February 12, 2016

Valentine's Day Cut-Out Sugar Cookies


It's been awhile since my last blog post. Nearly three months! Yikes.

Basically what happened was my computer decided to poop out and between getting a new one and getting all my files, setting up my programs etc etc... I just wasn't taking photos. Fast forward to now, I've got my Lightroom and Photoshop CS6 up and running (I refuse to pay Adobe's monthly subscription) and everything got backed up all proper. Excite! 

So on to the cookies. I have a super adorable cousin named Katie and we've been spending some time together 'cause her family's awesome. As Valentine's Day is coming up, I just had to whip up a batch of sugar cookies decorated with royal frosting for the occasion.
I used my go to low fat recipe, which is a total winner.

The dough was super easy to put together- so much so, that I forgot to snap a few photos to show you the steps! You can flavour them with whichever extracts strike your fancy, but I settled on classic vanilla bean. I ended up using cookie cutters in the shapes of a West Highland Terrier, a hippopotamus and a large heart. Those were the only ones I could find!




The frosting is an adaptation of your classic egg white and confectioners sugar mix. Truth is, I ran out of confectioners sugar. Womp womp. No problem. Regular granulated sugar in a grinder + pasteurized egg white on a double boiler and it was game on.  This resulted in a texture that was a little marshmallow-y and takes longer to dry. Fortunately, marshmallows taste amazing and these don't end up tooth breaking-ly hard.


Here's my first cookie. Kind of...unique....aka. hideous.
Rustic is in, right? Riiiiighhht??


...aaaaand it didn't get much better from there. 


I liked the colour combos though! It reminded me a lot of Barbie. 


Little eyeless Westies with hearts on their rump. 


Using almost all the colours, hearts, dots and two toned piping. I liked this one a lot. 


Cookie decorating is messy. I could only find one small round piping tip, so I had to keep on changing between colours via another (empty) piping bag. 


Ya, total favourite of the bunch.


How could I not! White polka dots and practicing my piping skills in cursive.


Well, that was fun. I think I'll slowly ease back into blogging. I shot a family photo session a couple weeks back and doing the whole post processing...proccesss made me realize how much I really missed it! As promised, the recipe for the cookies.


Low Fat Sugar Cookies 
(Adapted from Amy's Healthy Baking)
1 ¼ c----------AP Flour
1 teaspoon---Cornstarch
¼ teaspoon--Baking powder
1/8 tsp--------Salt 

  • In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together, sifting once. 

  • 2 tablespoon Butter (salted, melted, cooled)
    1---------------Large Egg
    1 teaspoon---Vanilla extract (or flavour of your choice)
    ½ teaspoon--Butter extract
    ½ cup--------Granulated sugar

  • In another larger bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk thoroughly.
  • Pour the dry mixture into the wet and using a wooden spoon, stir until a dough ball forms.
  • Dump the dough on to a large sheet of plastic wrap, form it into a square disc about an inch thick and refrigerate for at least an hour.


  • To bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F convection)
  • Roll dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap. Dough should be about 1/8” thick. (Tip: Dipping your cookie cutter in flour will help with sticking and getting a clean cut.) 
  • Place cut outs on parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.
  • Once they're cooked, allow to settle on the pan for 3 minutes then remove them to a cooling rack. Use your favourite royal icing recipe or glaze to decorate. Or eat them plain!



  • Happy Baking!

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    Hi, I'm Janetta from Toronto. I cook, bake and often veganize recipes. I photograph nearly everything and those photos will most likely end up being posted here. I've got a little black cat named Tank, who's really cute and a little bit nosy. You'll see a lot of photos of her too!

    Contact me at: jubesandtank@gmail.com

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