Send your special someone a smile with these playful Valentine’s Cookies! These buttery heart-shaped cookies are generously iced with a sweet strawberry icing that melts in your mouth. My kids love to help me make these delicious cookies. It’s quite easy, and so cute if you’re baking for the kids’ school Valentine’s Day party.
Start with the dough. I make the dough in my stand mixer, but a handheld mixer will do the job. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, then flatten each into a disc. Wrap the dough discs in plastic wrap and chill. Chilling is the secret to perfect sugar cookies, so do not skip this step. Once chilled, roll the dough out to ⅛-inch thickness. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies until the edges barely start to turn golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely before covering them with the strawberry icing and decorating.
To make the Valentine’s Cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to cream together 1 cup softened unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar.
Add in 2 ½ tablespoons whole milk, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix until evenly combined and a dough forms.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form the dough into balls, then flatten into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 ˚F.
On a floured surface, roll out 1 disc of dough to ⅛-inch thickness.
Use a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out about 9 heart cookies. Space the cookies about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown around the edges.
Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
In a food processor, combine 2 ½ cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons freeze-dried strawberry powder. Blend to combine. If using whole freeze-dried strawberries, blend until the strawberries become a fine powder.
Add in 7 tablespoons whole milk, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, and a pinch of salt and blend together until completely smooth.
Once the cookies are cool completely, dip the tops of the cookies into icing, shaking off any excess. Transfer the iced cookies to a cooling rack. Add eyes to each cookie and let the icing dry completely.
Once the icing has dried, transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag fitted with a #2 wilton tip (or to a ziploc bag and snip a tiny hole at the tip). Pipe the smiles on each cookie. Let the chocolate harden before serving.
Serve and enjoy!
These Valentine’s Cookies are the lovliest cookies to bake up for your special someone. Made this recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Have you made this recipe? Share your opinion. Your review will help others learn about the quality of this recipe!
Vegetarian Recipes
