Valentine's Day Cutout Pink Heart Cookies

I've said it before, baking is like therapy for me. And although I rarely eat what I bake, it gives me pleasure to do this for my kids and my family. And although the hubby and I are not huge Valentine's day fans, I try to make most "holidays" special for the kids.

This past weekend we got in the kitchen and we baked these pink heart cookies. I used my favorite sugar cookie dough recipe and just added a few drops of pastel pink food coloring.

I also made pink frosting because Valentine's and any excuse to make everything pink!

I'm thinking this year, the kids will hand out heart cookies on a stick to all their friends at school. Because homemade always wins in my book.

I've shared my sugar cookie recipe before, but just in case, here it is again.

Sugar Cookies Recipe3 cups all-purpose flour3/4 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup unsalted butter, softened1 cup sugar1 egg, beaten1 tablespoon milk*pink food coloring, optionalSift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time. Place your chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.Royal Icing3 cups powdered sugar2 egg whitesmilk*pink food coloring, optionalWhisk powdered sugar with egg whites. Add milk if needed to achieve desired consistency.