the holidays while including mini chocolate chips as well as a stain glass heart window.
 

These little adaptions to a basic sugar cookie dough has transform them into a highly impressive cookie. Just that little extra effort truly pays off in the end to create a new appearance,flavor as well as texture. Everyone will be super impressed with your gift and will never believe how simple they are to really make.

These delicious heart cookies are buttery and sweet with a crunchy,soft texture with of course a sweet candy flavored window. Also, to dress them up for a gift put them in Valentine's treat bags and way you go. Remember its always the thought that counts!

Marbled Stain Glass Heart Cookies

Yields:About 2 dozen(depends on cookie cutter size)
 

Cookie Dough:Adapted from Hershey Chipits Easter Bunny Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter,softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream and tartar
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 bag Jolly Rancher hard candies
Gel Food Coloring-purple and pink

1. Cream together the butter, sugar and egg, until light and fluffy.

2. Beat in flour,baking soda and cream of tartar, until well blended. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.

3. Mold the cookie dough into a round ball,slice in half and mold into two rounds.

4. Place each dough into two separate bowls,add the purple food color to one and then the pink food color in the other.Be sure to use toothpicks to add the gel food coloring.Use a spoon to mix in the food coloring,then use your hands to gradually mix in the color,until you reach the desired color.

5. Wrap each round in saran wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.

6. Flour your work surface.With each colored round,begin to take off pieces to create round cookie balls.Place on work surface and begin to place the cookie balls into rows of alternate colors.Then slightly push the rounds together and then begin rolling out the dough.This will create almost a checker board/marbled effect.

7. Then cut out large heart shapes and cut out smaller hearts in the center.Once done,then begin rolling the dough out again,this will then create another pattern,more marbled appearance.

8. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet or silpat mat.Bake at 375 F for 8 minutes,until set. Then crush the jolly ranchers,separated by color in a Ziploc bag and crush them finely using a rolling pin.

9. Sprinkle the candy dust in the center of each heart.Bake again at 375 F for 3 minutes,until the candy centers are melted.Let cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet before placing on a cooling rack.The stain glass windows will be hard.Repeat the process.

10. Once cooled, you can then wrap them in cellophane or valentines bag for a gift