I started my grand daughter baking these when she was 2. She could receit the recipe and did everything on her own but the oven part! And what a good job she did! So every Valentine's Day (and Christmas!) we have baking day to make these cut outs. They are THE BEST!! I don't know where I got the recipe from, but I have altered it some to accomodate better rolling and browning and texture. Give it a try! All you need is a heart shaped cookie cutter. I doubled the recipe so I could make about 3 dozen cookies larger cookies - you can easily half this recipe.

Sugar Cookie Cut-outs
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup shortening
2,1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
12 tsp milk
6 cups flour
3 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Thoroughly cream together butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla. It is important that you cream these ingredients until you can't "taste" or feel any of the sugar granuals. The dough will roll much smoother.
Sitr in milk, Sift together flour, baking powder,and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Chill 1 hour

On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/4" thickness. (don't roll to thin!) Cut in desired shapes. Bake on GREASED* cookie sheet at 375* for 6-8 minutes (depending on the sizs of your shaped cookie, this could vary, but start with 6-8 minutes. You can always add a minute, but you don't want them to burn.)
Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on cooling rack. Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies - depending on the size of the actual cookie cut out.
Decorate as desired with colored icing.

* Greased cookie sheet is fine, but I prefer parchment paper - it is a fantastic help - never a burned cookie and always the perfect cookie! And it is very inexpensive. you can use one sheet for several sheets of cookies! I highly recommend parchment paper!

Decorating tips: I come from a line of cake decorators and do the tube piping and all that, but if you don't, just ice the cookie with colored icing and use sprinkles, or any other candy -the icing is "glue". Use candys like red hots, M&M's, nuts, coconut (makes a great beard!), Nerds, pretty much any candy will make a great embellishment!
Make sandwich cookies - icing between 2 hearts!

Tip: After years of working this recipe, I have found these two things to be "life savers" with this and most any other cookie baking.
1. Don't not use dark cookie sheets. They make your cookies burn on the bottom. Use light colored sheets, I prefer the air-bake style with the air holes in the bottom.
2. Those work great, but what works even better is parchment paper. Just cut a length the size of the cookie sheet and place it on the cookie sheet and your cookies on top of that. Makes for the perfect cookie bottom.

Baking has always been my favorite thing to do! I'd love to be able to say "Martha Stewart ...Move over", but alias, she is the best at what she does so I will just learn all that she has to teach me! And I admit, while I bake, I do pretend to be doing a cooking show...that is now that my grand daughter is my "audience". Maybe she will be The Next Food Network Star! Baking with the little ones is so much fun!

So, with the holidays coming up, I am planning the baking
baking days for us! Now, my grand daughter, Kellie, she is a picky eater. So things have to be presented to her in interesting ways so that she doesn't know she is eating something she thinks she doesn't like! It's all in the Title and Presentation!

But with the fun things, I don't care if she eats them or not - it's fun to do and I'll eat what she doesn't - so we just have fun all the way around!

The first baking day we have I am going to have her bake Gum Drop Bread. Yes, gum drops IN the bread! Holy guacamole! What's better than that! Healthy bread, garnished with gum drops! And it looks amazing! And this bread is quick and easy!

I don't remember where I got this recipe - it has been in my personal "family cookbook" that I have been collecting favorite recipes for years, but kudos to the creator! It has brought lots of fun memories and great taste to my family!

Gum Drop Bread

3 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
3,1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1,1/2 cups milk
2 Tbls oil
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup snipped gumdrops (cut gum drops in half or if larger, cut in 1/3's)

Sift together flour, sugar, baking power and salt. Combine egg, milk, oil, nuts and gumdrops. Add to dry ingredients mixing just until combined.

Pour into GREASED AND FLOURED 9x5x3 inch baking pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour or until donw (toothpick test) Remove from pan, cool on rack. Makes 1 loaf

This is an amazing recipe! First, it is a quick and easy recipe for a wonderful, flavorful cookie. Add to that, it came from my daughter and you know you have a winner!

Why is it a winner if it came from my daughter? Well, at 28 years old, my daughter doesn't cook. Period. Hard as I tried to teach her when she was growing up, cooking and baking were just not something that she had the slightest inclination to learn. Never could figure that out as most edible items in my house was homemade. But, everyone is different so I at least didn't think it was all my fault when my son took to the cooking part and enjoyed cooking with me.

So when my daughter brought these cookies to my house (something that is never done as everyone knows the baked goods are already here!) and I tasted them, I knew this recipe was a winner. My "no-bake/cook" daughter, got a recipe, made the cookies and brought them to me for my approval. No room for anything but greatness in that equation! This is also a great way to use up extra candy canes before and after Christmas ... or the perfect excuse to buy more candy canes!

And now a days they have a variety of colored and flavored candy canes so one recipe gives you multitude of cookies!

Peppermint Squares

6 squares (1 oz each) white chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (she used regular and it was great!)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 egg whites
2 Tbls milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup crushed candy canes (4-6)(or any variety of flavor or color)

1. Heat over to 350*. Line two 8x8" baking pans with nonstick foil
2. Melt 2 square white baking chocolate in microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. If needed, continue to melt in 15-second increments. Cool slightly.

3. Beat together butter and sugar, about 1 minutes. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla. Beat another minute. Add egg whites and milk, beating constantly. On low speed, beat in flour and salt. Fold in 1/4 cup of the crushed candy canes. Spread dough evenly between prepared pans (about 1,1/4 cups dough per pan) smoothing tops.

4. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until to pis dry. use foil to lift bars from pans. Cool on wire racks.

5. Melt remaining 4 squares of white chocolate as directed above. Spread half the chocolate onto the top of 1 cookie square. Top with second cookie square. Spread with remaining chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup crushed candy canes. Cut into 1 inch squares. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Biscuits. Such a simple word for such a multi-tasking, team playing item! Whether homemade or canned, biscuits can be a wonderful part of your meal; whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner, dessert or even snack time, biscuits have a life of their own - you just have to let them live it! You can be feeding one or a dozen, and biscuits can pull it all together for you! You just have to make them work for you! Whether a tube of store bought biscuits or your favorite handmade recipe, no kitchen should be without biscuits. And let's not forget that biscuits are a fantastic money saving addition to any meal - if you just let them be all they can be!

Most common use for a biscuit is just as the bread part of a meal, but why be so boring about it? If baking them for breakfast, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar! Usually, we cut the biscuit open for breakfast and add jelly and that's the biscuits life...BORING!!!! Why not stick a slice of cheese in there for a neat little breakfast grilled cheese sandwich? At lunch time, cut in half and add a slice of cheese, a slice of meat and some mustard? And for dinner, sprinkle some herbs or garlic on top of the buiscuit before you bake it. Just adding that little extra flavor, enhances the biscuit to be more than just bread! Or how about the dumplings part of Chicken and Dumplings! And how about dessert? Use biscuits as shortbread and make a strawberry shortcake!

Here's a few of the ways I use biscuits:

Secret Dogs: This is my 7 year old grand daughter's favorite! She loves to make them herself. Take a biscuit and roll it out to about 1/4" thick oblong size. Take a regular hot dog and cut it in half. Place the piece of hot dog to the edge of the biscuit. Pull the edge of the biscuit up over the dog and start rolling the dog in the biscuit dough. With wet finger tips, secure the edges of the biscuit closed. Place seam side down on baking sheet. Bake at 350* until golden brown. Once done, dip in any condiment you like! These are also great for a finger food at a party or just a snack food on movie night! Variation: Slice the hot dog open and insert a little slice of cheese, then roll it up - instant cheese dogs! Add some chili and you got it made!

Mini Burgers: Again, trying to work with my grand daughters picky eating habits, I just bake the biscuits as usual (don't let them touch each other when baking or they rise to much and make a round biscuit instead of a bun style). Then I take a log of hamburger, cut slices of the burger meat about 1/2" thick. Cook the mini burgers, and then add a slice of cheese, pickle and a condiment and you have fantastic Mini Burgers! Most kids love eating little fun things instead of a huge "grown up" meal! These are great for kid's partys, family get-togethers, or other time you might need a couple bits of a finger food! I also assemble the burger with cheese and then seal them in plastic and aluminum foil and freeze them. When my Grand daughter comes over, I just pop them in the microwave for 35 seconds and lunch is ready!

Pizza Crusts: Roll the biscuit out into a large circle - thick as you like your pizza crusts. Bake at 350* until slightly golden brown. Add sauce and topping and return to oven. I always use a toaster oven. When cheese is melted, your pizza is ready! These are great for a kid's party where the kids can make their own pizza or again, movie night!

Cheese Logs: Take one biscuit and roll it into a long roll. Roll them as long and thin as you like! Roll them in parmesan cheese. Bake at 350* until golden brown. Remember: The longer and thinner you roll them, the less baking time they need so watch your baking! When done, cool to just warm and serve with your favorite Italian meal or dip in pizza sauce or just some fun salad sticks!

Italian Bread: Flatten each biscuit with your hand - just a little smash, not completely flattened and brush with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil or any oil you have on hand!) and sprinkle with italian spices. Bake at 350* until golden brown.

And let's not forget ganrishment uses! A Shepard's Pie usually uses mashed potatoes for the topping. Instead, cut each biscuit into fourth's and make a nice layer of these little "biscuits" on the top of the meat/vegetable mixture in the bowl. Brown as you would if using the mashed potatoes! Same theory if making pot pies . Instead of a pie crust, use the little biscuits to make the top crust. What a pretty addition to the dish they wll be!

And then there's decoration uses: Place each biscuit on the baking sheet, and using a knife, cut the biscuit in half, then turn and do in half again, making an + in the center of the dough. Leave as is and as they rise, they will bake with a nice decorative + on top! Or, using your thumb, press down in the center of the biscuit dough. Fill with Jelly and bake!

A biscuit can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner. So many uses for such a simple item! No matter your meal, biscuits can fit in some how, some way. Just use your imagination and see what you come up with!

Tip: To make biscuits, you place them with edges touching so that they rise. To make crusts or logs or so that they dont rise, leave space between them. If they have nothing to hold on to to rise, they won't rise.