SUZIE SWEET TOOTH

It’s that time of year again- the one day when there is extra love in the air.

You ready? That’s what I thought- you’re so not ready. Some of you are REALLY ready. You know who you are. Just remember- the most important thing is to love yourself. When you can do that, everything else will work itself out.

When in doubt- just eat a good cookie. Treat yourself. Buy a gift for yourself. You have my permission.

Since citrus season is current, I used fresh lemon, orange, and lime zest in these cookies. Even if you just use lemon zest these are delicious. I used wildflower honey in my recipe. I also added a wee bit of lemon extract in my royal icing. Not much- just a touch.

You can choose to cut out your cookies a little thicker or thinner; whichever you prefer. I made some mini cookies and for those I made them 1 cm. thick

Enjoy~

Honey – Citrus Cut Out Cookies

1 Cup unsalted butter, softened

6 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

1/3 Cup honey

1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. lime zest

1 tsp. orange zest

2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the honey in a slow stream and mix until combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and the lemon, lime, and orange zest, and mix. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl with a fork. Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour in two additions and mix until combined. Remove the dough from the bowl and press into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, or even better- right on top of a Silpat baking liner and then once you place your cutter over the dough you can remove the scraps and bake right on the liner. Cut into heart shapes with a heart shaped cutter. My thicker cookies I made 1 cm., while my thinner versions were 1.5 cm thick. Reroll scrapes until all the dough is used. Bake cookies in a preheated 350° F oven one tray at a time for approximately 14 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Allow cookies to cool completely. Once cooled. Top with colored royal icing. You can make royal icing from a mix where literally all you have to do is add water and mix until stiff consistency. Once your icing is stiff thin it out using a bit of water until you reach what is called 10 second icing. Meaning- once you drag a knife through the top of the icing the icing should close within 10 seconds. Keep adding TINY bits of water until your icing closes within 10 seconds after dragging the knife over the top. Separate your icing into small bowls and color using gel food coloring to reach your desired shade. You can pipe your icing and fill all at the same time. Allow the icing to dry and harden. Depending on where you live- it might take more time if it’s humid. Decorate with a stencil or hand write using edible marker. I found these cute stencils on Amazon and used a red edible marker (you can find them typically in cake decorating shops, Michael’s or even Walmart usually). You simply place the stencil over the dry cookie and write over the stencil with the red edible marker.

I used the Global Sugar Art brand of royal icing mix.

Happy Valentines Day