My mother-in-law is a wonderful baker. I believe her skills are passed down from her mother, who is also a wonderful baker. I am deliciously blessed to have married into a family where the women are immensely gifted in the kitchen. In college, my husband would receive care packages from his mother for different holidays. I believe his favorite was the Valentine’s cookies she had made since his childhood. She would carefully package and mail two different kinds of cookies each February.
When we began dating, she would also include a container of cookies for me - labeled with my name so he wouldn’t “accidentally” eat my share of the cookies. The adorable cookies were cut into heart shapes and decorated with two different frostings. The first was a classic sugar cookie with a pink American buttercream. The second was a recipe for “Cupid’s Cookies” she found in Parents Magazine in 1995. This shortening based cookie contains orange zest and is tinted pink from sugar crystals mixed into the dough. Its unique texture makes for a cookie that is slightly sweet and brightly complimented by the orange icing on top.
I’ll be honest in saying I was raised on classic cookies so I deeply enjoyed the sugar cookies. My mother-in-law probably doesn’t know that even though she went through great lengths to ensure she packaged each container with an equal amount of cookies, my husband and I traded for our favorites. I would give my husband all my cupid cookies in exchange for his sugar cookies. Even once we were married, she would either mail a box of cookies or come visit close to Valentine’s Day and hand deliver them. Eventually, I asked for the recipe to be able to make the cookies for a friend who could not have dairy. She graciously photocopied her original recipe with her notes, stains, and rating of “Terrific”.
This past weekend, we were at Granny’s house and my mother-in-law had brought a batch of freshly made cookies that she had baked with my girls. It was a full circle moment as I snapped a picture of Grandma teaching my girls how to use the back of a spoon to get the icing into a heart shape, while Granny stood and oversaw the process too. What a beautiful moment to be surrounded by women who love being in the kitchen.
Although I'm done teaching Valentine's classes for this year, I think I'll add Cupid's Cookies to my list of classes for next year. I know I'll love that one. Comment below if your child would love that class, too.
Here's a copy of the recipe in PDF format:
P.S. I also like them paired with my favorite Brownie Roll-Out Cookies.
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