Valentine Sugar Cookies
 
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening or butter*
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl cream the shortening and the sugar. Add the eggs, extract, and milk. In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients with a wire whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl. Mix with mixer until well combined. With hands, shape dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll half or 1/3 dough at a time, keep the rest refrigerated. For crisp cookies, roll dough, paper thin. For softer cookies, roll 1/8 " to 1/4" thick. With floured cookie cutter, cut into heart shapes. Re-roll trimmings and cut. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake 8 minutes or until very light brown. With pancake turner, remove cookies to racks; cool. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

For a romantic touch - give cookies and two Heart Shaped Cookie cutters with a tag that simply says: "We're cut out for each other!"

Tea for Two

1 cups water 1/4 cup honey 1 cup apple juice 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

6 Celestial Seasonings Tea Bags

Bring water and juice to a boil. Stir in honey and cinnamon. Add the tea bags. Remove from heat. Let stand for one hour. Add 6 cups cold water Pour into glasses with ice. Sit back, sip and fall in love.

For a romantic touch - be sure to give two Tea Cups with a note that simply says: "We are the perfect TEAm!"

Valentine Very Cranberry Cocktail

2 pounds fresh cranberries

4 cups unsweetened apple juice (separate into 2 cups each) 3/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Wash cranberries, combine with only 2 cups apple juice and sugar in a large pot. Cook on high/medium high until cranberries pop..About 8 minutes. Put through a food mill. Add remaining ingredients and chill. Put this mixture into an electric freezer or a hand cranked one. Read the directions on your freezer for the time or crank till it freezes. Serve frozen mixture in champagne glasses.

More Romantic Touches paired with gifts:

"We're MINT to be Together" -- mints or Tic Tacs

"You are my LoveSaver" -- Life Savers

"I'll never WINE, because I have you!" -- bottle of wine

"There's no I in TEAm" -- ginseng tea packets

"I'm just NUTS about you!" -- chocolate covered cashews or peanuts

"Live and Learn, and then get HUGS" -- Hershey's Hugs chocolates

 
Trivia

World's 2nd Largest Box of Chocolates
For Valentine's Day 2000, a liqueur manufacturer created the world's largest box of chocolates. The heart-shaped box, assembled in New York City, measured 15 feet high by 15 feet wide and weighed some 1300 pounds. It held the record until November of 2002, when Marshall Fields broke the record with a 2,002 pound box of chocolates in Chicago.

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