Last Tuesday, Emily came home from school with a homemade Valentine from her best friend, and it got me thinking – why not make our own Valentine's Day Heart Cookies this year? You know what happened next? We spent the entire weekend covered in flour, sprinkles flying everywhere, and honestly? It was one of those perfect mom-daughter moments I'll never forget.
These cute cut-out cookies are seriously the easiest thing you'll bake all February. No complicated techniques, no fancy equipment – just straightforward ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Plus, they're SO much fun to decorate! (Emily made one that looked like a deformed blob, and we still ate it. It was delicious.)
If you're looking for more sweet treats to make, check out my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies – they're another family favorite!
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love These Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
- Ingredients For Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
- How To Make Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
- Storage Tips For Your Heart Cookies
- Tips And Variations For Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
- Valentine's Day Heart Cookies FAQs
- Recipes You May Like
- Wrap Up
- Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
Why You'll Love These Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
- Simple ingredients – No hunting down weird baking supplies at three different stores
- Perfect for kids – Emily's been helping me make these since she was 8, and the decorating part is her absolute favorite
- Great for gifting – Pack them in cute boxes, and you've got the perfect homemade Valentine present
- They actually taste good – Not just pretty to look at (though they are!)
- Dough keeps for 3 days – Make the dough ahead when you have time, bake when you're ready
- Memory-making magic – These cookies create those sweet moments you'll remember forever
Ingredients For Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
For The Cookies:
- ⅓ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour (plus more for rolling)
For The Icing:
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar (divided)
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup of milk (divided)
- food coloring (optional)
The ingredient list is pretty straightforward, right? I love that these Valentine cookies don't require anything exotic. The shortening might seem old-fashioned, but trust me – it makes these cookies hold their shape better than butter alone. (I learned that the hard way after my first batch spread into weird amoeba shapes!)
How To Make Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
Making The Cookie Dough
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. This step is important – don't rush it!
- Beat in the sugar, baking powder, and salt until everything's well combined.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and milk. Beat until you can't see any streaks of egg anymore.
- Stir in the flour in 3-4 separate additions. I usually add about ½ cup at a time. This prevents flour clouds from taking over your kitchen (been there, done that).
- Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 3 days. I know waiting is hard, but this chilling time is non-negotiable for cut out sugar cookies that hold their shape!
Baking The Cookies
- Once your dough has chilled properly, preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to roughly ¼ inch thick. Too thin and they'll be crispy crackers; too thick and they'll be cake-like.
- Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut out your heart shaped cookies. I have three different sizes, and Emily always fights me for the biggest one!
- Carefully transfer the cookies to your prepared baking sheet. Leave about an inch between each cookie.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until the bottom just starts turning golden. Don't overbake! They'll look slightly underdone on top, but they'll firm up as they cool.
- Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before adding icing. Seriously, COMPLETELY cool. I've ruined too many batches by being impatient.
Making The Icing
- In a large bowl, combine about half the powdered sugar with the corn syrup, vanilla, and ¼ cup of milk. Stir until it's smooth.
- Slowly add in the remaining powdered sugar until you get a thick, toothpaste-like consistency. This is your outlining icing!
- If you want colored icing, add food coloring now. Emily always goes for pink and red, but you could do white, purple, or whatever makes you happy.
- Remove about ⅓ cup of this thick icing and place it into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. (If you don't have a piping bag, a plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off works!)
- Add the remaining milk to the rest of the icing, about ½ tablespoon at a time. You want it to flow off your spatula in thin ribbons. This is your flooding icing.
- Transfer the thinner icing to a squeeze bottle. You can find these at craft stores for like $2.
Decorating Your Valentine Cookies
- First, outline each cookie with the thicker icing from your piping bag. Go around the edges carefully.
- Then, squeeze some of the thinner icing into the center of the cookie. Use a toothpick to gently guide it to the edges, filling in the whole surface.
- Now comes the fun part – let Emily (or your kids) add sprinkles, edible glitter, or whatever decorations you want! Just do it before the icing sets.
- Allow the cookies to dry uncovered on a flat surface for about 12 hours or until completely set. I usually do this overnight.
