Description
Valentine’s Slice and Bake Heart Cookies are charming, festive treats perfect for celebrating love. These cookies feature a tender buttery dough, beautifully tinted pink or red, cut into heart shapes, stacked, wrapped in plain dough, rolled in sprinkles, and sliced before baking. Their crisp edges and soft centers bring a delightful texture contrast, making them an ideal dessert 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 (like Kerrygold), 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 (amount as desired)
- 1/2-1 cup pink and white jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside to combine all the dry components.
- Cream wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg, egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste, mixing until smooth and combined.
- Combine dough: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined to form the cookie dough.
- Dye half the dough: Divide the dough, leaving about half (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 chill tinted dough: Roll the tinted dough between two sheets of parchment paper to about 1/2 inch thickness. Freeze the rolled dough for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Cut heart shapes: Using a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts from the chilled tinted dough. Reroll scraps once and cut additional hearts.
- Stack and adhere hearts: Lightly dab the centers of the cut hearts with water and stack them, pressing gently to adhere. Form a single log approximately 9–10 inches long on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the log for at least 30 minutes until firm.
- Wrap heart log with plain dough: Remove the log from the freezer. Wrap the remaining plain dough around the heart log, covering all gaps. Wrap the whole log in plastic wrap and roll it gently to create a smooth log shape.
- Chill dough log: Refrigerate the wrapped dough log for at least 2-3 hours or overnight to firm up before slicing.
- Preheat oven: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare cookies for baking: Remove the dough log from the fridge. Roll the log in pink and white jimmies sprinkles, then slice into roughly 1/2-inch thick cookies. Arrange the slices on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake cookies: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops appear matte. Bake longer if a crispier cookie is desired.
- Cool cookies: Transfer baked cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
Notes
- Measure dry ingredients properly using the spoon-level method or a kitchen scale for best results. Avoid scooping flour directly with a measuring cup.
- Use cool room temperature butter (64-68°F) to ensure your dough achieves the right texture.
- You can use any type of sprinkles such as sanding sugar, jimmies, pearls, or a mix for decorating the cookies.
- For crispier cookies, slice the dough log thinner, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Allow the dough to chill overnight for enhanced flavor and easier slicing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 90 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
