A Comment about Valentine's Day

It's that time of year. Heart shaped boxes of chocolates. Red heart shaped lollipops. Those fun packages of cartoon Valentines Day cards: Spongebob or Sesame Street?

From a pastry perspective, it is definately one of those holidays that you take advantage of. A part of the package of the card and the flowers is something sweet, perhaps even "chocolatey."

I like to decorate cut-out cookies, and Valentine's Day is the first holiday of the year that cut-out cookies are perfect for. I specifically make my heart cookies look like those message heart candies.

In one bakery that I worked at, decorating cakes and cookies were a big part of my responsibilities. It can be pain-stakingly detailed work, but as long as you are organized and work cleanly, it is actually quite enjoyable. Your cookies are lined up in front of you in the shapes of hearts, Easter eggs, four leaf clovers, or maybe even some high-heeled shoes. You have your containers of royal icing, each one a different color. And of course, your piping bags, each one ready to be fulfill its purpose. One thing to note is that the more colors you have, the more time it takes to finish your project. Sometimes it feels like it increases exponentially. Latex gloves are also good to have unless you want your hands to be stained with bright red or deep blue.

I do not usually cover the cookie completely with royal icing, though sometime I have to take advantage of the canvas I have before me. As much fun as it is to decorate, the cookie is still the highlight. Use European-style butter if you can for basic butter cookies and it makes such a huge difference in flavor. Also, no imitation vanilla please!