Being the proprietress of one of New Orleans favorite restaurants, it's only fitting that Princess Tiana would serve an extra sweet treat on Valentine's Day. These heart-shaped sandwich cookies, filled with frosting and topped with sparkly pink sugar, are sure to please anybody's prince charming - even if he happens to be a frog.
by Cindy Littlefield
What you'll need
- Batch of sugar cookie dough, homemade or store-bought*
- Rolling pin, spatula, and cooling rack
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter (a 2 1/4-inch-wide cutter works well)
- Pink colored sugar
- White or pink cookie icing
- Butter knife
- A few pieces of pink taffy or pink Star Burst candies
- Waxed paper
- Kitchen scissors or a kitchen knife
Notes:
* Note: if you're using store-bought dough, you may have to add some flour to stiffen it so the cookies will hold their shape while baking.
How to make it
- Roll out the cookie dough and cut out an even number of heart-shaped cookies. Sprinkle half of the cookies with colored sugar. Bake the cookies according to the recipe or package directions.
- Transfer the baked cookies to a rack to cool.
- Turn one of the plain cookies upside down so that the flat bottom faces up. Spread on cookie icing and then set one of the sugar-topped cookies down on top of it. Repeat this step until you've assembled all of the sandwich cookies.
- Now it's time to crown off the cookies with Tiana's special valentine emblem. Use the rolling pin to roll the taffy or Star Burst candies between waxed paper until it is very thin. (If the candy is too hard to roll, you can soften it in the microwave for 4 to 5 seconds.) Then use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut out a small candy crown for each cookie (a parent's job).
- Top each cookie with a candy crown, using a small dab of cookie icing to hold it in place.
