Sugar Cookies

What do you think of when you hear the word 'Valentine's'? I think of sugar cookies. It is one of two times a year I make them. This is a time-consuming job because it requires making the dough and rolling it out, and then cutting it out, and then salvaging the leftover dough to roll it out again. You get the (flour) drift. So I usually save this activity for Christmas and Valentine's. It is a random activity, so I doubt my family even knows that is my M.O. They love the cookies, but there's no sense in raising their hopes by making it a regular occurence. This year, I scored big, by finding two cookie cutters at 50 cents each. I couldn't help myself. It sure beat crawling into our storage area and trying to find the other ones in my collection.

When the kids were small, I made an even of sugar cookies. I had a big collection of cookie cutters and let them cut out the cookies, while I tried to keep ahead of them by rolling, and rescuing the dough from going into their little mouths. It was a big job - usually a whole afternoon or evening. And then there was the icing. Another big job.

Now that they are grown up, it is still a big job, only in a different way. Tonight, I asked my #2 son to help me. He did it all. I was his assistant. Bringing out the ingredients. Putting them away again. Putting the pans in the oven. Taking the pans out. Putting them on the cooling racks.

He is very artistic, and quickly tired of cutting out the cookies with the cookie cutters. So he started making his own creations. I left him to it - not mentioning my master plan to give many of these cookies away in a little 'thank you package' for a gal at work. I can always go to Plan 'B'.

My husband stopped at two different places to find icing sugar for me. So all that's left is to ice them and squirrel away a few to put at the place settings for our annual Valentine's family dinner. Oh, and wipe the flour off my face.