Moravian Heart Cookies

Moravian Heart Cookies

2 cups sugar

1 cup Crisco (yes, Crisco)

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

5 cups flour (or more)

Moravian heart cookies... it's the cookie I remember most as a little girl.  My father grew up in the Moravian church & every Christmas I can remember eating this perfect cookie!  It was shaped like a heart, but had 3 raisins spaced apart to represent the Father, Son & Holy Ghost.  Well, I thought they would make the perfect Valentine cookie post.  I was home over Christmas and got the recipe from my family for these soft cake-like sugar cookies.  I also took a drive by the Moravian church & remembered all the times I visited there as a little girl, ever so thankful for my heritage & all I learned from my dad.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Well, this one was an adventure because versions of the recipe are over 100 years old & this one only came with the following instructions:  Chill before rolling & brush with plain milk before baking!  Isn't that great!

Anyway, here is how I made them... mix together sugar, Crisco, egg, buttermilk & vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining dry ingredients.  Gradually add  to the sugar mixture & beat until well combined.  Then set aside in fridge to chill.

When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Then, flour your surface & knead the dough until it's not tacky, which will also mean you are incorporating more of the flour.  Once it seems you will be able to handle without sticking, go ahead and roll the dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick.  You can use your heart cookie cutter or just cut a heart out of wax paper and use your knife, which is what I did!

Now, I did not brush the cookies with milk, but I'm sure that gives them a nice finish.  Go ahead and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving plenty of room for the cookies to enlarge.  The baking time is very short, depending on your oven.  Sugar cookies are always best when cooked very briefly.  Mine went about 8 minutes in the beginning and shorter as we went a long.

Mom helped me make these cookies as a little special Valentine for our amazing group of friends that meet every Friday night to pray for ramworld.org.   We had fun, shared precious memories & enjoyed the timeless taste of Moravian Heart Cookies.