Valentine’s Day Cookies – Sally’s Baking Dependancy

These embellished Valentine’s Day cookies resemble dialog coronary heart candies—so enjoyable for the vacation! My recipe for sugar cookies guarantees flavorful cookies with mushy and thick facilities, barely crisp edges, and flat tops for adorning with royal icing. The dough comes along with 7–8 easy elements, and the cookies maintain their cookie cutter form within the oven.

To not toot my very own horn, however… I’ve completely *zero expertise* with regards to piping writing on cookies and muffins. Zero zip zilch. LOL. Pen and paper, nice! Piping frosting on cupcakes and flooding icing on cookies, completely manageable! However mix writing + piping, and I utterly lose management of my hand.

Just lately, my proficient assistant Stephanie got here to my rescue, and helped me write on these dialog heart-inspired cookies. As a result of we simply can’t make Valentine’s Day cookies with out the enjoyable little sayings on high!

Dialog Coronary heart Candies

Should you aren’t conversant in dialog coronary heart candies, they’re a Valentine’s Day staple right here within the U.S. They’re like little edible love notes! Pastel-colored, a bit of chalky-tasting, and completely iconic, dialog hearts have been round for over a century. Do you know the corporate that produces them comes up with a brand new theme annually, and creates new sayings to associate with that theme? The sayings are normally candy or humorous, however may even be sassy or sarcastic!

However you don’t want to purchase a bag of dialog hearts to make at present’s recipe. You simply want a rolling pin, a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and a bit of inspiration for what to write down on high (I present some recommendations under).

So A lot to Love About These Valentine’s Day Cookies

These lookalike (however tasteabetter) heart-shaped treats begin with my trusty recipe for sugar cookies. The cookies are mushy and buttery with crisp edges. The dough holds its form splendidly within the oven. Sharp and exact; no misshapen hearts!

• Smooth, thick facilities with barely crisp edges
• Irresistible buttery vanilla taste
• Made out of easy elements
• Go away plain or taste with extracts
• Maintain form whereas baking
• Freeze fantastically
• Straightforward-to-follow recipe utilized by newbie and professional bakers alike

Reader Sharon commented: “I’ve made this recipe most likely 50 instances and I completely find it irresistible! It’s not too candy so whenever you add royal icing it makes it simply excellent. ★★★★★”

We’re utilizing royal icing for at present’s Valentine’s Day sugar cookie ornament, however you may completely skip the writing and high them with buttercream like we do for these shamrock cookies, or use this straightforward glaze cookie icing as an alternative.

Overview: How you can Make Valentine’s Day Cookies

1. Make cookie dough. You solely want 7–8 elements. With so few elements, it’s necessary that you just comply with the recipe carefully. Creamed butter and sugar present the bottom of the cookie dough. Egg is the cookie’s construction and vanilla extract provides taste. I virtually at all times add a contact of almond extract for added taste and extremely advocate that you just attempt it too! Flour is an apparent addition, baking powder provides carry, and salt balances the candy. By the best way, you may create these Valentine’s Day cookies utilizing my chocolate sugar cookies too!
2. Divide in 2 items. Smaller sections of dough are simpler to roll out.
3. Roll out cookie dough. Roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. When you have issue evenly rolling out dough, do that adjustable rolling pin. Such a superb invention!
4. Chill rolled-out cookie dough. With out chilling, these cookie cutter sugar cookies gained’t maintain their form. Chill the rolled-out cookie dough for a minimum of 2 hours and as much as 2 days.
5. Lower into shapes. Should you want recommendations for cookie cutters, I like Ann Clark model. (Not sponsored, only a real fan!) For the cookies pictured right here, I used the three.5-inch measurement from this set. You simply want to verify your coronary heart cookie cutter is sufficiently big to provide you loads of house to pipe the writing on—I take into consideration 3 inches is sweet. You should utilize the identical cookie cutter for these raspberry sugar cookies, too.
6. Bake & cool. Relying on measurement, the cookies take about 12 minutes.
7. Adorn. Extra on the icing under.

The Trick Is the Order of Steps

Discover how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it within the fridge? That’s my signature sugar cookie trick!

Let me clarify why I do that. Similar to whenever you’re making chocolate chip cookies, to stop the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough should chill within the fridge. Roll out the dough proper after you put together it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this level the dough is simply too mushy to chop into shapes.) Don’t chill the cookie dough after which attempt to roll it out as a result of will probably be too chilly and tough to work with. I divide the dough in half earlier than rolling it out and extremely advocate you do the identical. Smaller sections of dough are merely extra manageable.

Right here’s one other trick! Roll out the cookie dough straight on silicone baking mats or parchment paper sheets so you may simply switch it to the fridge. Choose the entire thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it within the fridge. Should you don’t have sufficient room for two baking sheets in your fridge, you may stack the items of rolled-out dough on high of one another (with parchment or baking mat in between).

Royal Icing Is Greatest for Writing on Cookies

This royal icing is my most popular sugar cookie icing as a result of it’s straightforward to make use of, dries in a pair hours, and doesn’t have a texture similar to hardened cement. (It’s truly on the softer aspect!)

I make the royal icing with meringue powder. Meringue powder takes the place of liquid uncooked egg whites, which is present in conventional royal icing recipes. It eliminates the necessity for recent eggs, however nonetheless offers the identical consistency. You’ll find meringue powder in some baking aisles, most craft shops with a baking part, or store for meringue powder on-line.

The trickiest half is touchdown on the proper royal icing consistency. My royal icing video is included within the written recipe under, so use that to assist information you.

Instruments You Want for Adorning These Coronary heart Sugar Cookies

1. Americolor Smooth Gel Paste Shade Equipment: In my expertise, that is the BEST coloring for royal icing. The colour is wealthy and vivid. You solely want a teeny drip for the pastel colours in at present’s cookies. And for darker colours, 1 small drop. So these colours will final you a really very long time! I used the yellow, deep pink, violet, inexperienced, and orange; and purple for the writing.
2. Disposable or reusable piping luggage.
3. Coupler(s): Should you solely have 1 piping tip and need to adorn with a number of colours of icing, hold the tip on the surface of the bag through the use of a coupler so you may simply switch the piping tip to different luggage of coloured icing.
4. Spherical Icing Tip #4: For piping the royal icing on high of every cookie (outlining and flooding).
5. Spherical Icing Tip #2: For piping the writing on high of the iced cookies.

I caught with the shortest potential sayings and phrases as a result of, properly… you recognize my wrestle. Some *quick* dialog coronary heart textual content inspiration:

• BFF
• Love
• Kiss
• Hug
• XOXO
• Candy
• Wink
• Sort
• Me & U
• Cute

Have enjoyable with it, and don’t fear about making them look excellent. You may even skip the writing for plain pastel Valentine’s Day cookies. Your Valentine will admire your efforts it doesn’t matter what. 😉

Extra Valentine’s Day Desserts

See much more Valentine’s Day dessert recipes.

Print

Valentine’s Day Cookies

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  Creator: Sally
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  Prep Time: 2 hours
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  Prepare dinner Time: 12 minutes
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  Whole Time: 6 hours (consists of icing setting)
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  Yield: 20 3.5-inch cookies
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  Class: Cookies
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  Methodology: Baking
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  Delicacies: American

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Description

These embellished Valentine’s Day coronary heart sugar cookies resemble dialog coronary heart candies—so enjoyable for the vacation! I embody the total set of particular instruments and tools I take advantage of within the Notes under.

