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Valentine’s Sugar Cookies

January 20, 2021 by girlinspired Leave a Comment

These simple Valentine’s Sugar Cookies are a delicious classic sugar cookie topped with the EASIEST liquid fondant! A thoughtful way to show someone you care doesn’t need to be intimidating. With a little secret, a lot of love, and your favorite sprinkles, you can make these show-stopping cookies in under 30 minutes!

close up of heart shaped sugar cookie with white frosting and pink and gold sprinkles

Giving and receiving edible gifts is one of life’s greatest pleasures! It doesn’t need to be complicated or exhausting, because we know that sometimes simple is best. It’s the thought that counts after all! Christmas time is another favorite time to decorate the classic simple sugar cookie.

heart shaped sugar cookies stacked with a bite out of the top cookie, pink sprinkles on the side and milk jars in the background

What are Valentine’s Sugar Cookies?

On Valentine’s day, we want to kick it up a notch and make these sugar cookies extra adorable. With this recipe, we can still do that with ease. The crisp edges, tender on the inside and melt in your mouth bite, make these the perfect base for decorating!

I’m going to let you in on a little secret on how to make the easiest liquid fondant, or glaze if you will. All you’ll need is a tub of storebought frosting. No messing with royal icing, or making a glaze from scratch (unless of course you want to). If you’re all about quick and easy, you’re going to LOVE this!

These sugar cookies are the perfect beginner’s recipe, and one the kids can get involved in. The delicious liquid fondant sets nicely and is the perfect platform for your favorite colored sprinkles.

This is a no chill recipe, so from start to finish you can have these ready in a pinch!

More Valentine's Treats

strawberry dream frosting

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe from Scratch

Chocolate Raspberry Crepes

Chocolate Kahlua Cake Recipe

The Best Chocolate Cream Pie

Decadent Dark Chocolate Buttercream

The Most Decadent Chocolate Lasagna

Valentine Pretzel Chips

Stand Mixer/Hand Mixer – Both will make life easier, but neither is a must. You can actually just mix by hand!

Rolling Pin – Dust with flour to prevent it from sticking to your dough, especially if you’re not rolling between paper.

COOKIE CUTTERS come in every shape and size imaginable! For Valentine’s day, hearts are always a good idea.

Ingredients:

Butter softened – Make sure to take your butter out ahead of time. You want it at room temperature even before you begin.
Granulated sugar – Puts the sugar in a sugar cookie.
Large egg – It is a good idea to take out your egg at the same time you take out the butter. Having everything at an even temperature makes for even baking.
Almond extract – You can use vanilla as an option if you’d prefer. Either one adds a nice hint of a subtle flavor.
All-purpose flour – Like most baked goods, flour is the ingredient that is the foundation of the recipe.
Salt – Brings out the flavor of the other ingredients and brings a nice balance to the sweet.
Baking soda – Gives the cookie shape and allows it to rise a bit without spreading too thin.
WHITE frosting – A tub, store bought. This makes “fondant” SO easy and the white glaze with sprinkles just looks so cute. Be sure to buy WHITE, not vanilla, or the frosting will be too creamy yellow.
Sprinkles – Totally optional. Red, white and pink are always a classic, but you can also opt for a little fancy-schmancy and go with gold, silver, little hearts, you name it.

overhead photo of heart shaped Valentine's sugar cookies, some frosted, bowls of pink and gold sprinkles, plate with smooth white frosting, and text overlay

How to Make Valentine’s Sugar Cookies:

Step 1: Start by creaming together the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or use a hand mixer. Add in the egg and extract and beat together. Sift in the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until the dough comes together.

Step 2: Preheat the oven and prepare baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Roll out the dough between two sheets of paper (parchment, waxed or plastic wrap). Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer them to prepared baking sheets.

cookie dough rolled out on parchment paper with heart shapes cut into it

Step 3: Bake until the bottom of the cookies are just barely golden. Then, remove from the oven and let cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

Step 4: Heat frosting in the microwave for 15-second intervals, being careful not to overheat. Check the consistency by dipping a spoon and watching for a smooth drizzle. Pour a thick layer of warmed frosting into a shallow bowl.

Step 5: Dip cookies upside down into the frosting and quickly lift it back up. Drip off excess and place cookie face up onto a sheet of parchment paper. Top immediately with sprinkles, then allow to set.

Step 6: Drip off excess and place cookie face up onto a sheet of parchment paper. Top immediately with sprinkles, then allow to set.

Valentine sugar cookies arranged in a circle with white frosting and sprinkles and two glasses of milk

The frosting will set up and will be fairly dry after about 1 hour. Cookies can be gently stacked at that time.

Whether you’re making these for your sweetheart, your kids, or for yourself, these Valentine’s sugar cookies are irresistible, budget-friendly, and easy peasy. But make no mistake, they look (and taste) like a million bucks!

close up of heart shaped sugar cookie with white frosting and pink and gold sprinkles leaning against glass of milk

Does the dough need to be chilled?

