I always seem to forget about Valentine’s Day until it’s only moments away, and then I realize I’ve done nothing about it. But I don’t like the sappy pink-and-red cards, boxes of not-very-good and overly sweet chocolates, and I can’t say I’m a fan of roses (peonies or poppies or dahlias, yes). I never attempt to get a reservation to eat out...too many sugar-coated menus, and besides, getting a babysitter is next to impossible.
It’s not that I’m not a romantic, but these days I prefer something more subtle. Dinner at home, maybe that my hubs made for me (!), a bottle of lovely sparkling wine, and a little something sweet. I’m happy to spend the day with my family, doing something fun like wandering along the coast, hanging out in the garden, or even just baking some sweet, heart-shaped cookies with my daughter.
We had a great time making these red velvet riffs. You can make them as big or small as you like, depending on the size of your heart-shaped cookie cutter. We slathered ours with ethereal cream cheese frosting and topped them off with red sparkle sugar, but you can leave the frosting off and simply dredge them in sparkle sugar before baking (I’d suggest white or red). Or get fancy and sandwich two together with cream cheese frosting in the middle (be sure to sandwich the bottoms together).
Make sure you chill the dough, to give it a chance to rest and to make it easier to roll out. The easiest way to roll it out is on a floured surface; just be sure to keep dusting it with flour so it doesn’t stick.

Recipe: Red Velvet Sugar Cookie Hearts with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 2 dozen cookies