These simple Valentine Sugar Cookies are a delicious classic sugar cookie topped with the EASIEST liquid fondant! A thoughtful way to show someone you care. With a little secret, a lot of love, and your favorite sprinkles, you can make these show-stopping classic sugar cookies in under 30 minutes!
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! We use our classic cut out sugar cookie recipe, cut into hearts, and decorate with store-bought frosting and sprinkles. This classic sugar cookie recipe is the perfect beginner’s recipe, and one the kids can get involved in. This is a no chill easy sugar cookie recipe, so from start to finish you can have these ready in a pinch!
The cheater liquid fondant sets nicely and is the perfect foundation for your favorite colored sprinkles. 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!
Try these other cookies to add to your dessert table. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies are our favorite “go to” cookies when we have a chocolate craving. Or try our popular Pineapple Cookies and Carrot Cake Cookies (from Cake Mix) for a different flavor profile.
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🍪 Ingredients:
- Butter softened – You want it at room temperature even before you begin
- Granulated sugar – Puts the sugar in a sugar cookie.
- Large egg – Having everything at an even temperature makes for even baking.
- Almond extract – You can use vanilla extract 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 and helps make soft sugar cookies.- WHITE frosting – A tub, store bought. 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. Add some conversation hearts for that extra Valentine theme.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add some food coloring to make this more festive. Red or pink for Valentines day or red and green for Christmas.
- Try some cinnamon in the cookie batter, it adds a great warmth to the cookie.
- For Valentines Day cookies, make heart-shaped sugar cookies or Christmas tree shape for Christmas.
- Use your favorite frosting for a thicker and delicious topping. We love marshmallow cream frosting and Swiss meringue buttercream. Note that you will just slather these types of frosting on top – do not heat/melt. You will not have the same smooth glazed top as the cookies in this recipe.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat the oven and prepare baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Step 1: In a large bowl, cream room temperature butter and sugar with a stand mixer or use a hand mixer.
Step 2: Add in the egg and extract and beat together.
Step 3: Sift all dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda).
Step 4: Mix until the sugar cookie dough comes together.
Pro Tip – Be sure to buy WHITE frosting not vanilla. The vanilla will make the frosting have a yellow tint instead of WHITE.
Step 5: Optional: You can chill the dough if you’d like. If you’re working in a warmer room and the dough is soft, a bit of time in the refrigerator can make it easier to roll out and hold the shapes when cutting. If you want to make the dough in advance, it is also necessary to wrap the dough and pop it in the fridge. However, chilling isn’t necessary, so you can move right on to the next step.
Step 6: Roll out the dough between two sheets of paper (parchment, waxed or plastic wrap) or on a floured surface.
Step 7: Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes into the rolled-out dough and transfer them to a prepared baking sheet. We used a heart-shaped cookie cutter on this one. Bake time for these cookies is 8-10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are just barely golden brown. Then remove the baked cookies from the oven and let cool before transferring to a cooling rack or wire rack.
Step 8: 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 9: Dip top of the cookie 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.
Step 10: Top immediately with sprinkles, then 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.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve to your favorite Valentine and watch them smile!
Recipe Tips for Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies:
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.
Fun Fact
The sugar cookie is a round, crumbly and buttery cookie that originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It was created by German Protestant settlers who baked the cookies in the shape of the state’s symbol, a keystone. The cookies were also called the Nazareth Cookie.
The first published recipes for the sugar cookie appeared in the 1800’s.
Recipe FAQs
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.
Store in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days. Or you can place in the refrigerator covered for up to 5 days.
Yes, you can freeze these simply. Place completed cookie on a cutting board and freeze. Once fully frozen, you can stack them with parchment paper in between each, and place in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
If you tried this Valentine Sugar Cookie Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Valentine Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Recipe
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Frosting
- 16 oz. tub of 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 ¼"-½" 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.
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Comments & Reviews
Margaret Silva says
Delicious 😍