These adorable mini heart sugar cookies are an easy and fun treat to make for Valentine's Day! They're dipped in naturally colored icing (made with freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries) and topped with cute heart sprinkles.
Mini sugar cookies are having a moment on social media right now. We first saw this adorable Christmas version a few months ago and we've been thinking about it ever since!
We took our classic sugar cookie recipe, cut it in half and used a mini heart cookie cutter and it worked perfectly! They only take about 5 minutes to bake, and the hardest part of this recipe is just dipping each one into icing. It's not difficult – just a bit time consuming, so we highly recommend enlisting a helper!
These mini cookies make for an adorable giftable Valentine's Day treat. Package them up in a cellophane bag tied with a cute ribbon and a homemade label. Give them to friends, teachers, or of course – your special valentine. 😉
What You'll Need to Make This Recipe
- Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- Wet ingredients: Butter, sugar, vanilla extract and egg.
- For the icing: Powdered sugar, milk and freeze-dried raspberry powder. We make this by pulsing freeze dried raspberries or strawberries in a small food processor or spice grinder, then sifting out the seeds through a fine mesh sieve.
- You can also just use food coloring! For a natural food coloring option, try this one.
- Sprinkles: These are the ones we used. To keep it 100% natural, you could sprinkle the tops with more crushed freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries.
- Mini heart cookie cutters
How to Make This Recipe
Add butter, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer). Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, mixing just until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 batches, until the dough comes together. If the dough seems too soft, add in another 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Use a mini heart shaped cookie cutter (about 1 inch) to cut out the cookies. Transfer to the sheet pans, spacing them slightly apart (they won't spread much in the oven). Re-roll leftover dough and repeat.
Bake the cookies for 5-7 minutes at 350˚F, until the bottoms are light golden brown (the tops should still be pale). Let cool completely.
Add ½ cup of powdered sugar and ~2 teaspoons of milk to 3 separate bowls.
To make light pink: add in ¼-1/2 teaspoon raspberry powder (or 1 drop of red food coloring). To make medium pink: add in ~1 teaspoon raspberry powder (or a few drops of food coloring). To make hot pink/red: add in 2 teaspoons raspberry powder and a few drops of all natural red food coloring.
Whisk each color until combined. Add a splash more of milk, or a teaspoon of powdered sugar if needed to adjust the consistency. It should be thin enough to easily dip the cookies in, but not so thin that it runs off the cookie.
Dip the top side of each cookies in icing, and return to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles while the icing is wet. Allow the cookies to set completely – this usually takes a few hours.
Storage
Make sure the icing is fully set before transferring the cookies to an airtight container, separating the cookies between layers of parchment paper. Keep them stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
For longer storage, keep them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight at room temperature.
Tips
- To save time, transfer the cookie dough to a baking sheet before cutting out the heart shapes. Cut directly on the baking sheet, then just lift up any leftover dough. This saves you from having to transfer the cookies to the baking sheet!
- How to make freeze-dried raspberry/strawberry powder: Add 1-2 ounces of freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries to a small food processor or spice grinder and pulse until a fine powder forms. Sift through a fine mesh sieve and discard the seeds. If you don't have a food processor, you can smash them with a rolling pin (in a bag to prevent a mess), then sift.
- Raspberry vs. strawberry color: Raspberry will yield a more vibrant pink color, while strawberries will make a softer pink color. (We used freeze dried strawberries to color these homemade animal cookies!) We prefer raspberries in this recipe, but freeze-dried strawberries are usually easier to find.
- Use any shape you'd like! These work with literally any mini cookie cutter you can imagine.
More Fun Valentine's Day Recipes
📖 Recipe
Recipe
Mini Heart Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Add butter, sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer). Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg, mixing just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 batches, until the dough comes together. If the dough seems too soft, add in another 1-2 tablespoons of flour. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Use a mini heart shaped cookie cutter (about 1 inch) to cut out the cookies. Transfer to the sheet pans, spacing them slightly apart (they won't spread much in the oven). Re-roll leftover dough and repeat.
- Bake the cookies for 5-7 minutes, until the bottoms are light golden brown (the tops should still be pale). Let cool completely.
- Add ½ cup of powdered sugar and ~2 teaspoons of milk to 3 separate bowls.
- To make light pink: add in ¼-1/2 teaspoon raspberry or strawberry powder (or 1 drop of red food coloring). To make medium pink: add in ~1 teaspoon raspberry or strawberry powder (or a few drops of food coloring). To make hot pink/red: add in 2 teaspoons raspberry or strawberry powder and a few drops of all natural red food coloring.
- Whisk each color until combined. Add a splash more of milk, or a teaspoon of powdered sugar if needed to adjust the consistency. It should be thin enough to easily dip the cookies in, but not so thin that it runs off the cookie.
- Dip the top side of each cookies in icing, and return to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles while the icing is wet. Allow the cookies to set completely – this usually takes a few hours.
Ingrid Escobar says
Can i make dough ahead of time?
Lexi says
Definitely!