The icing technique might sound complicated, but once you do it once, you'll get it. Emily's now better at it than I am (don't tell her I said that).
Storage Tips For Your Heart Cookies
These decorated Valentine cookies store really well, which is perfect if you're making them for a party or gift-giving.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper so they don't stick together.
You can freeze the baked (but not decorated) cookies for up to 2 months. Just thaw them at room temperature before decorating.
The dough itself can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the fridge overnight before rolling it out.
Tips And Variations For Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
Want to mix things up? Here are some ideas I've tried over the years:
Chocolate version – Replace ¼ cup of the flour with cocoa powder for chocolate Valentine sugar cookies. Emily requests these every single year!
Almond extract twist – Swap the vanilla for almond extract in both the cookies and icing. Gives them a totally different (and delicious) flavor.
Sandwich cookies – Make two cookies and sandwich them together with jam or Nutella in the middle. Fair warning: Emily ate four of these in one sitting.
Skip the icing – If decorating sounds like too much work, just sprinkle the cookies with colored sugar before baking. Still festive, way less time.
Different shapes – Don't limit yourself to hearts! I've made these with star cutters, circle cutters, whatever's in my drawer.
Have you ever tried making cut-out cookies before? The key is really in that chilling time – it makes all the difference between cookies that hold their shape and cookies that turn into weird puddles.
One more thing: if your dough gets too soft while you're working with it, just pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes. There's no shame in taking breaks!
Valentine's Day Heart Cookies FAQs
Yes! The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking, and baked cookies stay fresh for 5-7 days in an airtight container.
Allow 12 hours for the icing to completely set and dry at room temperature before stacking or packaging.
No, chilling is essential for these cut-out cookies to hold their heart shape and prevent spreading during baking.
Yes, canned frosting works in a pinch, but homemade icing gives a smoother finish and better consistency for decorating.
Recipes You May Like
If you loved these Valentine's Day Heart Cookies, you'll definitely want to try these other sweet treats:
- Cookie Monster Cookies – These colorful cookies are fun to make year-round and kids absolutely love them!
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies – A refreshing twist on traditional cookies with bright, fruity flavors
- Sugar Cookie Truffles – If you want something even easier than cut-out cookies, these no-bake truffles are perfect
Wrap Up
There you have it – the easiest, most fun Valentine's Day Heart Cookies you'll ever make! These have become a February tradition in our house, and I hope they become one in yours too.
The best part about this recipe isn't just how good the cookies taste (though they're really good). It's about the time spent in the kitchen with the people you love, the flour fights, the imperfect decorating jobs, and the memories you'll look back on years from now.
So grab your cookie cutters, your food coloring, and maybe put on an apron (seriously, icing gets everywhere). These heart shaped cookies are calling your name!
Pin this recipe to your Valentine's Day board so you can find it again next February – trust me, you'll want to make these every year.
Valentine's Day Heart Cookies
Equipment
- Heart shaped cookie cutters
- Piping bag with small round tip
- Squeeze bottle
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- ⅓ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour plus more for rolling
For the icing:
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar divided
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup milk divided
- food coloring optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes, then beat in the sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk until completely combined, then finally stir in the flour in 3-4 separate additions.
- Cover dough and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or up to 3 days.
- Once dough has been chilled, preheat oven to 375 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to roughly ¼ inch thick, then use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut out the cookies.
- Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, then bake in preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until bottom is just starting to turn golden.
- Allow to cool completely before adding icing.
- In a large bowl, combine about half the powdered sugar with corn syrup, vanilla, and ¼ cup of milk and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Slowly add in the remaining powdered sugar until a thick toothpaste consistency is formed.
- Add food coloring, if desired (this icing is done if you want to spread it on with a knife - otherwise continue with the rest of the steps).
- Remove about ⅓ cup of the icing and place into piping bag fitted with small round tip.
- Add remaining milk to the rest of the icing about ½ a tablespoon at a time until it flows off the spatula in thin ribbons.
- Transfer the thinner icing to a squeeze bottle.
- Outline cookies with the thicker icing, then squeeze some of the thinner icing into the center and guide to the outside using a toothpick.
- Allow the cookies to dry uncovered on a flat surface for about 12 hours or until completely set.
