Love Heart Cookie Puzzle Recipes

COOKIE PUZZLES

Steps:

• Roll out sugar-cookie dough to 1/4 inch thick on floured parchment paper; trim into a rectangle. Slide onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F until golden, about 12 minutes. While the cookie is still warm, cut into quarters with a paring knife, then cut each quarter into puzzle pieces. Cool completely before separating. To decorate, mix 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons water; brush on the cookies and sprinkle with colored sugar.

VALENTINE CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with Reynolds® Parchment Paper.
• Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough about 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
• Roll half the dough at a time between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch heart-shape cookie cutter, cut out cookie shapes, re rolling dough as needed until all the dough is cut out. Place shapes 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very light brown. Transfer the parchment paper with baked cookies to wire racks and let cool. Once cooled, slide the parchment paper onto a work surface.
• Tint frosting as desired with food coloring. Frost cookies with one color and use another color to pipe a message over the frosted cookies.

PUZZLE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl knead flour into sugar cookie dough.
• Divide dough into 6 (or more) portions.
• On an ungreased cookie sheet, roll each portion into a 5-inch square.
• Press a well-floured 3- to 4-inch Halloween cookie cutter into the square (use smaller cutters, if desired).
• Carefully remove cookie cutter without removing dough.
• Using a table knife, cut outside portion of square into large puzzle pieces.
• In a small mixing bowl beat egg yolks and water.
• Divide mixture among 3 or 4 small bowls.
• In each bowl, add 2 to 3 drops of liquid food coloring or desired amount of paste food coloring in desired color; mix well.
• Brush dough puzzle pieces with different colors of egg yolk mixture.
• Apply to cookie dough with small clean paintbrush.
• If mixture thickens while standing, stir in water, one drop at a time.
• Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until bottoms of cookies just start to brown and centers are set.
• While still warm, carefully recut pieces with the knife.
• Trim edges as needed.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely.

PUZZLE COOKIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper. Beat to combine. Add eggs, and beat to combine, then beat in molasses. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture, and beat to combine. Divide dough in half, and shape into flattened disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpats. Generously flour a large piece of parchment, and roll one piece of dough out on the parchment into a 1/8-inch-thick rectangle, about 14 by 10 inches. Transfer to the freezer to chill for 15 minutes. Repeat rolling and chilling process with the remaining piece of dough.
• Remove one piece of dough from freezer. Using a large owl cookie cutter or our template, cut out a cookie and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Using a 3/4-inch cookie cutter cut out eyes from scraps. Using the small end of a 1/2-inch round pastry tip, cut out center of each eye, creating rings. Place on cookie. Return cookie to freezer to chill, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. The scraps can be rerolled once.
• Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, cut cookies into desired puzzle shapes. Leaving intact, transfer baking sheets to wire racks until cool.
• Divide royal icing among four bowls, and tint one batch black, one yellow, and one blue; leave one white. Decorate cooled cookies with royal icing using the #1, #3, and #4 round Ateco tips. Separate the puzzle pieces once the cookies are decorated, but before the icing hardens.

CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. With mixer running, add egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just incorporated. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into a disk, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in top third and lower third. Let 1 disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to just under 1/4-inch thickness, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from sticking. Cut out cookies with a 2-inch heart cutter, and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll out scraps once, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Freeze cookies until very firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through and switching from top to bottom, until edges turn golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.
• Divide royal icing into 1/2-cup portions in small bowls. Tint each with a different gel-paste food coloring, starting with just a drop, mixing well, and adding more, drop by drop, to reach desired shade. Transfer 1 bowl of icing to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round plain tip. Pipe the outline around edge of each cookie, then fill in with frosting. Poke air bubbles with a toothpick. Transfer decorated cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and let stand uncovered overnight until dry.
• Arrange stamp letters to create desired phrases. (We stamped LUV U, UR A QT, BFF, LYLAS, B MINE, and 2GTBT.) Fold a paper towel into quarters. Squeeze a small amount of red gel-paste food coloring onto a paper towel, and press stamp in coloring. (You may need to blot stamp a few times on a clean paper towel if coloring is too thick.) Lightly press stamp on top of icing in center of each cookie. Let stand until dry, about 30 minutes. Stamped cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.