No! It’s not necessary, but it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator (up to 3 days) if you want to make it ahead of time. It will also keep in the freezer (up to 3 months) until ready to bake.

overhead photo of heart shaped Valentine's sugar cookies arranged in a circle with white frosting and pink and gold sprinkles

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Sweet, buttery sugar cookies with the easiest technique to turn store bought frosting into liquid fondant.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 155kcal

Author: girlinspired

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Frosting

16 oz. tub of WHITE frosting
sprinkles

Instructions

Cookies

Cream together butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer or with a hand mixer.
Add in egg and almond extract and beat together well.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda and add to butter mixture.
Mix until combined and the dough comes together.
Dough does not need to be chilled, but can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator (up to 3 days) or freezer (up to 3 months) until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment, waxed paper, or plastic wrap to 1/4"-1/2" thick.
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are just barely showing a bit of browning.
Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing cookies from baking sheet and transferring to a cooling rack.

Frosting/Decorating

Remove the lid and foil wrapper from the tub of frosting.
Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and stir completely. Heat for additional 15 second spurts until frosting is pourable. Do not overheat as frosting will separate and be unusable. Check for optimal consistency by dipping a spoon into the frosting, lifting it, and checking to see that the drizzle smooths back out into a smooth surface of frosting within a few seconds.
Pour a 1" thick layer of the warmed frosting into a shallow bowl. Hold the sides of the cookie and dip it upside down into the frosting. Be sure to coat the entire top of the cookie. Quickly lift the cookie back up, allowing the excess frosting to drip off, and then place the cookie face up onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Top with sprinkles immediately and allow to set.
The frosting will set up and will be fairly dry after about 1 hour. Cookies can be gently stacked at that time.

Tried this recipe?Follow me on Pinterest @girlinspired!

Notes

When cutting out shapes, handle dough as little as possible so it doesn’t become tough or dry. You can scoop up excess dough after cutting out and re-roll it, but dough gets tough after more than two time being rolled out. I’d recommend dividing the initial ball of dough into two pieces and roll them out separately.

If dough seems too soft, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before rolling out. You can also place the sheet pan with cut outs into the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more before baking to help cookies retain their shapes during baking.

Dough can be colored with gel food coloring just before adding the flour into the butter/sugar mixture.

*Nutritional calculations do not include frosting or decorations.

Nutrition

Santa Cookies

December 19, 2020 by girlinspired Leave a Comment

Have you ever seen such an ADORABLE plate of Santa cookies? Your basic delicious sugar cookie is topped with a magical combination of Starburst candy and mini m&ms to make a darling cookie that anyone can master! It’s so much easier than you think, and I’m going to show you how you can make these Santa Claus cookies, too!

cookies decorated with candy santa face stacked on glass plate

You do not need any special supplies for these cookies. Around the holidays, I typically have a batch of royal icing sitting around for any gingerbread house gluing or cookie decorating needs, but you can also simply use a can of white frosting from the grocery store to do the white parts of the Santa cookie face.

We used royal icing and a little icing writer in black from the grocery store baking aisle and these cookies came together in a snap. You can make your sugar cookies in any size – we just used a basic round 3″ cookie cutter and our favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe. You can even use pre-baked cookies or a ready-made cut and bake dough!

I think that the key to this cookie’s uniqueness is that we use Starburst candy for that smooth, perfectly red Santa cap! I’ll teach you that trick – keep reading!

santa cookies on glass cake stand with starburst and marshmallows scattered around

Do you love baking for the holidays? I have a few tried and true recipes that I make EVERY year:

Ingredients for Decorating Santa Cookies:

Sugar cookies (or any cookie I suppose!) iced smooth with white frosting – I dipped these cookies in a thinned royal icing, but you can also heat a can of white frosting in the microwave for 20 seconds or so and use that for easy dipping. Regardless of the icing, let them dry for at least an hour so that the icing is wet and sticky.
White Icing – We use more icing to make the fur lining of the cap, to stick the nonpareils to the marshmallow puff, and to make the beard. You can use royal icing or canned icing. For super easy decorating, grab one of these tubes of premade frosting (affil) that you can screw your decorating tip straight onto – read more about icing tube tips here.
Mini M&Ms – just grab a bag from the grocery store – these are so fun to decorate with! There are plenty of red ones in the bag to use for Santa’s nose!
Black Writing Gel – you need so little of this, but you can’t do without Santa’s eyes. If you prefer to color a bit of white frosting with some black food coloring gel, that works great too! I grabbed this from my grocery store’s baking aisle!
Mini Marshmallows – We’re going to stick a mini marshmallow on the side of the cap like a little puffball. It’s a cute touch.
White Nonpareils – I use these for everything – they are one of my favorite sprinkle basics! These are optional but give the marshmallow puff a nice polished look. You can also sprinkle them over the “fur-lining” of Santa’s cap.
Red Food Coloring – this is totally optional and I ended up preferring my Santa’s whose beards came up over their cheeks, but if you want to dab a bit of rosy onto Santa’s cheeks – it’s super easy to drop a drop of red food coloring into some extract or clear alcohol and use that!
STARBURST candies – ok! Your key to making these unique cookies is that smoooooooth red Santa cap! We make that with Starburst! Grab a berry flavored pack and you’ll get a few different shades of red to work with.

