Sugar Cookie Cut Outs for Valentine's Day

Sugar Cookie Cut Out Hearts for Valentine's Day

If you’ve been around here a bit, you know my love for sugar cookie cut outs! I even have a free sugar cookie recipe book where I share this recipe and my top tips for making iced sugar cookies at home. This recipe is also featured in my Urban.Apron. Cookie Cookbook (where I share my top ten recipes of all time!!!).

Decorating cookies is like edible art. And I love art. It’s so fun to do with kids.

Plus- these cookies taste like, REALLY GOOD. I don’t know about you, but I am not a huge fan of the rock-hard decorated sugar cookies you find at bakeries or the store. These hold their shape, but yet still soft, and the cookie base is good all on its own without icing. Sign of a good sugar cookie if you ask me.

I’m currently packing up lot of these cookies with royal icing bags for my annual Valentine’s Day Cookie Decorating Kits. I use dye-free coloring and sprinkles, setting these apart from your usual kits you find. Because with one week out to Valentine’s Day, decorating heart cookies just feels like the perfect thing to do. We also like to package some up and drop off to neighbors with a little note that says happy valentine’s day!

Here is my Amazon storefront for some of my sugar cookie essentials like the dye-free sprinkles, food coloring, royal icing bags and parchment paper I use!


The Best Sugar Cookie Cut Out Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

  • 1 cup white sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

  1. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and egg and mix to combine.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the salt and baking powder. Gradually add to the butter mixture, beating to combined.

  3. Add in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.

  4. Form the dough into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

  5. When you are ready to make the cookies, sprinkle flour on a clean surface.

  6. Flour the rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill the sheet in refrigerator about 10 minutes before baking (this is key, so the cookies hold their shape while baking!)

  7. Bake about 7-9 minutes at 350 degrees. Bake until edges are just about to turn golden brown (but not yet golden brown!).

  8. Take out cookies and let cool 5 minutes on the sheet and transfer to a wire rack.

Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of powdered sugar

  • 3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder (get on Amazon or in the baking section of most grocery stores)

  • 1/2 cup water

Directions:

  1. Beat all of the ingredients in a mixture with the whisk attachment. Beat for 1-2 minutes.

  2. Put into bowls and color with food coloring, if desired.

  3. To decorate cookies, put the icing in a Ziplock bag or royal icing bag (knot end) and cut the tip off the end and decorate the cookies. The icing will harden over the next hour, so top with sprinkles right away, if desired.

  4. Let the icing harden for 1-2 hours and then store the cookies at room temperature.

  5. You can store royal icing at room temperature for a few days or 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator, if you make ahead of time and don’t decorate right away.

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