Iced Ginger Hearts Valentine's Day Cookies

Iced Ginger Heart Valentine's Day Cookies are a great way to bring your love of gingerbread beyond the typical holiday season. Iced Ginger Heart Valentine's Day Cookies are so delicious family and friends will come back for more than just one. These cookies also make a unique Valentine to pass out to friends. They can easily be written on with catchy sayings such as "Be Mine", or even personalized with the names of your friends and put into decorative clear cellophane bags. Bake up a batch this Valentine's day and watch people's faces light up when they take a bite.

Ingredients for the Ginger Hearts Valentine's Day Cookie Dough:

4 Cups all purpose flour

2 ½ Tablespoons dried ground Ginger

4 Tablespoons ground Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg

¼ Teaspoon ground Cloves

1 Teaspoon Baking powder

1 Teaspoon Baking soda

2 Sticks unsalted room temperature Butter

1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

¾ Cup unsulfured Molasses

Instructions for the Ginger Hearts Valentine's Day Cookie Dough:

Combine all of the dry ingredients except for the brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Once the butter and sugar are smooth then add one egg to the mixture at a time, and combine. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, and beat until combined. Add the molasses, beat into the dough, and scrape the bowl. Complete the dough by adding the final half of the flour mixture to the wet dough and making sure it all gets well mixed.

The dough then must be refrigerated for at minimum two hours. Divide the ginger dough into three sections and press each section of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap to about a half an inch in thickness. Place the discs of dough that are now well wrapped in plastic into the refrigerator and allow to become chilled and firm. To achieve the most robust flavors from all of the spices it is best to allow the dough to chill overnight.

Baking the Ginger Hearts Valentine's Day Cookie Dough: