Our Favorite Valentine Sugar Cookies (with Icing)

"Our" refers to Carrie and me--we both love this recipe and have been making it for years (like 10). The icing hardens enough for you to stack the cookies. This is a Valentine's Day ritual for us. These cookies can be hard or soft--if you take them out before they brown at all, they'll stay soft; they're equally good browned a touch and crispy!

Cookies

• 1 c. butter (or margarine)
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 c. flour
• 1/2 t. salt

Combine flour and salt and set aside. Cream butter, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla. Add remaining sugar and eggs and beat well. Continue to beat on low and add flour/salt. Chill thoroughly.

Roll out and cut as desired. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees.

Makes roughly 6 dozen, depending on size of cookie cutter!

Icing

• 3 c. powdered sugar (slightly less than a box)
• 1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 2 T. milk
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla

Blend powdered sugar and butter; add milk and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add food coloring while you have your beaters out. (You can move half out if you want both white and pink).

Ice cookies. If you want to add sprinkles, add before the icing hardens too much. This icing will harden enough for you to stack the cookies--but don't glob the icing on too thick or it will take a while. The cookies pictured have minimal icing; the others we did had LOTS of icing and sprinkles (guess which group iced those?).