VALENTINE'S DAY COOKIE
These Valentine's day cookies are very easy to make despite looking top-dollar and intricate! They still have their classic vanilla-sugary flavor and crisp, soft texture.
Ingredients
For the sugar cookies
- ⅔ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the icing
- 4 cups powder sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- Light pink food coloring (preferably gel)
- Red food coloring (preferably gel)
Instructions
Make the cookie dough
- Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Use a handheld mixer to beat the butter until it becomes light in color and creamy in consistency.
- Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The sugar will start to dissolve.
- Next, add the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Mix them in for roughly a minute.
- Finally, add the sifted flour and baking powder. Keep mixing until you have a uniform dough, but don't overmix it. You can stop when you cannot see any more flour.
- Shape the dough into a 2-inch disc. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic or saran wrap. Then, leave it to rest for 30 minutes inside the fridge.
Shape the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C).
- Cut out two large sheets of non-stick baking paper. You can make each the size of your baking tray or cookie sheet.
- Add the rested and chilled dough between the two sheets. Then, roll it out until it becomes roughly 1/5-inch (5mm) in thickness. See notes on rolling dough between sheets.
- Once your dough is rolled, cut out large heart-shaped cookies. Make sure to leave about 2 inches of space between each. This will prevent them from merging in the oven while they are baking.
- Remove the dough between the heart-shaped cookies.
- Then, slide the baking paper (with the shaped cookies) onto the cookie sheet.
Bake and cool the cookies
- Bake the cookies for roughly 10-12 minutes or until they start turning golden brown on the edges.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Make the icing
- Whisk together 4 cups of powdered sugar with the water. Keep whisking until you have a lump-free uniform mixture.
- Then, add the meringue powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk them in well.
- Divide the frosting between two bowls. Color one of these bowls with light-pink food coloring. Set it aside.
- Take the other bowl and divide its frosting between two bowls. One can be colored with red food coloring, and the other can be left white.
- Add the red and white icing into two separate piping bags fitted with small-tipped nozzles.
Decorate the cookies
- To start, outline the heart-shaped cookies with white icing. Make sure it dried slightly before flooding the cookie.
- Next, add the light pink icing using a spoon. Spread it over the cookie so it covers the entire surface.
- While the pink icing is still wet, add horizontal lines of red and white icing. You can add as many as you'd like. Alternate between the red and white lines.
- Next, use a toothpick or needle. Drag it vertically across the wet icing. You will see a beautiful pattern forming. You can space these "drag lines" about an inch apart.
- Turn the cookie around. Make draglines in the opposite direction between the initial lines. This will create a beautiful elaborate pattern on the heart-shaped cookie.
- Leave the icing to dry for an hour or so. Then, store them in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 163gProtein: 9gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 368mgPotassium: 117mgFiber: 2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 131IUCalcium: 142mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!