...valentine cookies on a rainy day.

Sometimes I love a rainy Sunday! It allows me the excuse to stay in my PJ's all day and do whatever comes to mind, with no agenda. One of my favorite things is to play in the kitchen. It's my own personal therapy and I never quite know what culinary creation I might cook up. Of course on rainy PJ day there is no running to the store, so I have to make due with what I have at hand. Yesterday, after a search on Martha Stewart dot com, I settled for these Valentine treasures. Believe it or not I had all the ingredients right down to the cookie cutters, which when you think about it, is a bit scary! They are a little bit time consuming but well worth it. It's like making little edible Valentine cards. They also taste great with a warm cup of Earl Grey tea (yes, of course I had to taste test them)
Here is the recipe right off Miss Martha's site.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup cherry jam, strained

Directions

1. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl; set aside. Pulse pecans, confectioners' sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor until finely ground (but not wet); transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
2. Add butter and granulated sugar; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and egg. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Halve dough; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Cut out squares with a 2-inch fluted cutter. Cut out centers of half the squares with a 1/2-inch heart cutter; reroll scraps. Space 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake squares and hearts until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.
4. Meanwhile, heat jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced and thickened, about 7 minutes; let cool.
5. Sprinkle cutout cookies with confectioners' sugar. Spread jam onto uncut squares; top with cutout ones. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days.