You make my heart flutter!

    When I decided to make these cut-out cookies, I was planning on making valentine's day EKG cookies... I was going to use 2 different patterns- atrial flutter (you make my heart flutter) and PVCs or 2nd degree heart block (you make my heart skip a beat). If you frost the cookies with royal icing, you can make a smooth surface that you can write directly on with food-safe markers. However, I don't have any of these markers and I didn't have time to search for them this week. I'll post a picture if I end up finding some before the end of the week! I have to say, though, the ones I decorated with just icing are probably prettier than the EKG patterns would have been.
    I found this cutout recipe on epicurious.com (it's from Bon Appetit magazine), and I have to say, it was delicious. I'm usually not a cut-out fan but they are so buttery and dense, they almost taste like shortbread cookies (I never said they were healthy!) and the orange and cardamom add a subtle spice. The recipe recommended decorating them with raw sugar before baking, but I chose to ice them with royal icing instead. They don't really need anything added to them, so icing isn't that important, but it does make them look prettier. I also baked them for about 5 minutes less than the recipe called for- I like my cookies more lightly baked (not brown).

Orange-Cardamom Cutouts

-1 1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
-1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
-1 medium egg
-1 3/4 tsps finely grated orange peel
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 1/2 c flour
-1 1/4 tsps ground cardamom
-1/2 tsp salt
-parchment paper

Royal Icing

-2 Tb meringue powder
-1/4 c water
-2 c sifted powdered sugar (use less if you don't have a sifter)
-1/2 tsp vanilla

For the cookies:
-Cream butter by hand or with a mixer until fluffy, add sugar and continue to mix until it is encorporated.
-Add egg, vanilla and orange zest and continue to beat until it is well mixed.
-Mix the cardamom, flour and salt together. Add the flour to the butter mixture about 1/2 c at a time and stop mixing as soon as all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Finished cookie dough

-Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a round disk and wrap it in plastic wrap. The dough needs to be chilled for at least 1 hour before rolling out, but you can leave it in the fridge overnight (as I did) and then set it out about 15 minutes before you want to use it.

 -Preheat the oven to 350 before you start rolling out the cookie dough.
-Roll the first disk of dough out to about 1/8 of an inch on a lightly floured surface. If it is very difficult to roll out, give it another minute or two to warm up.
-Flour your cookie cutters so they don't stick to the dough, and cut out the cookies. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. If your oven isn't preheated yet when you finish your first sheet, just put the whole thing in the fridge until it's ready.
-Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies you're making. Let the cookies cool slightly on the cookie sheet before transferring to the cooling rack.
-When you're done with the first disk of dough, you can reshape the extra into a disk and pop it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before rolling it out again. Repeat with the second disk.
-Allow cookies to cool completely before icing.

For the icing:
-Mix the meringue powder and water and whisk by hand or with a mixer until it forms soft peaks (as egg whites do- to check this, lift the whisk or mixer attachment out of the bowl and see if the mixture stands up on it's own in a "peak").
-Mix in the powdered sugar until it is well mixed and the icing has the right consistency (should be a little more watery than typical buttercream icing).
-Add in vanilla, and food coloring (if you want multiple colors, divide it into small bowls and and color each individually).
-put the icing into ziploc bags and cut a small hole in the corner to pipe.
-To ice the cookies, outline the cookie first, then fill in the center and spread lightly with a butterknife or spatula. Then, shake the cookie lightly from side to side to evenly distribute it. If this work easily, the icing is probably too stiff and you need to add a little more water.
-To create patterns, you can draw lines or dots with contrasting colors and drag a toothpick or spatula through the layers to create a marbling effect.