ingredients for santa cookies with labels

How to Decorate Santa Cookies

Bake and ice your cookies with a smooth layer of white frosting.
This is the base of Santa’s face and you’ll want to make sure the icing is nice and dry to the touch before continuing. I usually wait at least an hour.
Make the Starburst Santa caps.
This is going to blow your mind! Those tiny little Starburst candies are super versatile. Pop your candy (I do one or two at a time) into the microwave for 10-15 seconds and heat. It will soften right up. Unwrap it and roll it between two sheets of parchment paper. You need to work quickly as it’s only easy to roll when it’s nice and warm.
Cut out the cap shape.
Once the Starburst is rolled out large enough to cover the width of the cookie, use the same cookie cutter you used for your cookies and cut the curve of the top of the cap. Then, trim the bottom of the Starburst to make a straight or just slightly curved line that will be the bottom of the cap. Press the caps onto the top halves of each cookie.
Pipe the fur lining of the cap with white frosting.
Make a squiggly line with your white icing. Super simple.
Add a marshmallow puff ball to the cap.
Add a little bit of icing to one end of a mini marshmallow and dip it in nonpareils to make the puff ball for the cap. Use icing to “glue” the puff to the side of the Santa face where the cap and fur lining meet.
Add a bunch of fluffy white icing for the beard and a mini m&m nose.
Finish with the black piped eyes.
Add cheeks.
This is optional and I liked most of my Santa cookies without rosy cheeks, but you can either punch little round cheeks from your Starburst scraps or mix a bit of red food coloring with some vodka or almond extract (the alcohol will evaporate) and dab the cheeks on with your fingertip.

santa claus cookies on glass cake stand with starburst and marshmallows scattered around

And….you’re DONE!! Wasn’t that fun and easy? I just love how these Santa cookies turned out.

Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe

December 11, 2020 by girlinspired 2 Comments

This melt in your mouth cut out sugar cookie recipe yields soft, buttery cookies with a slightly crisp edge and a delicate hint of almond. You may have just stumbled upon the BEST easy to follow recipe which even includes no chill time. These simple sugar cookies are ready in under 20 minutes for you to decorate or enjoy plain while cozying up with a nice cup of tea or some holiday hot chocolate!

cookie dough rolled out, cookie cutters, some shapes cut out with rolling pin and dishcloth

If you’re a fan of any and every sugar cookie, you should also check out this copycat Lofthouse recipe. Soft pillowy sugar cookies slathered with a thick coat of icing are a little more involved in the ingredients and process but definitely a must-try! We also love using this sugar cookie recipe to make the BEST Candy Cane cookies with Peppermint Marshmallow frosting! mmmmmm.

decorated Christmas sugar cookies with sprinkles and colored frosting

What are sugar cookies?

There’s a reason why tried and true cut out Christmas cookies remain a fan favorite. This centuries-old cookie is made with only a handful of ingredients. It consists of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla, or in this case almond extract. A simple cookie that delivers on taste and function!

With a cut out sugar cookie recipe, specifically, you want very little leavening ingredients so that the cookies do not puff or spread too much and turn your pretty cut out shapes into indistinguishable blobs! There are no eggs and just a touch of baking soda in this cookie recipe.

Get out your favorite cookie cutters, set up a decorating DIY station, and have loads of fun with the family without all the fuss and shopping for crazy ingredients you’ve never heard of. They’re a great starter cookie if you’re just beginning your baking journey and they’re easy enough for the kids to help out!

More Holiday Cookie Favorites

Santa Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

Ginger Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

You’ll be able to whip up a batch of soft cut out sugar cookies in a pinch. The dough freezes well, which comes in handy when you’ve got unexpected company at your door, or when it’s 10 o’clock at night and your kid tells you they need a dozen cookies for school by the next morning.

They make delicious gifts when packaged up nicely but, of course, they are perfect just for you to bake and enjoy at home during the holidays!

You do not need any special equipment to make this cut out sugar cookie recipe. Mix the ingredients with a standing mixer or a hand mixer, but you can also just mix them up by hand!

You will need a rolling pin – I’m always collecting vintage rolling pins because I just can’t resist a cute red handle. Any smoothly rolling rolling pin will do! Dust the rolling pin with flour to prevent it from sticking to your dough!

