Valentine’s Day is all about showing the people in your life how much you love them, and what better way to show your love than homemade cookies? These adorable homemade conversation heart inspired cookies are fun, easy and customizable. Make them in your favorite colors, with cute sayings for the perfect Valentine’s Day treat. These are great for gifting, classroom treats, a Valentine’s or Galentine’s day party or just a bit of festive Valentine’s Day fun in the kitchen.

Valentine’s Day Heart Sugar Cookies

Recipe courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction

Valentine's Day Heart Sugar Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (sallysbakingaddiction.com)

Ingredients

  • 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional for added flavor)

Royal Icing

  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 3 Tablespoons meringue powder
  • 9–10 Tablespoons room temperature water

For Decorating

  • Food coloring
  • Gel icing for writing (optional)

Tools

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer and large bowl, beat your softened butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and beat until creamed. Add in egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if you’re using it) and then beat on high until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom as you go to ensure it is well mixed. Add your dry ingredients and mix to combine.
  3. Divide your dough in half and roll each portion out on parchment paper or a lightly floured silicone baking sheet. 
  4. Rolled out dough can be any shape but should be about 1/4” thick.
  5. Stack the two pieces of rolled out dough with parchment paper in between them. Place on a baking sheet and put in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1-2 hours. Dough can be left refrigerated for up to 2 days. If leaving overnight, cover the top piece with a sheet of parchment paper.
  6. When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Take one of the dough pieces and cut using your heart shaped cookie cutter. Re-roll your remaining dough and reuse until all dough has been used. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets.
  7. Bake for 5 minutes and rotate your sheets. Bake for 5-6 more minutes or until the edges have lightly browned. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  8. To make the icing, use your stand mixer or hand mixer with the whisk attachment to combine the icing ingredients until well combined. Icing should be smooth and not too thick. If too thick, add a little water. If too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar.
  9. Separate your icing into small bowls (one for each color) add 1-3 drops of food coloring to get your desired color in each bowl. Once cookies are fully cooled, add icing to a piping bag and ice your cookies. Once the icing has hardened, use your gel icing, or prepared red frosting in a piping bag with a small tip to add the writing