Happy Valentines, Have a Cookie!

Things I Love:

-listening to music and reading in a warm and cozy coffee shop
-laughing so hard you cry
-the feeling you get when a plane is taking off- like your stomach is dropping and your body is lifting. weird, but I love it.
-having picnic dinners on my living room floor with my family
-watching bad movies with best friends
-dancing so hard that you forget your feet hurt 
-my cats
-staring out at the ocean
-classic love stories
-the smell of cookies fresh from the oven....

Orange Spiced Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Icing

makes about 8 large hearts

Cookies:

1 1/2 cups white unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water (replaces an egg)

Icing:

2 tbsp soy milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and orange zest. In a measuring cup, stir together the remaining ingredients.
2. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and combine using a wooden spoon or your hands. You may need to add a little bit of water if the dough is too crumbly. Form the cookie dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate it for about an hour.
3. Begin to preheat your oven to 375º. Once the dough has chilled, let it soften and warm up a bit, then roll it out to about 1/2 cm thick. Cut out desired shapes (hearts for today, of course) and place on a greased cookie sheet. 

4. Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until the bottom edges begin to turn golden brown. Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before icing.
5. While the cookies bake, prepare the icing by whisking together the ingredients in a medium bowl or in a food processor.

6. Ice the cookies, let them harden for about 10-15 minutes, and share with everyone you love!

<3