The Best Valentine Sugar Cookies (2024)

Get the recipe for the The Best Valentine Sugar Cookies ever!

It’s a tradition in my house to make heart shaped cut out sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day, and these Valentine sugar cookies aresimply the best.

I mean, we make this sugar cookie recipe for every holiday!

We get our love for sugar cookies from our mom. Who in turn got it from her mother. So the tradition of making sugar cookies for the holidays (Valentine’s Day included) runs deep!

Our mom has even gifted each of her grandchildren this darling children’s book about love and sugar cookies!

We shared this recipe with you for Christmas, and honestly, it’s too good to not share again! This year, I made five different shades of pink to frost my cookies with. These ombre cuties are gorgeous on a platter and even cuter in a Ball jar to give away as a gift.

You can download the “How Sweet It Is” label . Read more to see the recipe for the best Valentine sugar cookies and the tempting photos 🙂 I’ve already eaten almost all the cookies…

We also have made mini colorful versions of these cookies as well as a modern color block look!

Read more for The Best Valentine Sugar Cookies recipe.

The Best Valentine Sugar Cookies Recipe

Best Cookie Sheet

This is the absolute BEST cookie sheet to use for making big batches of sugar cookies.

Wiltons Mega Cookie Sheet (non-stick) – it is HUGE! Depending on cookie cutter, you can fit about 28 cookies on one cookie sheet. Love this thing!

We love this heart shaped cookie cutter as well!

The key to soft sugar cookies

The key to a good sugar cookie in our opinion is that it is soft and not thin and crispy. (although some love the thin and crispy cookie) And the biggest reason to get the soft cookie is to (in our opinion) under cook the cookie. This means do not let the edges start to brown. You also want to roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch (or more).

Favorite TIP: Make dough ahead of time

Another thing we love about this recipe is that you can make the dough ahead of time. You can refrigerate or freeze the dough. If you refrigerate, wrap in plastic wrap and leave in fridge for 24 hours. So it is easy to make the day ahead.

Why do you chill the sugar cookie dough before baking?

This is a super common baking trick. This helps in rolling out the dough, cutting with cookie cutter and then not having the dough spread out too much when baking. Essentially it helps the cookie hold its shape in the oven. We do this for most homemade cookie dough.

Can you freeze sugar cookies

A great thing about making homemade cut out sugar cookies is that you can make them ahead of time. Often we will make the dough, cut out the cookies and bake a week prior to Valentine’s Day. You can keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for up to three months.

Again, this is a time saving tip that we love! Ok, now for the recipe…

This recipe makes roughly 3 dozen cookies. But this all depends on the size cookie cutter you use and how thick you make the cookies.

Valentine Sugar Cookie Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature (we use unsalted butter)

1 cup sugar (granulated)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

1 egg

1 teaspoon water (a bit more if needed)

3 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

How to make sugar cookies

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.

Add egg and water. Beat until light and fluffy.

In a new bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Sift together.

Blend dry mixture into creamed mixture, divide dough in half. Wrap each half in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for one hour.

When you are ready to roll your dough, make sure and flour your working surface. If your dough feels too sticky, add a little bit of flour. If your dough seems to dry, add a tiny bit of water and kneed.

*Some people ask about the dough being a little crumbly. If this is the case, too much flour was probably used. So just add a bit more water to the dough.

Roll your dough on the floured surface with a rolling pin. We like to roll our about a quarter inch thick.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Watch them carefully. Take out of oven before edges turn brown.

Note – every oven cooks differently. Some ovens bake better at 350 instead of 375.Some ovens bake the cookies great at 375 for 6 minutes, while others bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Homemade Icing recipe

Start with 2 cups of powdered sugar.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Of course you can use more butter if you would like!

Stir in teaspoons of milk one at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Ombre Icing Effect

To get the ombre frosting effect for these cookies, all you have to do is make five different shades of pink frosting. I just portion out five bowls of icing, then add somepink food coloring bit by bit to each bowl until I achieve the colors I’m looking for.

Then frost those sweet Valentine sugar cookies up! We love using the gel food coloring to get the rich and bright colors.

