Heart Shaped Cookies

An overhead shot of heart shaped cookies iced with pastel colors with text in red mimicking conversation heart candies.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

A really GREAT sugar cookie that's easy to make, tastes fantastic and holds is shape when baked.

Prep Time1

Cook Time10

chilling8

Total Time9 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies, dessert, Valentine's Day

Servings: (3-inch) cookies

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Tricia

Equipment

rolling pin
parchment paper
piping bags or decorating squeeze bottles

Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (226g)
1 ounce cream cheese room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (222g)
1 large egg room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (389g)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt

For the easy sugar cookie icing:

4 cups powdered sugar (480g)
¼ cup milk or water (2oz)
4 teaspoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
pinch of salt

Easy royal icing for text:

1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (160g)
1 ½ tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon meringue powder

Instructions

To prepare the cookie dough:

In a large mixing bowl beat butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer until well blended. Add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend again until combined.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder and salt. Add half the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and blend on low until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture and blend until a soft dough forms.
Gather the dough into a ball and cut in half. Press one ball into a 1/2-inch thick round and cover completely in plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Refrigerate the two discs for at least 8 hours or up to two days.
When ready to bake remove one disk of cookie dough from the refrigerator and rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes for easier rolling.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Roll out the dough on a well floured large piece of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thick. Using a cookie cutter cut the dough into the desired shapes and place 2-inches apart on a cool baking pan. Repeat until the pan is full. Gather any dough scraps, form into a disk, cover and refrigerate.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (depending on the size and thickness) or until lightly browned on the bottom. For best results, do not over-bake! Cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with the remaining dough and scraps.

To prepare the sugar cookie icing:

Combine the ingredients in a bowl and blend with a fork or whisk until combined. Add additional powder sugar, water or milk as needed for desired thickness.
Divide the icing into smaller bowls and tint with food color as desired. Cover icing with plastic wrap if not immediately used.
Scoop icing into a decorating bottle or piping bag. Pipe a single line around the inside edge of the cookie. Continue with the other cookies allowing the outline to dry for a few minutes before filling in with remaining icing.
While the icing is wet decorate with sprinkles or colored sugar as desired.

Royal icing for piping text:

Beat the royal icing ingredients together using a hand mixer set on high speed for 5 minutes. Add a few drops of water to thin or a little powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Tint the icing with red food color, blend, then scoop into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe text as desired.
Allow the icing to set completely before storing.

Notes

The sugar cookie icing is easily into smaller portions. If using multi-colored icings, I recommend making one-forth of the recipe at a time adding food color as desired. It take seconds to make the icing and is much easier than dividing it up and keeping it from drying out.
The icing sets up in a few hours so the cookies can be stacked between pieces of wax paper and stored in an airtight container.
If the dough starts to split or crack when rolling it’s a little too cold. Let it rest another minute and try again.
After rolling scraps a few times, the extras may become a little too soft to use. Place the scraps of dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes before rolling again.

PRO TIP: Roll any soft cookie dough between two pieces of parchment to the desired thickness. Slide the parchment covered dough onto a cold baking sheet and refrigerate 30 minutes before cutting into shapes.

Don’t put unbaked cookies on a hot cookie sheet as it will cause them to spread.
DO NOT OVER-BAKE! The bottoms should be lightly browned and just starting to show color around the edges.
Baking time will vary depending on the size and width of the cookies.
Baked, cooled cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Store cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days. Cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for longer storage.

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