Description
Sweet hearts of passion bloom in this Valentine sugar cookies recipe, where love melts into delicate, buttery perfection. Crafted with tender care and sprinkled with romantic charm, you’ll savor each delightful bite that whispers affection.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 2 ¾ cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Optional Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Royal icing or vanilla glaze
- Valentine sprinkles or colored sugar
Instructions
- Craft the foundational mixture by whisking flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, setting it aside for later incorporation.
- Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until the texture becomes airy and voluminous, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Introduce egg, vanilla, and almond extracts to the butter mixture, blending until thoroughly integrated.
- Slowly fold dry ingredients into the wet components, mixing on low speed until a cohesive dough emerges.
- Partition the dough into two equal discs, encase each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 60 minutes to maximize flavor development and enhance texture.
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper for optimal cookie preparation.
- On a lightly dusted surface, roll the chilled dough to approximately 1/4-inch thickness, ensuring uniform consistency.
- Utilize heart-shaped cookie cutters to create romantic silhouettes, reassembling and re-rolling remaining dough fragments.
- Arrange cookie shapes on prepared baking sheets, maintaining slight separation between each piece.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, watching for delicate golden edges and set centers as indicators of perfect doneness.
- Allow cookies to rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks for complete temperature reduction.
- Once thoroughly cooled, embellish with royal icing, decorative glaze, or festive sprinkles, permitting embellishments to solidify before serving or packaging.
Notes
- Chill the dough thoroughly to prevent spreading and maintain crisp heart shapes during baking.
- Use room temperature butter and egg for smoother, more uniform cookie texture and better mixing.
- Experiment with different extracts like orange or lemon to create unique flavor variations that complement the classic vanilla base.
- Dust work surface lightly with powdered sugar instead of flour to prevent dry, tough cookie edges and maintain delicate sweetness.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (+1 hour chilling)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 24
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 50mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 20mg