VALENTINE COOKIE-CAKES

Cookie Dough (this is another recipe from my old Occident Flour cookbook that I love. The dough must be rolled out while still very cold and it's quite flimsy to transfer to the cookie sheets, so work fast!)

1/2 C. Butter
1/2 tsp. each Butter and Rum Flavors
1 C. Sugar
1 T. Milk
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1-1/2 to 2 C. Flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, flavoring, and salt and beat well. Sift together 3 times, flour and baking powder. Add milk alternately with sifted ingredients. Spread dough between folded pieces of wax paper and flatten to edges of paper. Place on metal cookie sheet and place in freezer overnight (or at least 4 hours).

Preheat oven to 350°. Dampen table top with spray or wet cloth and sprinkle with flour to coat table. Sift plenty of flour in center and place dough (remove paper first) on top. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with a heart cutter dipped in flour frequently. Using a broad spreading knife, place hearts on greased/sprayed cookie sheet at least 1/2 inch apart. Try to remove as much flour from cookie bottom as you can before putting it on the sheet. Bake 4-6 min. Watch carefully! Edges should just be turning golden-brown.

Assembling: Use the Creamy-Nut Filling and Frosting recipe (Cake Section), but add 1/2 tsp. each Butter and Rum Flavorings and a few drops Red Food Coloring. Frost top only of a cookie, place another cookie on top the frosted cookie, frost top cookie, and dip frosted part of top cookie in plain or tinted coconut. Set in waxed paper-lined pan or box, covering each layer of cookie-cakes with a sheet of waxed paper. These will soften in about 4 hours, or overnight, to become a miniature cake.

CREAMY-NUT FILLING AND FROSTING

2-1/2 T. Flour
1/2 C. granulated Sugar
1/2 C. Milk
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C. Butter
1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Powdered Sugar
1/2 C. finely chopped Nuts Omit for Valentine Cookies

Mix flour and milk and cook to a very thick paste. Cool to lukewarm. Beat butter and granulated sugar and add vanilla and lukewarm paste; beat until fluffy and sugar grains are dissolved. Set aside 1/3 of mixture; add chopped nuts and 1/2 C. powdered sugar to set aside portion. To remainder beat in 2 C. powdered sugar gradually. Use nut mixture as a filling between cake layers, and remainder (without nuts) to frost top and sides of cake.