Description
Culinary passion shines through these valentine sugar cookies, delighting romance-seekers with elegant heart-shaped treats. Delicate royal icing and sweet decorations create a memorable dessert you’ll savor with joyful celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (227 grams / 8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 grams / 7 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¾ cups (330 grams / 11.6 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Royal icing or vanilla glaze
- Valentine sprinkles or colored sugar
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Components: Meticulously whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, creating a uniform dry mixture that will provide structure to the cookies.
- Create Butter Base: Utilize an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar, transforming the ingredients into a light, fluffy texture that will ensure tender cookies.
- Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Blend egg, vanilla, and almond extracts into the butter mixture, ensuring complete integration of flavors and achieving a smooth consistency.
- Form Cookie Dough: Gradually combine dry ingredients with wet components, mixing on low speed until a cohesive dough forms, taking care not to overmix.
- Chill and Rest Dough: Divide dough into two equal discs, wrap securely in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes to intensify flavors and improve texture.
- Prepare Baking Station: Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper, creating an ideal surface for cookie preparation.
- Shape Cookies: Roll chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness, using heart-shaped cookie cutters to craft romantic-themed treats.
- Bake to Perfection: Arrange cookie shapes on prepared sheets, leaving slight spacing between each, and bake for 9-11 minutes until edges turn delicately golden.
- Cool and Decorate: Allow cookies to rest briefly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks for complete cooling, finishing with royal icing, festive glaze, or sprinkles.
Notes
- Chill Dough Strategically: Refrigeration is crucial for preventing cookie spread and maintaining crisp heart shapes; minimum 1-hour chilling allows gluten to relax and butter to firm, ensuring precise cutout edges.
- Prevent Flour Overload: Delicately measure flour by spooning into measuring cup and leveling with knife to avoid dense, tough cookies; excessive flour creates dry, crumbly texture that compromises cookie quality.
- Master Rolling Technique: Use powdered sugar instead of flour when rolling to prevent tough cookie edges; roll dough evenly between parchment sheets for consistent thickness and smoother cutting process.
- Temperature Control Matters: Keep butter slightly cool but pliable for optimal creaming; room temperature ingredients blend seamlessly, creating smooth dough with perfect aeration and tender cookie structure.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (+1 hour chilling)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 160
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg