I know the hype over Valentine’s desserts—after all, I worked every single holiday in bakeries! These slice-and-bake heart cookies are perfectly sweet, made with homemade sugar cookie dough, have the cutest red heart center, and are covered in flirty festive sprinkles.
They’re those cookies you’d spot in a bakery window—but after testing them 8 times, I can promise they’re even more fun to make at home and bake up beautifully every time!
Planning your Valentine’s dessert spread? These cookies are just the beginning! For something a little richer but just as festive, you can’t go wrong with a slice of moist red velvet cake, a batch of red velvet brownies, or even some gooey red velvet rolls. They’re all perfect for celebrating love!
Table of Contents
How to Make Them
1
Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. The mixture will look light and fluffy, as shown above.
2
Mix in the wet ingredients. For a bakery-style flavor, use vanilla bean paste!
3
Mix in the flour mixture. Stop mixing once the dough comes together and there are no more dry pockets.
4
Color half of the dough red. For the best results, use a concentrated gel food coloring like Americolor. Liquid colorings are not potent enough!
5
Cut out the heart shapes. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter that is approximately 1 1/2 inches wide.
6
Make a log of the heart shapes and freeze. While testing this recipe, I found that the key is to dab a touch of water on top of the hearts to help them stick together.
I have a helpful, complete step-by-step video below the recipe card so you can see how to do it!
7
Encase the hearts with the rest of the cookie dough. Make sure to fill in any gaps and crevices so that when you cut them, there are no empty spaces!
8
Shape the log with plastic wrap. Wrap the whole log in plastic wrap, then use the ends to roll it back and forth until it is a perfectly round log.
9
Chill, then roll the cookie log in sprinkles. You really can’t go wrong with the sprinkle choice! I tested them with nonpareils, sanding sugar, and jimmies, and all of them are options.
10
Slice the cookies. Use a sharp knife to cut out 1/2-inch wide cookies and place them on a baking tray.
Customizing Your Cookies
For the heart centers, you can use any color of gel food coloring to create any color you like!
When it comes to the sprinkled edges, you really can’t go wrong. I tested this recipe with various sprinkles, but my cookie taste testers agreed that the jimmies were the prettiest! But don’t let that stop you from using nonpareils, sanding sugar, or a fun combination of multiple styles!
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Valentine’s Slice and Bake Heart Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, *See notes below for measuring*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted European butter (like Kerrygold), cool room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Red gel food coloring
- 1/2-1 cup Pink and white jimmy sprinkles
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.2 1/2 cups (325 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in the egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla. Then, mix in the flour mixture until combined.14 tablespoons (196 g) unsalted European butter (like Kerrygold), 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 (50 g) large egg, 1 (18 g) large egg yolk, 2 tablespoons (23 g) heavy cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Divide the dough, leaving about half (375-400 grams) in the mixing bowl. Add food coloring and mix until it reaches your desired shade of pink or red. Then, roll the tinted dough between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/2 inch thick. Freeze for 10 minutes. Place the remaining plain dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.Red gel food coloring
- Use a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut hearts from the chilled red dough. Reroll the scraps once! Then, lightly dab the center of the hearts with a touch of water and stack them, pressing them to adhere. You should have a single log about 9–10 inches long on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 minutes until firm.
- Remove the heart log from the freezer. Wrap the plain dough around the log, ensuring all gaps are covered. Then, wrap the log in plastic wrap and roll it into a smooth log. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll the cookie dough log in sprinkles, then slice into roughly 1/2-inch cookies and place them on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 9–12 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops appear matte. Bake slightly longer for crispier cookies!1/2-1 cup Pink and white jimmy sprinkles
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack before removing them.
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
Very creative and fun! My nieces would love to make these. Turned out very soft and delicious!