We hopeThe Best Valentine Sugar Cookies will become a Valentine’s tradition for your family!

More Valentine’s Recipes and Crafts

Make sure and check out more of our Valentine’s content HERE.

We would love to see your cookies! Tag us on instagram @aliceandlois

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FAQs

How old is the sugar cookie? ›

History. Sugar cookies have a plain flavor and have been made for centuries. The popularity and availability of sugar cookies rose when sugar became widely available. The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

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How to jazz up sugar cookie mix? ›

Almond Extract: For a twist on the traditional sugar cookie flavor, try adding a small amount of almond extract. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust according to your preference. Citrus Zest: Incorporate the zest of citrus fruits like lemon, orange, or lime into the dough. The zest adds a bright and refreshing flavor.

Can you over beat sugar cookie dough? ›

There are several issues at play with over-mixing. The first is aeration: If too much air is incorporated into the butter-sugar-egg mixture of cookie dough, for example, the cookies—in the oven for relatively a short amount of time, and without structural support from the sides of a pan—will rise, then fall.

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Is cookie male or female? ›

This adorable gender-neutral name has Latin, English, Dutch, and modern roots, all revolving around cooking and baking. The traditional Latin and English meaning of Cookie is "cook," perfect if you want to raise a little future chef.

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How old is the first cookie? ›

The Origin of the Cookie

The first cookies are thought to be test cakes bakers used to test the oven temperature. They date back as early as 7th Century A.D. Persia which is now Iran. They were one of the first countries to grow and harvest sugar cane.

What makes sugar cookies puff up? ›

Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder puffs the cookies up. If your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 to 4 teaspoons of baking powder. Caution: This could result in an unwanted flavor shift.

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What happens when you add extra sugar to cookies? ›

What happens if you increase the amount of sugar called for in cookies? Conversely, when you increase the sugar in cookies, you'll get cookies that spread more and have an ultra moist and chewy texture in addition to a sweeter flavor.

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What makes sugar cookies rise? ›

Mixing Butter & Sugar

Creaming is the act of mixing butter and sugar to incorporate air bubbles into the butter, creating a light and fluffy cookie.

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Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

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Can you add too much flour to sugar cookies? ›

Check Your Cookie Dough's Consistency

After mixing your ingredients (sugar, flour, water, etc.), check that the consistency of your dough isn't: Tough – For rolled cookies, your dough can become “tough” by adding too much flour to your pin or counter before rolling it out.

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Why are my sugar cookies dry? ›

Common Reason for Dry Cookie Dough #1: Too Much Flour

If you've found a cookie dough recipe you love but can't achieve perfect cookies, the issue may be how you're measuring your flour. A cup of flour measured with a measuring cup can actually contain varying amounts of flour, leading to a cookie that's too dry.

How do you add glitter to sugar cookies? ›

Applying Edible Glitter to Cookies

My favorite way to do this is to lay your cookies on a cookie sheet or parchment paper to catch any extra glitter. Use a food-safe brush , dip the brush gently into the glitter, hold it over the cookies, and tap the handle of the brush to lightly sprinkle the glitter over the cookies.

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How do I get better at decorating sugar cookies? ›

Start by outlining the cookie with piping-consistency icing in any color you choose. Then, use flooding-consistency icing to fill the outlined area, starting by flooding around the edges and working your way towards the center. If the flooding is inconsistent in thickness, redistribute the wet icing with a toothpick.

Why are my sugar cookies not crunchy? ›

Soft cookies have a water concentration of 6% or higher – moisture being the variable in texture. To make cookies crispy, add less liquid or bake it in the oven for longer to dry out the dough.

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When was the sugar cookie invented? ›

Origin. The long history of manufacturing sugar cookies dates back to the 7th century in Persia. However, sugar cookies as known today were first made by Protestan settlers in the Nazareth colony in Pennsylvania in the 17th century. They were baked in the shape of the state symbol, a keystone.

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Who invented the sugar cookie? ›

Let's have a hearty hip-hip-hooray for the German Protestants, who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and invented the early sugar cookie. Their crumbly cookie made with butter and shaped into round or keystone shapes were a sweet hit from their formation in the late 1700s.