COOKIE CUTTERS come in every shape and size imaginable! I had a lot of fun with my newest set of Christmas cookie cutters (ref) and they arrived on my porch in a day! Everyone loves a simple round cookie though and you can even just use the top of a glass or mason jar to cut out perfectly shaped round cookies!

Salted butter – Softened. To cut down on prep time, keep the butter at room temperature earlier on (at least 20 minutes) before starting.
Granulated sugar – Because, sugar cookies.
Egg – Room temperature as well. Having ingredients all starting out at one temperature will make for even baking.
Almond extract – Using almond extract instead of vanilla is a preference. You can definitely swap one for the other. Both will add their own lovely individual flavor. Get crazy and use them both together!
All-purpose flour – Stick to all-purpose if you can. If you do end up going rogue and trying something different, keep me posted on how that goes.
Salt – The magic of salt is that it brings out the natural flavors of, well, everything!
Baking soda – This will help give the cookie the shape that doesn’t spread out too far and gives it a bit of a rise (almost yeast-like).

Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. This creaming process of fat and sugar is the foundation for many baked goods. It helps beat and hold the air into the mixture which gives way to a wonderful texture. You can’t beat cold butter so this is why it’s important to get everything to room temperature. Then, add the egg and almond extract and continue beating.

Step 2: Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and add it to the butter mixture. Combine everything until the dough comes together. Scrape down the sides as best as you can, incorporating all ingredients. At this point, if you’re wanting to freeze the dough for later use, wrap in plastic wrap and either keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If you’re baking immediately, continue on to the next step. If you do find your dough a little too soft (this can happen too) chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes before rolling it out.

cookie dough rolled out with rolling pin and dishcloth

Step 3: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Grab two sheets of parchment, waxed paper, or plastic wrap. Place the dough in between the sheets and roll out the dough until about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick. Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out as many shapes as your dough provides. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Scoop up the remaining dough, form it into a ball, and re-roll it to get even more cookies. You might need more than one baking sheet.

Christmas cut out cookies ready to be baked on cookie sheet

Step 4: Bake until the bottom of the cookies are just slightly golden brown – so slight you can just barely see the browning, but it’s there. These don’t take very long so don’t stray too far once they are in the oven. They won’t be soft and chewy if you overcook them and you certainly don’t want them to burn! Once completely cooled, have so much fun decorating them. Make sure you grab one before they’re gone!

Christmas cut out cookies baked on cookie sheet

Pro Tip: Try not to handle the dough too much. If this happens, it will become too dry and perhaps a little tough.

As awesome as these cookies are all on their own, the icing on top really does add a little something extra! If you’ve ever been mesmerized by one of those cookie decorating videos it might appear as though icing a cookie is a serious business.

In real non-professional pretty cookie maker life, it’s totally not. It’s actually a ton of fun and with a simple sugar cookie icing, it’s way easier than you might think. I even found these tubes of pre-colored frosting and my standard cake decorating tips screw right onto the tubes! It does not get easier than that!

tube of red frosting with Wilton decorating tip

So, grab your ingredients, put on some Christmas tunes, and make the most of this holiday season! Oh and don’t forget to leave a couple of cookies out for Santa!

How can I add color to my dough?

For a fun and festive idea, add some gel food coloring to your recipe for extra flare. Add it in to the butter/sugar mixture just before adding the flour.

Where do I find fun cookie cutters?

I love checking kitchen stores and cute new shops when I travel. And, of course, I’m always on the hunt at antique stores for a fantastic vintage cookie cutter. BUT, you can find cookie cutters almost anywhere. In fact, I picked up this multi-pack of Christmas cookie cutters right here! (referral link)

Can I make the sugar cookie cut out dough ahead of time?

Yes, you definitely can make the dough in advance. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place in a freezer ziploc bag and refrigerate for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months! The dough, even frozen, thaws enough to roll out in a matter of minutes!

Can I freeze the cookies?

Yes you can freeze your finished cookies! I love to make a big batch of cut out cookies early in December and then we can pull out whatever we need when the girls have friends over and want to do some cookie decorating or when it’s time to pick some special cookies for Santa!

Do these sugar cookies hold their shape?

This recipe is excellent for cutting out shapes because it has no eggs and very little baking soda in the recipe. Therefore, the dough does not puff or spread much at all. Unlike some recipes that have no baking soda or baking powder, this one does puff just ever so slightly – this makes it my absolute favorite because the finished cookie has a nice soft, slightly chewy texture that you can sink your teeth into. Chill your cutouts right before baking for the least amount of puff.

There are definitely days for more complicated recipes, but don’t forget good old-fashioned decorated sugar cookies in the holiday baking line-up! I hope you love this recipe as much as our family does!