Description
These Valentine’s Slice and Bake Heart Cookies are a delightful American dessert perfect for sharing love through baking. Featuring a tender and buttery dough colored elegantly with red gel food coloring, these cookies are layered with charming pink and white sprinkles for a festive touch. Simple to prepare and bake, they make a lovely treat for Valentine's Day or any special occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted European butter, 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
Decorations
- 1/2 to 1 cup pink and white jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and fine sea salt. Set this mixture aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, cream the unsalted European butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, which should take about 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to combine all ingredients evenly.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Add the large egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until fully blended.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually mix in the flour mixture to the wet mixture until the dough comes together and is fully combined.
- Color the Dough: Divide the dough, leaving about half (around 375-400 grams) in the mixing bowl. Add red gel food coloring to this portion and mix until you achieve your desired pink or red shade.
- Roll and Freeze Colored Dough: Roll the tinted dough between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/2 inch thick. Freeze the rolled dough for 10 minutes to firm it up.
- Cut Heart Shapes: Using a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from the chilled red dough. Reroll scraps to cut out additional shapes once.
- Stack and Freeze Hearts: Lightly dab the center of the hearts with water, then stack them together pressing gently to adhere, forming a single log approximately 9–10 inches long. Place this log on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes until firm.
- Wrap with Plain Dough: Take the remaining plain dough, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside. Remove the heart log from the freezer and wrap the plain dough all around it, covering any gaps completely. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap and roll it to create a smooth log shape.
- Chill the Dough Log: Place the wrapped dough log in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2–3 hours or preferably overnight to firm up the dough.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare for Baking: About 20 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll the chilled cookie dough log in the pink and white jimmies sprinkles so the outside is well coated.
- Slice and Bake Cookies: Slice the cookie log into roughly 1/2-inch thick rounds and place them on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops appear matte. Bake a little longer if you prefer crispier cookies.
- Cool Cookies: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack before serving or storing.
Notes
- Measure your dry ingredients properly using the spoon-level method or a kitchen scale for best results. Avoid scooping flour directly with a measuring cup to prevent using too much.
- Use cool room temperature butter, ideally between 64-68°F, to ensure proper dough texture and consistency. Too soft or too warm butter can affect the dough.
- Sprinkles can be varied—use sanding sugar, jimmies, pearls, or any favorites for decoration.
- For crispier cookies, slice the logs thinner, about 1/4 inch thick, before baking.
- Freezing times are essential to keep the dough firm for neat slicing and better cookie shape retention during baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
