Yeah.....it's FRIDAY!!!!!

Friday's are my favorite. For me it simply means the kids are all going to be home from school and we can play for two days......baking, playing games, watching movies together.

Yes, I have no life and my children are my playmates. It's been that way FOREVER.....and I wouldn't change a thing. I would rather hang out with my kids then go out parting like most of the world.

Don't get me wrong, not that long ago I was the life of the party. Having "shot time" was my all time favorite part of the weekend. Patrón and I were very good friends.

But then something happened. Somewhere along the way.........I GOT OLD!

Yeah Old!

Well old in my book anyway. Let's just say I'm not 21 anymore.

Although I like to think I 'm young, buying six inch heels......wonder how long I can wear those before I get too old and the only thing I can wear is tennis and ballet flats.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.......I just love my heels. Heels make everything better....in my book anyway. My mother-in-law bought me a picture for my wall that has a picture of a high heel and it reads......"My Best is Always Better in Heels". She always gets me the best gifts!

Well it's Friday and I've got something for you.....

I'm going to give you my sugar cookie recipe!

Surprise! Surprise!

This is the best cookie recipe.....In my opinion anyway.

Are you excited????? Ok here's what you'll need....

Roll Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 egg, room temperature and beaten

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

2 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1 tsp salt

1 tsp PURE vanilla

2 tsp Almond emulsion (you can use extract if you prefer)

Ingredients

You could use a hand mixer if you don't own a stand mixer.

I prefer my stand mixer.

This was one of the gifts my father bought me for my wedding.

It's my most cherished item.....other than my heels!

cream butter

Add powdered sugar and incorporate well

then I add the egg, salt, and extracts/emulsion

Then add the flour. I add this a little at a time.

Do not over mix. I just mix until incorporated.

The dough will be sticky. It does need to be refrigerated a few hours before using.

OR you can do like I do......

I put it in a large container and pop it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

After dough is refrigerated. Roll out on a floured surface and cut out cookie shapes.

Place on a lined cookie sheet and bake at 375˚ for 10-12 minutes.

**I pop my cookies in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking. I think this helps with spreading.

A few tips:

EVERY oven is different so times will vary
DO NOT brown cookies
I only use Madagascar Vanilla......it makes a huge difference.
You can use extract, I prefer emulsions. They give a stronger flavor.
All ingredients should be room temperature
ALWAYS pre heat your oven
Let cookies sit for a day before decorating. This will help with the oils bleeding through your icing and ruining all your hard work.
This cookie dough does not spread much at all.
This cookie recipe doubles well. I always double my recipe.
This cookie dough freezes well. If freezing for a period of time, I wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in a ziploc bag. Then I put the bag in a plastic container.

Enjoy~

Remember what it was like when you first fell in love? When everything was new and exciting.

Remember acting like little love birds. Always holding hands, kissing, using mushy love talk. Yeah, those were the days.

The days before you had to clean his hair out of the sink from his morning shave......before you had to pick up his dirty clothes off the floor.......and before you knew of all his disgusting habits. You remember the days before that right?

Those were the days......

Well my hubby and I are still like love birds.....and he doesn't have any disgusting habits.....he even picks up all his dirty clothes and puts them in the properly sorted laundry baskets.......

AHHHHH YEAH RIGHT!!!! Totally Fantasy.....but it's a good fantasy.

Well this fantasy got me thinking about cookies. Then again, everything has me thinking about cookies.

I bought this paisley cutter from Ecrandal right before Christmas and never got around to using it. I knew when I saw it, I was going to use it for quite a few things. Mainly I wanted it to make birds. So, when I started thinking of love birds I was so excited to use my new cutter.

First roll out your dough and cut out paisley shapes and a heart shapes.
Bake according to your recipe directions.

**TIP: If you want birds facing each other be sure to flip some of the paisley shapes BEFORE baking. Otherwise you have to decorate the back of the cookie. Which isn't the end of the world, but isn't how I wanted to do mine.

Using pink royal icing and a #2 tip, outline cookie.

With pink flood icing, fill entire cookie. Let dry overnight.

Outline heart cookie with red royal icing. I just used the bottle of flood icing. About 20 second consistency. I didn't feel like putting it in a bag :)

Then Fill with the red 20 second icing. Let dry overnight.

Add eyes. You could use black candy beads if you're not comfortable piping.

Then add a dab of royal icing and lay heart on top for wing. Be sure your hearts are completely dry to prevent sticking your finger in them like I did and making a dent.

Allow several hours for icing to dry under the wing.

Baking in Heels