Ingredients
for the Vanilla Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
for the Strawberry Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red gel food coloring
for the Chocolate Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
You will also need: a heart cookie cutter and a small round (or another small heart) cookie cutter
Directions
Make all three cookie dough, one after the other. Vanilla: In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add in orange juice and vanilla. Finally, mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until smooth and well combined. Chill in refrigerator 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.
For the Strawberry, in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and egg until light and fluffy. Add in strawberry extract and food coloring. Finally, mix in the flour, baking powder and salt until smooth and well combined. Chill in refrigerator 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.
And for the chocolate, in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Finally, mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until smooth and well combined. Chill in refrigerator 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.
Preheat over to 400F. Prepare cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Make your hearts by alternating rolling out the different flavors of dough and cutting out hearts. Roll out to 1/3 inch thickness (be careful to get the surface even, otherwise you will have oddly-browned cookies. Also, do not roll the dough to thin, otherwise you will have hard cookies when they come out of the oven). From the hearts, cut out mini-hearts or rounds and swap with others to create a polka-dot or mini heart effect. When you take out a small cookie from a large one, you should just be able to slide into an opening on another, pat gently and when the cookies bake, they will fuse together again. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on wire rack.
