💘 You'll Swoon Over These Delicious Frosted Valentine Cookies (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.

These adorable Frosted Valentine Cookies are decorated with royal icing and lots of glitz. Underneath it all is the best sugar cookie dough you’ll ever taste.

Homemade heart cookies, especially on Valentine’s Day, are a great way to make the people you love feel special. Even if you’re not big on baking, these are easy to make, icing and all.

Easy heart cookies are perfect for little ones, too. You can get the cookies and icing made in advance, roll up your sleeves, and have one big cookie decorating party.

And finally, make a few more than you think you’ll need. There’s always someone out there who could use a little love.

Ingredient notes

• Eggs: You can use the 2 leftover egg whites for the royal icing instead of the pasteurized egg whites (you’ll need 3 egg whites in total). There is some risk of food-borne illness whenever you consume raw eggs.

Step-by-step instructions

1. To make the cookie dough, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside, then beat the softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

2. Add the egg yolks and the vanilla, then turn the mixer speed down to low and add the flour mixture and milk until the dough is just incorporated.

3. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface, shape it into a ball or disc, and wrap it up with plastic wrap. In order to make the dough easy to work with, chill the cookie dough for at least 2 hours—or up to 2 days in advance.

4. Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a clean work surface. Place the cookie dough on the surface, but use a large sheet of waxed or parchment paper between the rolling pin and the dough. Roll the cookie dough out to about 1/8” thickness.

5. Remove the waxed paper and press the cookie cutters into the dough to make as many cookies from the rolled out dough as possible. Next, gently separate the cookies from the rest of the rolled-out dough. Move the cookies onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment or silicone baking mats Scrape the remaining dough back into a ball and repeat the process, by rolling it out, cookie cutting, etc. If the dough gets too sticky, pop it into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes before starting again.

6. Bake the sugar cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. If you’re making thicker rolled sugar cookies, they could take a little longer. Gently move the cookies to wire racks to cool. They must be absolutely, completely cool before you can decorate them.

7. To make the royal icing, beat the egg whites with the vanilla on high speed using a stand mixer or hand mixer and the whisk attachment.

8. Then reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar until shiny and just incorporated.

9. Turn the mixer back on high and beat for 5 to 7 minutes, until the icing is glossy and forms thick peaks.

10. At this point, add food coloring if you have it, then transfer to piping bags or spread with a spatula.

Recipe tips and variations

• Royal icing with meringue powder (instead of egg whites): In a mixer on high speed, beat together 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 9 tablespoons water for 1 to 2 minutes. Lift the whisk attachment out of the icing. The icing should drizzle evenly off the attachment within a few seconds. If not, add another tablespoon water. Mix again and repeat the process. If the icing is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
• Toppings: If you’re planning on using sprinkles, dragees, or colored sugar on the icing, work quickly because the surface of royal icing dries pretty fast.
• Spread it on: Instead of a piping bag, you can use a spatula or a pastry brush to apply the icing.
• Stiff frosting: If the frosting begins to feel stiff, loosen it up with a few drops of hot water at a time. Stir until well-blended.
• Taking a break: A damp paper towel on the surface of the icing helps keep the icing from hardening if you need to step away.
• Make ahead: Both the cookie dough and the royal icing can be made up to 3 days in advance (store covered in the refrigerator).
• Freezer: Cookie dough and royal icing can be frozen for up to 2 months.