Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

99 Comments

Jump To Recipe

Author: Sally

Published: 02/05/2019Updated: 02/13/2024

These beautiful sparkle sweetheart cookies are dressed up in Valentine’s Day sprinkles with a chocolate heart nestled on top. This is a simple cream cheese drop-style sugar cookie that only requires 30–60 minutes of cookie dough chilling.

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (1)

Valentine’s Day & Galentine’s Day! Whether you celebrate February 14th with your sweetheart or your friends, I have a perfectly festive cookie for you!

These are my Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies aka:

  • The Valentine’s Day version of Christmas Cookie Sparkles
  • The peanut-free version of Peanut Butter Sweethearts

Dressed in sparkling sprinkles and sealed with a chocolate heart. Mwah!

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (2)

Behind the Recipe: Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies

These are cream cheese sugar cookies. They’re extra thick and sweet with a lovely little tang.The cookie dough is made from simple sugar cookie ingredients like butter, sugar, egg, and flour. Cream cheese is a secret ingredient, transforming these soft sugar cookies into super soft and super creamy sugar cookies. For added flavor, I recommend a splash of almond extract. Almond extract pairs wonderfully with the chocolate heart on top!

The cookie dough needs to chill for 1 hour before rolling into balls. However, I successfully cut it down to only 30-45 minutes with success! If you’re in a rush this Valentine’s Day, these cookies are relatively quick.

There is NO rolling pin or cookie cutters required. Rather, this is a simple drop-style sugar cookie that bakes up perfectly round. Here is my cream cheese cut-out cookies with Nutella glaze recipe if you’re interested. Just as soft and creamy as today’s!

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (3)
Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (4)

Here’s a tip: Notice how I’m pressing down the cookie dough balls? That’s an important step. These cream cheese cookies won’t really spread unless you give them a little nudge. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to slightly flatten down.

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (5)

Glam it Up

Here are two little extras to glam up your sugar cookies:

  1. Sprinkles: Before baking, roll the cookie dough balls in sprinkles. Sprinkles give the cookies a light crunch, which is a lovely contrast to the creamy and soft centers. For a sparkling effect, I recommend “sanding sugar” or “coarse sugar sprinkles.” I found red and light pink in the seasonal section of my grocery, but I know red and a dark pink are available year round. You can also use regular jimmies or nonpareils if those are easier for you!
  2. Chocolate Hearts:Individually wrapped chocolate hearts are everywhere this time of year. I love Dove and Hershey’s brands. Hershey’s sells all different flavors, including white chocolate. I used solid milk chocolate for the pictured Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies. 🙂

Let me know if you try these for Valentine’s Day, and if you need more inspiration, here are 36+ Valentine’s Day dessert recipes.

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (6)

More Valentine’s Day Desserts

To round out your Valentine’s Day celebration:

  • Valentine’s Day Cupcakes & decorated Valentine’s Day Cookies
  • Creme Brûlée (only 6 ingredients)
  • Chocolate Truffles
  • Chocolate Lava Cakes (only 6 ingredients)
  • Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies (you can’t go wrong with classic chocolate chip cookies, either!)
  • Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bark (only 3 ingredients)
  • White Chocolate Red Velvet Cookies

Print

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (7)

Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.8 from 28 reviews

  • Author: Sally
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
  • Yield: 32 cookies
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Save Recipe

Description

These sparkle sweetheart cookies are dressed up in Valentine’s Day sprinkles and a chocolate heart on top! This is a simple cream cheese drop-style sugar cookie that only requires 30-60 minutes of cookie dough chilling.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour()
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 2 ounces (57g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract*
  • 3/4 cup (150g) sanding sugar, pink and red or assorted colors*
  • 32 chocolate hearts, unwrapped*

Instructions

  1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until relatively smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until combined and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to combine.
  3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 30-60 minutes and up to 3-4 days. If chilling for longer than 2-3 hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard and the cookies may not spread.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).Line twolarge baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.(Always recommendedfor cookies.)Set aside.
  5. Pour sanding sugar in a bowl or, if using multiple colors, a few separate bowls.
  6. Roll balls of cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie, then roll each ball in the sanding sugar to coat. Place each dough ball 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Using the back of a measuring cup or drinking glass, gently press down on each dough ball to slightly flatten. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
  7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.Press a chocolate heart into each cookie and quickly stick the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge so the warm cookie does not completely melt the chocolate heart. Let the chocolate set (about 15 minutes) on the cookies in the freezer/refrigerator.
  8. Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. Unbaked cookie dough balls (without sanding sugar coating) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, pre-heat the oven, then roll in sanding sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper| Valentine’s Day Sanding Sugars | Dove Chocolate Hearts (other brands like Hershey’s also have chocolate heart candies available around Valentine’s Day) | Cooling Rack
  3. Almond extract adds a wonderful flavor to the cookies, but you can leave it out if desired. No need to replace with anything.
  4. I find sanding sugar sprinkles at my regular grocery store. You can usually find them in the baking aisle. I like Wilton brand.
  5. Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

FAQs

Do you put sprinkles on before or after baking cookies? ›

You can also try adding sprinkles to your cookies before baking, but depending on the recipe, they may melt in the oven.

