Conversation Heart Cookies

These Conversation Heart Cookies are for my daughter and niece to hand out to their classmates and besides being cute, they are quick and easy to make.

All I did was outline and fill heart shaped cookies and then use an edible ink marker to add the writing. Really, the most difficult part of the whole process was mixing the colors.

So to help with that, here's the link to my previous post on coloring tips. The most important thing really is to remember to take your time and add just a touch of coloring at a time. Be patient. It's easy to add coloring but practically impossible to take it away.

Here are the colorings I used to get these classic Conversation Heart colors:

Lavender = AmeriColor Purple + AmeriColor Violet

 Yellow = AmeriColor Electric Yellow

Pink = Wilton Rose

And here's how I decorated the cookies:

Outline and immediately fill the cookies with flood consistency icing. Use a skewer or scribe tool to evenly distribute the icing and give the cookie a gentle shake to help the icing settle.

Keep working one cookie at a time and once they are all filled, set the cookies aside to dry completely. This took 10 hours for me but it depends on the humidity. The cookies must be completely dry before you add the writing or the pen will break through the icing. Patience is key!

Once the cookies are dry, use an edible ink marker to write on the cookies. I used AmeriColor pink for the yellow hearts and AmeriColor red for the lavender and pink hearts. After the ink dried, I brushed on some powdered sugar to help soften the color of the pen ink. This isn't a necessary step but I though it improved the look of the cookies.

Oregon Cookies

Our family is hosting a 14-year-old Japanese student named Mizuho for a few days so I thought she might like to bake and decorate cookies with me.  She told me she had never baked or decorated cookies before.

So on Saturday evening we made a double batch of Oregon sugar cookies for her to bring home to share with her family and friends. I found my Oregon cutter at a local shop called Kitchen Kaboodle.

It was hard to believe it was Mizuho's first time decorating cookies and using a pastry bag, she did such a wonderful job.  She had a steady hand and worked patiently and carefully.

Mizuho outlining the cookies with white royal icing.

We used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to press an indentation into the cookie before baking which made adding the green royal icing heart in the center so much easier.

To make these you just outline the cookie and heart with white royal icing and fill this outside area with white royal icing. Then you flood the heart with green icing and that's all there is to it.

Let the cookies dry completely before serving or packaging.

Here are the recipes:

Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Makes about 4 dozen 2-inch cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until blended, then beat on high speed until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and beat until well blended. Add flour and salt; beat on low speed until combined, then on medium speed until well blended. Divide dough into two equal portions. Place dough between sheets of plastic wrap. Press evenly into a disk and chill until dough is firm, at least 20 minutes. Working with one portion of dough at a time (keep remaining chilled), peel off plastic wrap and roll on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured cutters and transfer onto bare baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees (325 for convection) for 7 to 9 minutes or until firm to the touch and slightly darker brown around edges. Cool on wire racks.

Royal Icing
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Food coloring

In a large bowl combine meringue powder, water and lemon juice and stir until meringue powder is dissolved. Add powdered sugar and with an electric mixer on low speed, beat until evenly moistened. Then beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Divide and tint as desired and add water a teaspoon at a time to get desired consistency.