Happy May Day

If my mother lived in your neighborhood, you'd find some of these goodies on your doorstep today. She is such a great baker and thoughtful friend. Her sugar cookie recipe is in my February archives, if you get a craving. She uses Martha's suggestions for flooding cookies (the type of frosting that makes a nice, solid surface--the center of the daisies you see), but does her own thing with icing, sprinkles, sugars and gumdrops rolled out and cut into tiny little yummies. May always brought trips into the forrest to find the sweet little mayflowers, trilliums and wild geraniums. My parents have 240 acres in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Go ahead, label me a Jack Pine Savage. I loved my childhood. We had freedom to explore. Spring meant flowers, frogs, baseball, lambs, calves, chicks, ducklings and mud.

She is also an amazing seamstress. This little dress was for my niece D. I intended to make it for her as an Easter gift. I cut the pretty Amy Bulter fabric, but knew I wouldn't get it done. Bless Mom for taking the pieces and making it. Of course, she had it done in time for Easter.

Oh, I've been making around here, too. I just need to get some photos loaded. I'll have fun things to share next week--plus something fun for you to stitch, if you like.

Valentine Love--My Mom's Cookies

My mother is a baker.

She is many other things, but she loves to bake. I'm sure I've mentioned before that my son doesn't call her Grandma; he calls her Cookie. He was rolling cookies in sugar for her in his high chair before he was a year old. He made the connection--and she will forever be Cookie, to us. Holidays are full of her baked traditions. Here is her recipe for sugar cookies. It may be the recipe everyone uses, for all I know.

Sugar Cookies, by Cookie Schmidt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the following ingredients using a mixer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Sift the following into the creamed mixture:

2 cups flower

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Mix until incorporated

Make two balls of dough and refridgerate them for 15 minutes.

Roll out and cut your hearts (or any other shapes you love). My mom makes x and o shapes, too. I bake mine on silicone pads in jelly roll pans. My mom uses parchment paper on cookie sheets.

Bake each pan for 10 minutes. Let sit for two minutes once removed from oven and then transfer to a cooling rack. You may want to check them--sometimes ovens run hot and then they get brown and too crispy.

Just a little simple Valentine love--a heart in cookie goodness. I love these plain, but you can frost them up (and she does) with lovely colors, sugars and other candy decorations. I hope you love them, too.