Low Fat Valentine Cookies

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoon(s) butter softened
• 3/4 cup(s) coconut palm sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon(s) almond extract
• 1 2/3 cup(s) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 cup(s) confectioners sugar sifted
• Glaze
• 1 cup(s) confectioners sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) almond extract
• 1 tablespoon(s) skim milk
• 1 teaspoon(s) juice from defrosted dark sweet cherries
• pink sugar for decorating

Preparation

1. For cookie:
2. Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and almond extract, mixing well.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture into butter and sugar until dough forms. The dough may seem a little crumbly at first; but it will come together. Wrap dough in plastic and shape into a disk. Chill for two hours in the refrigerator.


4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle work surface and rolling pin with confectioners sugar. Turn out one half of dough onto it. Roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use heart-shaped cookie cutters dipped in confectioners sugar to make cutouts. Gather scraps and re-roll until all the dough is used. While the first batch are baking is a good time to repeat the rolling and cutting process with the second half of the dough.


5. Place cookies 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack after 1 minute to cool.


6. For glaze:
7. In a small bowl, mix together confectioners sugar, almond extract, and milk. In a small resealable bag put 2 tablespoons of white glass and set aside. Add cherry juice to the sugar mixture and if you want to make a darker pink add another teaspoon of juice. When cookies are fully cooled, frost and decorate as desired. Makes about 30 cookies, depending on the size of cookie cutters used. Enjoy!