Valentine's Day Cookies

or Soft Almond Sugar Cookie Cutouts by Molly Yeh

makes about 22 large (3" ish) cookies or 30 smaller (2" ish) ones

Ingredients

for the cookies:
3 1/2 c (448g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/3 c (150g) almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 c (226g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c (137g) granulated sugar
2/3 c (80g) powdered sugar
zest from 1/2 of a lemon, optional
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp almond extract

for the glaze:
2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
2 tb (40g) corn syrup
2-3 tb whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
pinch of kosher salt
food coloring
sprinkles

Directions

to make the cookies, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. add in the lemon zest if using and mix to combine. add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each, and then add the extracts.

add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until blended. at this point you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or up to two days, or you can get going on rolling out your dough and cutting out your cookies immediately. 

when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºf. line two baking sheets with parchment or a silicone mat and set aside. working with half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2” thick. cut out your shapes and then transfer to a baking sheet, 1" apart. re-roll scraps and cut out more shapes. bake until they’re just thinking about starting to turn brown, begin checking larger cookies for doneness at 12 minutes, and smaller cookies at 10 minutes. let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

to make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, almond extract, salt, and a few drops of food coloring until smooth. it should be very thick but just thin enough that when you lift up your spoon it falls off in smooth ribbons. if it’s too thick, add a couple more drops of milk, and if it’s too thin, add a few more spoonfuls of powdered sugar. spoon a couple of spoonfuls into a piping bag and snip off 1/4" tip. pipe around the borders of your cookies to make an outline. thin the remaining glaze out with another teaspoon or so of milk, until it's easily spreadable. fill in the outlines with the thinner glaze and top with sprinkles immediately before the glaze dries.

let dry and enjoy — these will keep at room temperature for a good few days, but you can also freeze them once the glaze is dry and they'll stay fresher longer