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Directions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Put aside.
2. In a big bowl utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar collectively on excessive velocity till utterly clean and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if utilizing) and beat on excessive velocity till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the edges and up the underside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
3. Add the dry elements to the moist elements and blend on low till mixed. Dough will probably be comparatively mushy. If the dough appears too mushy and sticky for rolling, add 1 extra Tablespoon of flour.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal elements. Place every portion onto a bit of calmly floured parchment paper or a calmly floured silicone baking mat. With a calmly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use extra flour if the dough appears too sticky. The rolled-out dough may be any form, so long as it’s evenly 1/4-inch thick.
5. Flippantly mud one of many rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a bit of parchment on high. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on high. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and as much as 2 days.
6. As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2–3 giant baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Rigorously take away the highest dough piece from the fridge. If it’s sticking to the underside, run your hand underneath it to assist take away it. Utilizing a coronary heart cookie cutter (pictured cookies use the three.5-inch measurement), minimize the dough into hearts. Re-roll the remaining dough and proceed chopping till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Word: It could not look like numerous dough, however you get numerous cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
7. Organize cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11–12 minutes or till calmly browned across the edges. In case your oven has sizzling spots, rotate the baking sheets midway by means of bake time. Enable cookies to chill on the baking sheets for five minutes, then switch to a wire rack to chill utterly earlier than adorning.
8. Make the icing: I’ve a video for the way to make royal icing under. Use that as your information for this step. Mix sifted confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water in a big bowl. Utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing elements collectively on excessive velocity for 1.5–2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing ought to drizzle down and clean out inside 5–10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in additional water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I normally want 10 Tablespoons, however on notably dry days, I’ll use as much as 12–14 Tablespoons. Remember that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it turns into. In case your royal icing is simply too skinny, simply hold beating it to introduce extra air OR you may add extra sifted confectioners’ sugar. Yields about 3 cups of icing.
9. Separate icing into 6 completely different bowls. (Or fewer bowls, relying what number of colours you need.) Stir in 1 tiny drop of the next colours into every bowl, 1 shade per bowl: pink, violet, inexperienced, yellow, and orange. The sixth bowl is for the writing. For that, stir in 2–3 drops of purple. You gained’t use the purple icing for a pair hours after the bottom icing units, so place a humid paper towel straight on the floor of it. This prevents it from hardening.
10. Spoon or pour the pastel icings into piping luggage (disposable or reusable) fitted with spherical icing tip #4. Should you solely have 1 tip and need to adorn with a number of colours of icing, hold the tip on the surface of the bag through the use of a coupler so you may simply switch the piping tip to different luggage of coloured icing. Adorn cookies with coloured icing by piping a border across the edges after which filling it. Let the icing-covered cookies largely set, uncovered, for a minimum of 2 hours earlier than including writing.
11. Spoon or pour the purple icing right into a piping bag (disposable or reusable) fitted with spherical icing tip #2. Write desired phrases/messages on the cookies (concepts/recommendations listed within the submit above!). Writing icing will set inside 2–3 hours.
12. Embellished or plain cookies keep recent coated at room temperature for five days or within the fridge for as much as 10 days.

Notes

1. Freezing Directions: Plain or embellished sugar cookies freeze properly as much as 3 months. Anticipate the icing to set utterly earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You can even freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough by means of step 3, divide in half, flatten each halves right into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap every in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks within the fridge, then carry to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill rolled-out dough within the fridge for 45–60 minutes earlier than chopping into shapes and baking.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin | Coronary heart-Formed Cookie Cutter | Americolor Smooth Gel Paste Shade Equipment | Disposable or Reusable Piping Luggage | Couplers | Meringue Powder | Wilton Tip #4 | Wilton Tip #2
3. Straightforward Glaze Icing: As a substitute of this royal icing, you should utilize my straightforward cookie icing if that’s simpler for you. Nevertheless, I discover it practically not possible to write down with that icing as a result of it isn’t secure like royal icing.
4. Make sure to try my high 5 cookie baking suggestions, my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments, and right here’s one of the simplest ways to ship cookies!

Key phrases: valentine’s day cookies, coronary heart sugar cookies