- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 drops red food coloring
- Silver balls, to decorate
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until just blended. Mix in the dry ingredients to form a stiff dough.
- Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two cookie sheets.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Use 1 1/2-inch heart- and star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Gather the dough scraps, re-roll, and continue cutting out cookies until all the dough is used.
- Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until pale gold, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Cool on the sheets until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer to racks to finish cooling.
- Pink buttercream frosting: With mixer at high speed, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until creamy. Mix in the food coloring to make an even pale pink frosting. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch star tip. Fill the pastry bag, twist the opening tightly closed, and squeeze out small stars to form a border around each cookie. Decorate with silver balls.