Valentine’s Day Cookie Pops
January 31, 2017 By Cathy — 7 CommentsLooking for a sweet treat for your sweetheart? These Valentine’s Day cookie pops are silly, cute and say it all…”Olive Juice”!
Every day up until this past year I wrote a short note or drew a funny picture on a napkin and tucked it into my boys’ lunchboxes. An artist I am not, but they never seemed to mind. The drawings were no more than stick figures, the sayings silly, but I knew that my guys looked forward to their messages each day.
But I also knew that day would come when their sharpied-up napkins would become embarrassing instead of endearing. It was at the start of 5th grade when they each decided they had outgrown our little routine. With sheepish faces and a little stammer, they explained that while they loved their notes, they felt they had outgrown them. I understood and frankly, it bought me a few extra minutes in the morning (says their sentimental mom).
But every now and then, I find a way to sneak a little note in with their turkey sandwiches and apples. Of course, if it’s written on a cookie, there’s no way they can refuse. And what better holiday than Valentine’s Day for a little lunch-time sneak attack?
I baked up heart-shaped cookie pops and iced them with one of our favorite sayings…”Olive Juice”. If this funny little phrase isn’t on your radar, you can mouth the words to someone and it looks just like “I love you”. It’s my incognito way to show the boys a little lunchbox love without completely killing their swagger. And if I pack them each an extra cookie to share with their buddies, no one dares make fun.
It’s fun to show love mixed in with a little humor on Valentine’s Day. Last year I made these conversation heart cookies for my husband….definitely more sweet than heat, but this year I have a decadent and truly romantic dessert coming his way. Make sure you check back on Thursday when I’ll be sharing this recipe as part of a virtual Valentine’s Day party I’ll be celebrating with some seriously talented blogger pals. There will be plenty of chocolate, tons of red berries, as well as some sweet twists on V-day classics. If you have a sweet tooth, trust me, you do not want to miss. See you Thursday! (And speaking of sweets, how cute is my youngest modeling with his cookie below?)
- Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- Royal Icing
- 1 pound confectioners sugar - SIFTED
- ¼ cup meringue powder
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp clear vanilla
- Gel food coloring in red, black, green and yellow
- *3 inch heart cookie cutter
- **cookie or lollipop sticks
- Sugar Cookies: Sift flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and mix to combine.
- Add the flour in two batches, and blend until mixture just holds together.
- Add vanilla and mix to combine.
- Roll out between two sheets of wax paper and cut into hearts with a cookie cutter.
- Place cookie hearts on baking trays lined with parchment paper and press the cookie sticks into the cookie, about halfway up. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes before baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees until cookies are just golden, about 12 minutes.
- Royal Icing: Combine confectioners sugar, meringue powder and cream of tarter in large mixing bowl. Add water and clear vanilla and beat on high speed with paddle attachment until stiff peaks form, but mixture is not dry. Add water to reach desired piping consistency (tsp or two at a time), mixing after each addition of water.
- Separate icing into four different bowls (use ⅔ of the icing for white and divide the remaining icing between the other three bowls). Add drops of gel food coloring to reach desired color for black and red icing. For the olives, mix green and yellow coloring to achieve an olive shade. Keep in mind the color will deepen and darken as the icing dries.
- Fill piping bags fitted with round metal #2 tips for the white, red and olive and #1 tip for the black. I use the same consistency (flood) icing for the olive, white and red, but a slightly thicker consistency for the black icing as it's used to pipe letters.
- Flood the cookies with white icing and let dry until set, at least an hour. Pipe "Olive Juice" on the cookies, using an olive decoration for the "O". Outline the cookie in red icing.
- Let completed cookies dry for at least 12 hours before storing in air tight containers.
- Cookies will keep for several days stored at room temperature.
Oh my, these are so beyond cute. I was so not in the know on this one. Love it and I am sure you added some serious swag to your boys’ swagger.
Ha Cindy! It’s definitely one of those things…we actually say it more than the real “i love you”!
Such a sweet post Cathy! Your youngest is going to be a heartbreaker for sure! I’m thinking he won’t be sharing these with his buddies for too much longer! More like with the girls! You’ve outdone yourself once again with your cookie decorating!
Thanks so much Mary Ann. I had a great time decorating these ones and the boys loved gobbling them up. And I can only imagine the coming years when girls enter the picture. See ya mom!
Olive Juice. That’s genius. And if any of your sons’ friends somehow know about the ‘I love you’ deal, the son can then counter with that it’s not a secret I love you, it’s a sign of their mother’s love of dirty martinis. Or maybe it’s just my son…
Ha Julie! Think our son’s have similar moms! 😉
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