Can you put colored sugar on cookies before baking? ›

Decorate Before Baking

Place 1/4 cup (2 oz.) of granulated sugar into a small, zipper top baggie. Add 3 to 4 drops of food color of your choice. Zip the top closed, and shake the bag around to distribute the color.

How old is the sugar cookie? ›

History. Sugar cookies have a plain flavor and have been made for centuries. The popularity and availability of sugar cookies rose when sugar became widely available. The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

How do you get sprinkles to stick to sugar cookies before baking? ›

There are a couple of simple things that you can do to help those sprinkles stick. The easiest thing to do is to brush the tops of the cookies with a little bit of water or milk, using just enough to dampen the cookie dough and no more.

How to stop sprinkles from bleeding into icing? ›

Start with a base icing that has white gel added to it. Uncolored royal icing has an off-white natural tinge and is more likely to allow bleed and absorb color. Add white gel to your base to act as a stabilizer to prevent color bleed right off the bat. The biggest culprit in color bleed is usually oversaturated color.

What happens if you use brown sugar instead of white in cookies? ›

So, if your recipe calls for one cup of white sugar, swap one cup of brown sugar. The sweetness level will be the same, but the brown sugar may change the texture of your baked goods. You'll likely notice a more robust flavor, and the finished baked goods' color may also be darker.

How to make sprinkles stick to cookies after baking? ›

The easiest thing to do is to brush the tops of the cookies with a little bit of water or milk, to dampen the cookie dough. This will help the sprinkles stick without changing the appearance of the cookie. You can also use a little egg white.

Is light or dark sugar better for cookies? ›

Regarding the extra acidity of dark brown sugar, acid activates baking soda, so if you use dark brown sugar to make, say, cookies, your cookies will rise higher, but only slightly.

What is a fun fact about sugar cookies? ›

The modern sugar cookie was originally called the Nazareth Sugar Cookie, after German Protestants who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and improved the recipe. When forming the dough, they made the cookies resemble the state's keystone emblem.

What is a sugar cookie in the navy? ›

By the time they are finished the trainees, covered in sand, look like “sugar cookies.” McRaven goes on to state, “Sometimes, no matter how well you prepare or perform, you still end up as a sugar cookie. It's just the way life is sometimes.

What's the difference between sanding sugar and sparkling sugar? ›

The crystals of sparkling sugar are usually slightly larger than sanding sugar, like 0.65 to 0.75 millimeters, and are likewise available in various colors, as well as white. While both products are sparkly, sparkling sugar sparkles a bit more due to its larger size.

Does sparkling sugar melt when baked? ›

Unlike some other forms of sugar, sparkling sugar does not melt when exposed to high temperatures in your oven. This key property is what makes it a finishing sugar and allows it to retain its crunchy texture atop baked goods instead of dissolving into the dough or batter.

Why are my sugar cookies hard as a rock? ›

While overcooked sugar cookies are certainly still palatable, they'll be hard and crunchy, instead of soft and chewy.

When to sprinkle colored sugar on cookies? ›

One of the easiest ways to give your sugar cookies a colorful sparkle is by using sanding sugar, edible glitter, sugar pearls, or colorful sprinkles. You can add these additional pops of color either before the cookies go in the oven or when you are decorating them after they are dried.

Can you sprinkle sugar on top of cake before baking? ›

Sugar will prevent your cake from rising too much

On an episode of the Rachel Ray Show, Chef Sunny Anderson explained her trick for having cakes come out of the oven perfectly. She likes to sprinkle her cakes with a bit of sugar just before popping them into the oven and it's not entirely about flavor.

Can I add food coloring to my sugar cookie dough? ›

The secret to colouring cookie dough easily is to mix the food colouring with the eggs, just before adding these over the creamed butter and sugar. This way, there is 0% risk of overmixing your dough and you will always get delicious and tender cookies with vibrant colours!

Do you put sanding sugar on before baking? ›

The nice thing about sanding sugar is that it holds up well under heat, so you can use it before baking or after baking as a finishing touch. Decorate your cookies before putting them in the oven, and coat them heavily to give them a solid color.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Greg Kuvalis

Last Updated:

Views: 6176

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Greg Kuvalis

Birthday: 1996-12-20

Address: 53157 Trantow Inlet, Townemouth, FL 92564-0267

Phone: +68218650356656

Job: IT Representative

Hobby: Knitting, Amateur radio, Skiing, Running, Mountain biking, Slacklining, Electronics

Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.