Sweet Valentine's

Yesterday evening we had friends over to decorate Valentine's cookies--hearts and lips and other sweet nothings.  This is an activity I've picked up from one of my best friends.  Every Christmas and Valentine's Day her family bakes a crazy amount of sugar (and at Christmas, gingerbread) cookies to give out to neighbors, family and friends.  In high school, I remember sitting around their kitchen table and talking while painting plaid shirts on gingerbread men or etching lacy borders around hearts.  Each cookie was hand decorated . . . and some of them turned out a bit messy . . . But the decorating was always fun and the cookies turned out delicious (regardless of our icing talents). 

Since college, I've taken to baking the occasional batch of sugar cookies solely for the pleasure of decorating them.  Below are some photos from my latest cookie baking and decorating adventure.  I made a batch and a half of these cookies.  It was kind of a lot of cookies.  Fortunately, we had several friends to help us decorate them.

The dough.

Cookies and conversation

School Pride.

Hearts and Dragons?

Sugar Cookies in Technicolor.

Made from: sugar, butter, food coloring and love.

The color photos were taken this morning (from a selection of cookies left at our place).  I'm told most of the cookies have already been eaten . . . I hope everyone has a super sweet Valentine's Day!

xo.
Ally