Iced & Decorated Valentine Cookies - Gather in my Kitchen (2024)

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These iced and decorated Valentine cookies are the perfect baking activity for kids or a fun little treat to gift a friend or neighbor.

Iced & Decorated Valentine Cookies - Gather in my Kitchen (1)

Valentine's Day is almost here and one of my family's favorite things to do is find special treats to make.

These decorated Valentine cookies are so fun to decorate with kids.

You can get as creative as you want when decorating them or keep the design very simple. Either way, the cookies look great and taste amazing!

Design Ideas

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Write

Write on the Heart Cookies - write fun Valentine sayings similar to what you'd see on the heart candies you buy at the store.

Some fun ideas are:

  • LUV U
  • LOVE
  • KISS ME
  • CUTIE PIE
  • XXX
  • OOO
  • BE MINE

Draw hearts

Draw cute little hearts on these cookies. It's really easy. Make a dot and use a toothpick to pull down and a heart shape will appear.

The other option for drawing hearts is drawing larger ones using a pastry bag and tip.

Polka dot

Make polka dots with the frosting for a cute and fun design.

Leftovers

You can store any extra cookies you have in an air tight container for about 5 days.

Ingredients

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  • all-purpose flour
  • confectioners sugar
  • butter
  • egg
  • baking soda
  • cream of tartar
  • vanilla extract
  • almond extract

Icing Ingredients

  • confectioners sugar
  • milk
  • light corn syrup
  • almond extract
  • pink or red food coloring
  • variety of pink and pearl non-pariel candies - for decorating

How to Make

Step 1: In a small bowl add the flour, cream of tartar, and the baking soda. Combine until all mixed together.

Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together the confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, almond, and egg.

Step 3: Slowly add in the flour mixture. Blend until just combined.

Step 4: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.

Step 5: Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat your oven to 375°.

Step 6: Roll dough out to ⅛" thickness on a floured surface.

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Step 7: Cut out heart shapes.

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Step 8: Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or just golden.

Step 9; Remove cookies from the oven and let cool.

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How to Make Icing

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Blend the confectioner's sugar, milk, corn syrup, and extract until smooth and creamy.

Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before frosting or decorating.

Tip: to create a nice piped edge on the cookie, separate 2 heaping tbsp of icing into a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar. This will create a thicker icing. Scoop this icing into a piping bag with a small hole cut in the bottom. Pipe your edge around each cookie. This will prevent the colored icing from pooling and dripping over the edge.

With the remaining icing, add food coloring to the desired tint of pink.

Spoon a small amount of food coloring onto the cookie and carefully spread to the border edge.

Tip: use a toothpick to work the icing toward the edge. Work quickly, the icing dries and hardens fast. Sprinkle non-pariel candies on asap so they will stick.

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Decorated Valentine Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 -20 Cookies

Calories: 134kcal

Author: Jenny

These decorated Valentine cookies are the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Print RecipePin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup flour
  • ¾ cup confectioners sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Icing Ingredients

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 4 teaspoon milk
  • 2 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • pink or red food coloring
  • variety of pink and pearl non-pariel candies

Instructions

  • In a small bowl combine flour, cream of tartar, and the baking soda.

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream together the confectioner's sugar, butter, vanilla, almond, and egg.

  • Slowly add in the flour mixture. Blend until just combined.

  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

  • Preheat your oven to 375°.

  • Roll dough out to ⅛" thickness on a floured surface.

  • Cut out heart shapes.

  • Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or just golden.

  • Icing

  • Blend the confectioner's sugar, milk, corn syrup, and extract until smooth and creamy.

  • To create a nice piped edge on the cookie, separate 2 heaping tbsp of icing into a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar. This will create a thicker icing. Scoop this icing into a piping bag with a small hole cut in the bottom. Pipe your edge around each cookie. This will prevent the colored icing from pooling and dripping over the edge.

  • With the remaining icing, add food coloring to the desired tint of pink.

  • Spoon a small amount of food coloring onto the cookie and carefully spread to
    the border edge.

