Heart cookies
These heart cookies are the perfect Valentine’s themed bake for children. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter and some spinkles to make these cute cookies.
Heart cookies are the perfect Valentine’s day bake. They’re a simple iced biscuit, decorated with love themed sprinkles that kids will love baking.
We love making iced biscuits for different occasions and these love heart shaped cookies are no exception. They’re a cute treat that kids can make for loved ones (or just for fun) for Valentine’s day.
How can kids help make heart shaped cookies?
These are a really easy bake – a classic kids bake, so there’s lots for children of all ages to help with. As there are a few different steps your kids can dip in and out and just help with some steps or they can do all of it if they want to.
Kids can help measure and mix the ingredients to make the biscuit dough. Once you’ve done that, they can help to roll out the dough. This is a great job for any little baker who loves playing with playdough.
Once you’ve baked the cookies your kids can help to decorate them. This is my kids favourite job and can keep them occupied for ages. Even if you have really young children they’ll be able to help/get messy adding some icing and sprinkles.
How do you store heart cookies?
Once the icing has set, you can keep the heart shaped cookies in an air tight container for a few days.
The icing wont set as hard as with a traditional royal icing so you need to be careful how you stack them. If it’s important the icing doesn’t get smudged follow the royal icing recipe we used in this recipe for our gingerbread house.
What else can you make with this cookie dough?
This recipe makes a lot of cookies. We split the dough in half before we rolled out the cookies to make it a bit easier. You can either use the second half of the cookie dough to make more heart shaped cookies, or turn them into something else. Here’s a few ideas that could use this same base cookie:
Empire biscuits
Jammy heart cookies
Chocolate dipped cookies
Melted snowman cookies
Hidden heart cookies
Spiral biscuits
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these heart shaped cookies
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Hand held mixer
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Rolling pin
Heart shaped cutters
Baking tray
Wire rack
Cake storage
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Ingredients
250g(1 cup) butter
250g (1 cup) caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
400g (2 1/2 cups) plain / all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
250g (1 1/2 cups) icing / confectioners sugar
pink/red food colouring
sprinkles
How to make heart cookies
Preheat your oven to 190C / 170C Fan / 375F and line 2 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
Beat the butter and sugar together
Get your kids to measure out the sugar and butter. Chop the butter into small pieces and then put them in a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
If your butter is too hard ( we always forget to take it out of the fridge in time), pop it in the microwave for a few seconds before you add it (do it for long enough to soften but no so long that it starts to melt).
Beat the butter and sugar together with the k paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons.
Keep going for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. If you need to, get your kids to scrape down the sides of your bowl.
Add the flour and baking powder
Get your kids to measure the flour then add it to your mixing bowl.
Measure out the baking powder. Make sure your kids level the top of the teaspoon with their finger.
Mix it all in. It’ll make quite a dry, crumbly mixture at this point.
Add the egg and vanilla
Get your kids to crack the egg into a small bowl, then add it to your large mixing bowl. We always do it in a small bowl first in case any shell goes in. If it does, use a larger piece of shell to fish it out.
Add the vanilla extract. Your kids can hold the measuring spoon while you pour it in, or vice versa. Or older children might be able to do both themselves.
Mix it together until it comes together into a nice biscuit dough.
If it’s easier, tip out your mixture and use your hands to bring it together.
Make the heart cookies
Divide your mixture into two to make it easier to roll out.
Sprinkle a little flour down on your work surface and get your kids to roll out the dough until it is about 5mm thick. Rotate it 90 degrees every few rolls so it doesn’t stick.
Using heart shaped cutters get your kids to cut out the heart cookies and then put them on your prepared baking trays. We found using a small palette knife made lifting the cookies off the worktop a bit easier.
If you find your dough sticking too much, you can roll it out with a sheet of baking paper underneath it and/or between it and the rolling pin.
Leave a little room between each cookie for them to spread slightly in the oven.
When you can’t cut out any more bring the scraps back together, re-roll it and cut out some more. Repeat that until you’ve used all the dough.
