Description
Celebrate Valentine's Day with these delightful heart-shaped cookies, featuring a tender and buttery base iced with vibrant royal icing. Perfect for gifting or sharing, these cookies combine classic flavors with festive colorful decoration, making your holiday sweet and special.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Royal Icing
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3 Tablespoons meringue powder (not plain egg white powder)
- 9–10 Tablespoons room-temperature water
- Gel food coloring kit or gel food colorings (pink, violet, green, yellow, orange, red)
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat softened butter and sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Mix in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract if using; beat on high speed for 1 minute, scraping sides as needed.
- Combine Dough: Add dry ingredients to wet and mix on low speed until combined; dough will be soft. Add more flour if too sticky.
- Divide and Roll: Divide dough into two equal parts; roll each between parchment paper or silicone mat to 1/4-inch thickness, flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Chill Dough: Stack rolled dough with parchment between layers, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat Oven: Heat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Cut Cookies: Remove chilled dough, cut with 3.5-inch heart cookie cutter; re-roll scraps and continue cutting until all dough is used.
- Bake: Arrange cookies 3 inches apart on baking sheets; bake for 11–12 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Rotate sheets halfway if oven has hot spots.
- Cool: Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
- Prepare Royal Icing: Combine sifted confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tbsp water; beat on high for 1.5–2 minutes until icing drizzles smoothly. Adjust thickness with water or sugar as needed; yields about 3 cups.
- Color Icing: Divide icing into six bowls; tint five with pink, violet, green, yellow, and orange each with a tiny drop, and a sixth bowl with 2–3 drops of red for writing. Cover red icing with damp paper towel to prevent hardening.
- Decorate Base Icing: Fill piping bags fitted with round tip #4 with colored icing. Pipe borders and flood cookie surfaces. Let set for at least 2 hours before writing.
- Add Writing: Fill piping bag with red icing and tip #2. Write messages on cookies and let set for 2–3 hours.
- Store: Store decorated or plain cookies covered at room temperature for 5 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.
Notes
- Dough softening can be adjusted by adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time for easier rolling.
- Use parchment or silicone mats to prevent sticking when rolling dough.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating to avoid melting the icing.
- Royal icing consistency changes as you beat it; thicker icing is achieved by longer beating or adding sugar.
- Cover red writing icing with a damp paper towel to keep it from hardening early.
- If you have only one piping tip, use a coupler to switch tips easily between different colors.
- Cookies can be stored for longer freshness both at room temperature or refrigerated.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes (including chilling preparation time, not the chilling wait)
- Cook Time: 12 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
