Wishing you all an early happy Valentine’s day! I know there are some people out there who aren’t the biggest fan of this holiday, but I happen to enjoy it…mainly for one reason. It is conversation heart season. Conversation heart candies are like my crack. I really shouldn’t like them since they are basically just sugar and chalk. But each year I find myself buying a bag (okay maybe two or three bags) and eating them all.
This year I was particularly gluttonous. I was shopping around at World Market and stumbled across a 30 some oz bag. I bought it, thinking it would last me till valentine’s day. Hah. That was in mid January. I have since gone through NO JOKE three of those 30 some oz bags. That is roughly 12 lbs of candy hearts. And I didn’t share one. I’m actually really ashamed of this fact. Today I went grocery shopping and the “bargain buy” end cap right by the check out taunted me with the prospect of another 30 oz bag for a mere $4.00. I had to tell myself that these were shameful thoughts and forced myself to push my cart as close to the lady in front of me so they were out of my line of sight.
I made it out of the store conversation heart free…but the sugar addict deep inside allowed such blasphemy because it knew I had a different form of conversation hearts waiting for me at home. Sugar cookie conversation hearts.
My grandmother had a delicious sugar cookie recipe that was and still is a family classic. We usually make a boatload of these cookies during Christmas for all of the family celebrations. My sister has a tradition of making Halloween themed sugar cookies, always very creative and spooky! We have even made them for the 4th of July. A few years back I decided to make some for Valentine’s day. I made the usual sugar cookies and frosted them all the different pastel colors, then hand piped different phrases. It was an awful lot of work and I felt they looked a bit messy. Ever since I have been trying to find a way to recreate these cookies, but in a way that looked more polished.
One of my favorite things (which is an indication that I am a hardcore foodie addict) is getting brand new kitchen and cooking magazines in the mail. Sur La Table had these fancy heart cookie cutters with raised valentine messages on the backs. I knew these were the ticket to my polished sugar cookie conversation hearts. Finally got the try them out over the weekend. They worked brilliantly. I thought to save myself the trouble of hand frosting all the colors I would try coloring the dough. I also recently bought a 12 pack of Americolor food gel. I have to say I don’t think I will be going back to Wilton food gels. The Americolor gels produced more vibrant colors, truer pinks, redder reds, and a beautiful violet that didn’t look dingy or grey.
Anyways, enough of my ramblings…you came here for the photos, right? Enjoy!
Charlene Champion Photography 
Wow!!! I’ve never seen such brightly colored cookie dough all balled up into a flower! I like the drawing contrast of purple dough, dark letters, & heart outline. What fun, an eye teasing deep dish of pastel sprinkles! Such immaculate work, dipping sprinkles, and piping letters all clean , fancy, & white. Happiness is a cookie sheet full of Charlene’s conversation heart cookies! Happy early Valentine’s Day to you too, Charlene!