Valentine Cookies & Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

One of my favorite Valentine treats is a good old fashioned soft sugar cookie decorated in real butter cream frosting. I have the mother of all sugar cookie recipe. It is an old pioneer recipe calling for lard, I use butter and it makes a mammoth amount of cookies, which is perfect for Valentine's so when you give plates and plates away you still have plenty to eat! I top them knee deep in homemade butter cream frosting...yum lots of butter and real vanilla. The perfect loving touch is to decorate them in light pink and white frosting adding any accessories such as sprinkles or colored sugar as needed. It is deeevine! Give it a try anytime but especially for Valentine's Day!

Auntie's Sugar Cookies
From Famous Mormon Recipes
by Winnifred Jardine

7 cups sifted flour 1 pound lard or shortening (I use butter)
5 teaspoons baking powder 4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk
2 cups sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut lard into flour as you would for pastry, until well blended. Stir in sugar. Add eggs and milk and stir thoroughly. If dough is too dry to roll out, add a little more milk. Roll dough on lightly floured board as thin as you like (I roll them pretty thick) and cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle cookies with sugar (I skip the sugar when I am planning to frost them.)and bake in 375 degree F. oven for 10 minutes or until done. Makes 21 dozen cookies.

Butter Frosting
From The Better Homes & Garden Cookbook

6 Tablespoons butter
4 1/2 to 4 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In small mixer bowl beat butter till light and fluffy. Gradually add about half of the powdered sugar, beating well. Beat in the milk and the vanilla. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar, then additional milk, if necessary to make frosting of spreading consistency. Frosts tops and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layers. (or many sugar cookies)

My other favorite Valentine's treat is Chocolate Dipped Strawberries! Here's a quick way to make them, they are so fun and easy!

Karen's Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

2 pkgs Nestles Chocolate Chips, milk, semi-sweet, white (pick your favorite)
Fresh Strawberries

If you wash your strawberries you must dry them very thoroughly. Water ruins the chocolate. I do wash them but then I lay them out on a dish towel and use another dish towel to dry them. Leave the stems on.

Pour chocolate chips into a 4 cup glass measure. Melt in microwave on defrost or 50%power setting, do this very slowly, stirring about every 30 seconds until the chocolate starts to melt. When it is thoroughly melted and smooth, begin dipping the strawberries. Lay out on wax paper to set. I like to put a little melted white chocolate in a sandwich sized bag and drizzle over the dipped strawberries, it looks pretty!
Enjoy!