Notes

Store in an air-tight container.

Tip: use a toothpick to work the icing toward the edge. Work quickly, the icing dries and hardens fast. Sprinkle non-pariel candies on asap so they will stick.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 81mg | Sugar: 11g

Make sure to "PIN IT" for later!

Iced & Decorated Valentine Cookies - Gather in my Kitchen (9)

Other cookie recipes you're sure to love:

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Iced & Decorated Valentine Cookies - Gather in my Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

How long will decorated sugar cookies keep? ›

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Now for decorated cookies. If you leave them on the counter, at room temperature, they should be good to go for about two weeks. If you decide to leave them in the fridge, they will last about a week, but keep in mind that it's best to eat them within the first three days.

How long do you let sugar cookies cool before icing? ›

Bake your cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookie. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing. *If your meringue powder does not have any vanilla flavor in it, you can add a teaspoon of CLEAR vanilla.

How do you store royal icing cookies? ›

Long-term storage

If keeping the cookies for longer than 1 week, I recommend freezing. For freezing, I recommend layering the cookies in between PARCHMENT (not wax) paper in an airtight container (unless you heat seat them like I do, then you don't need to do this!).

Do frosted cookies need to be refrigerated? ›

Refrigerating is an option, but not always the best one. If you refrigerate undecorated sugar cookies, they might last longer, but they can also get dry and crumbly. If you refrigerate decorated cookies, the frosting will likely soften.

Do decorated cookies need to be refrigerated? ›

Unless a recipe tells you otherwise, you should always store sugar cookies at room temperature to make sure that they taste as good on day three as they did on day one. Keep them in a cool, dry area of your kitchen; any additional humidity may change their texture, particularly with frosted sugar cookies.

How do you store sugar cookies after icing? ›

Baked and decorated cookies can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. Make sure that your icing has hardened completely before stacking the cookies, and adding a layer of parchment paper between cookie layers is always a good idea for some additional protection.

How to keep frosted cookies from sticking together? ›

To prevent sticking when you store your cookies, arrange them in a single layer and add a piece of parchment paper or waxed paper between layers. (Here's why you should bake cookies on parchment paper, too!)

How long to let iced cookies dry? ›

If adding sprinkles on top of the icing, add them right after applying icing on your cookie. Let icing dry/set: Feel free to enjoy cookies before icing completely dries. Icing dries in 24 hours. No need to cover the decorated cookies as you wait for the icing to set.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookies before decorating? ›

*Use my royal icing recipe. Icing will completely set in about 2 hours at room temperature. If you're layering royal icing onto cookies for specific designs and need it to set quickly, place cookies in the refrigerator to speed it up. It's important to have the correct cookie decorating supplies on hand, too.

What happens if you don't chill sugar cookies? ›

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.

Do you leave royal icing cookies out overnight to dry? ›

You should NOT put royal icing cookies in an airtight container until they're completely dry. The icing needs to be exposed to the air to dry. This usually takes about overnight (approximately 8 hours).

Can I leave royal icing cookies out overnight? ›

Store decorated cookies in a cool dry place, sealed in an airtight container. For long-term storage, freeze decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Can I leave royal iced cookies out overnight? Yes.

How to keep frosted cookies from getting soggy? ›

Cool, dry conditions help them remain crisp while preventing staleness. Frosted or decorated cookies: Iced cookies are best stored in a single layer with parchment paper or wrapped individually to preserve their appearance.

How long will frosted cookies last? ›

Although I've tested them for longer and the batches I've tried seem fine for up to 4 weeks, my general rule of thumb is up to 2 weeks. I know they're fine to eat at 4 weeks, but I feel better about giving the cookies away when the recipients don't need to eat them right away.

How do you keep frosted cookies soft? ›

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out.

Can you leave frosted cookies out overnight? ›

Once I decorate the cookies (either the day they are baked or a couple days later), the cookies need to be left out over night to fully dry before packaging. They will not get stale from being left out one day.

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