Chill the cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to stop them spreading too much in the oven.
Bake the heart cookies
Bake the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them – they’re ready when they’ve started to turn a nice golden brown colour at the edges.
Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking trays for a few minutes before removing them from the trays and putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate the cookies
Get your kids to measure the icing sugar out, then add a table spoon or two of hot water. Mix it together – if you need to add a little more water you can, just enough to make it runny enough to spread but not so runny that it will run off the edges of the cookies. If you find you’ve added too much water, simply add a little more icing sugar.
If you’re planning to make more than one colour of icing, divide what you’ve made into different bowls. Add a drop or two red or pink food colouring and get your kids to mix it well.
Either add the icing to a small piping bag or small freezer bags then cut a small hole in the corner. If you don’t have piping bags or freezer bags or if you just find it easier, you can spread the icing on with the back of a tea spoon.
Let your kids pipe the icing in to each cookie and add some sprinkles. We found it worked best when the kids piped around the edges then added more icing into the middle.
Leave the cookies to set on a wire rack.
Serve and enjoy!
Heart cookies
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freestanding mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Hand held mixer
- Measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Rolling pin
- Heart shaped cutters
- baking tray
- Wire rack
- Cake storage
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 cup) butter
- 250 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 400 g (2 1/2 cups) plain / all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 g (1 1/2 cups) icing / confectioners sugar
For decoration
- pink/red food colouring
- sprinkles
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE HEART COOKIES
- Preheat your oven to 190C / 170C Fan / 375F and line 2 baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
BEAT THE BUTTER AND SUGAR TOGETHER
- Measure out the sugar and butter. Chop the butter into small pieces and then put them in a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
- Beat the butter and sugar together with the k paddle of your free-standing mixer, a hand held mixer or wooden spoons. Keep going for a few minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
ADD THE FLOUR AND BAKING POWDER
- Measure the flour then add it to your mixing bowl. Measure out the baking powder. Make sure to level the top of the teaspoon with your finger.
- Mix it all in. It'll make quite a dry, crumbly mixture at this point.
ADD THE EGG AND VANILLA
- Crack the egg into a small bowl, then add it to your large mixing bowl. Mix it together until it comes together into a nice biscuit dough. If it's easier, tip out your mixture and use your hands to bring it together.
MAKE THE HEART COOKIES
- Divide your mixture into two to make it easier to roll out.
- Sprinkle a little flour down on your work surface and roll out the dough until it is about 5mm thick. Rotate it 90 degrees every few rolls so it doesn't stick.
- Using heart shaped cutters cut out the heart cookies and then put them on your prepared baking trays. We found using a small palette knife made lifting the cookies off the worktop a bit easier. Leave a little room between each cookie for them to spread slightly in the oven.
- When you can't cut out any more bring the scraps back together, re-roll it and cut out some more. Repeat that until you've used all the dough.
- Chill the cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to stop them spreading too much in the oven.
BAKE THE HEART COOKIES
- Bake the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them – they're ready when they've started to turn a nice golden brown colour at the edges.
- Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool on the baking trays for a few minutes before removing them from the trays and putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.
DECORATE THE COOKIES
- Measure the icing sugar out, then add a table spoon or two of hot water. Mix it together – if you need to add a little more water you can, just enough to make it runny enough to spread but not so runny that it will run off the edges of the cookies. If you find you've added too much water, simply add a little more icing sugar.
- If you're planning to make more than one colour of icing, divide what you've made into different bowls. Add a drop or two red or pink food colouring and mix it well.
- Either add the icing to a small piping bag or small freezer bags then cut a small hole in the corner. If you don't have piping bags or freezer bags or if you just find it easier, you can spread the icing on with the back of a tea spoon.
- Pipe the icing in to each cookie and add some sprinkles before the icing sets. We found it worked best when we piped around the edges of the cookie then added more icing into the middle.
- Leave the cookies to set on a wire rack.
Notes
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