The Quest For My Mom's Perfect Valentine Cookie

Spoiler alert -- I haven't found it yet.

I do have my mother's heart-shaped cookie cutter, though. This one was part of a 4-piece "bridge" cookie cutter set, circa late 1950s. There was originally a diamond, a clover/club, and a spade to go with the heart. Somewhere along the line, the other 3 shapes were lost or given away. My mom played bridge with some neighbor ladies once a month or so when I was small. I recall her using the "bridge" cookie cutters to make finger sandwiches. And of course, she always used the heart cutter to make cookies for Valentine's Day. I have several heart-shaped cutters, but I particularly like this one for its scalloped edge.

My mother never iced sugar cookies, instead preferring to sprinkle before baking with colored sugar, nonpareils, or those little rod-shaped jimmies. (I've got that covered. I used pink sugar crystals.) Her cookies were buttery, crispy, and held the scalloped edge of the cutter. Here's my problem, I have no idea what recipe she used. 

I tried 2 recipes from her cookbooks so far and neither are it. The first recipe used a lot of flour. These are soft and cake-like sugar cookies that I make when planning on frosting afterward. The second recipe I tried was from her c. 1957 Better Homes & Gardens cookbook for Cooky-Jar Sugar Cookies. The recipe indicated that these were crispy. In comparing this second recipe to others that I found in cookbooks and online, the Cooky-Jar ones had a higher butter and sugar ratio to flour. I thought that would be a good start. 

Sugar tends to add crispness to cookies and also encourages spread. A recipe higher in flour tends to produce a cookie that is tender and cake-like. Butter tenderizes the dough and aids in spreads if in high enough amounts. I wanted the crispness from the sugar, the flavor and tenderness from the butter, yet still holding the cut-out shape when baking (so, reducing spread).

I did a little reading on cut-out cookies. In addition to the right ratio of ingredients, it seems that the best doughs rest in the fridge overnight before rolling and cutting. To help maintain the cut-out shape, pre-baked cut-outs should be placed on a baking sheet and chilled for about 15 minutes before popping into the oven. So, I made sure to take both of these steps.  I made the dough on Monday and chilled overnight. Then right after cutting out the shapes I chilled the baking tray and cookie cut-outs before baking. I do think those steps helped.

The cookies that held their shape the best were the re-rolls -- those rolled out from all of the leftover dough scraps, incorporating a little more flour than the initial dough. I think the BH & G recipe was close to what I remember from my childhood. The cookies were definitely crispy. They only partially retained the scalloped edge. But the flavor seemed to be lacking. I remember my mother's cookies tasting more buttery.

One thing I believe I did differently than my mother is I used all butter. My mother likely used half butter, half margarine. I don't know how that would have affected either the flavor or the spread.

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, so I don't think I'll be baking another batch of heart-shaped cookies. But I will be thinking how I can improve the flavor for the next time I make cut-out cookies.

My question to you, have you come across a recipe for a crispy sugar cookie that held its cut-out shape? Any ideas for improving the buttery flavor?

Health

I've had some time over the last week to think about health and how it can be both fragile and resilient. The fragility. I work hard at staying healthy. I try to do all the right things for my health. Still, one day I can be feeling great and then just a few short days later, something overtakes my body. 

Last week was one such week. Early in the week I felt energetic and was getting a lot done. By mid-week, I was feeling off, tired, and maybe like something was going on with my sinuses. Thursday afternoon I was in so much pain I wound up in an urgent care facility. I went from feeling on top of my game to what was the worst pain I've felt since childbirth in less than a week. I'm doing much better now (that's the resilience part). But it just amazed me how quickly things fell apart. I didn't even have a bad cold leading into this sinus infection.

I'm grateful for family members and friends who stepped in to assist this past week. As we were leaving the urgent care facility, we discovered our car's battery was dead. A friend from church came and gave us a jump, then followed us all the way home. My daughters and husband cooked and did everything for me so I could rest for a couple of days. My gratitude abounds.

I'm bouncing back. I'm getting back to cooking, cleaning, exercising, creating, and taking my turn to be there for my family members. I'm thankful that I got a head start on Valentine's planning before this past week. It wasn't by design, of course, which makes me all the more thankful. I'll be working on a couple of Valentine family favorites over the next couple of days. I hope your week is off to a great beginning!