Valentine's Slice and Bake Heart Cookies
These slice-and-bake sugar cookies are the ultimate Valentine’s treat! Soft and chewy homemade sugar cookie dough is rolled together with a red heart center and festive sprinkles for a fun, bakery-worthy look. They’re a nostalgic treat guaranteed to bake up perfectly every time!
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack before removing them.
Video
Notes
*Measure your dry ingredients properly. This is my #1 baking tip! Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour, as this always leads to using too much flour. Instead, use the spoon-level method. This means fluffing the flour first, then spooning it into your measuring cup/spoon. For the BEST results, use a kitchen scale!*
Cool room temperature butter: It's important that your butter isn't too soft/warm when making the dough. Insert a thermometer into the center of the butter—aim for 64-68°F!
Sprinkles: You can use any sprinkles, such as sanding sugar, jimmies, pearls, or a mixture.
Cutting out cookies: You can slice them thinner (1/4" thick) for crispier cookies.
