How to Make Beautiful Valentines Heart Cookies

Want to go the extra mile for your loved one this year? How about making these beautiful Valentines Day Heart Cookies? Ok, they might take a little extra effort but don’t they look amazing?! I promise they taste just as good too. I’ll let you in on a little secret, this vanilla cookie is literally my favourite cookie of all time. Such a wonderful crunchy texture & delicate flavour! Seriously, you should try these.

Here is what you will need to make approx 14

For the Cookies

• 125g Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
• 100g Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 a beaten Egg
• 225g Plain Flour

For the Royal Icing

• 1 Large Egg White
• 250g Icing Sugar
• Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice
• 2 x Shades of Pink Food Colouring Gel *

*I used Sugarflair Baby Pink & Dusty Pink/Wine

Essential Equipment

• 7cm Heart Cookie Cutter
• 2 x Disposable Piping Bags
• No.3 Writing NozzleIcing Bottle *

*You can use a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle but a bottle is a little bit easier.

BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS RECIPE, PLEASE NOTE THE CHILLING & SETTING TIMES BETWEEN CERTAIN STAGES.

To make the cookies, either in an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter, sugar & vanilla extract until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and beat again until it’s all combined.

Tip in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until it clumps together to form a dough.

Tip out onto a work surface and knead gently to bring together into a ball. Roll between 2 large sheets of baking paper to 6mm/1/4″ thick. Cut as many hearts out as you can then re-roll the leftover dough to the same thickness & cut more cookies until all the dough is used up.

Place the cookie hearts onto a tray (lined with baking paper so they don’t stick) and pop into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. Short on time? Put them in the freezer for 10 minutes to achieve the same thing.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 180°C. I line my baking sheet with a silicon baking mat but it’s not necessary if you don’t have one.

Once your cookies are chilled (which will help them hold their shape in the oven) space some out evenly on your prepared baking sheet, allowing a little room for spreading.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden on the edges.

Allow to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat for any remaining cookies.

In an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with electric hand whisks, beat together the egg white, icing sugar & lemon juice on high speed for about 5 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Adding no more than a drop or two at a time, very gradually add cold water and mix between each addition until it’s thinned to soft peaks.

Spoon just over a third of the icing into a separate bowl and colour with the darker pink gel. Immediately cover with cling film and set to one side. This will be used to pipe a border around each cookie to hold the icing in & to pipe the pattern.

Back to the mixer. Once again, adding a little at a time, very gradually add cold water and mix between each addition until the mixture becomes a flooding consistency. (A bit like single cream.)

Pour the flooding icing into another bowl and colour with the lighter shade of pink gel. Immediately cover with cling film and set to one side.

Load a piping bag with the writing nozzle. Give the border (soft peak/darker pink) icing a good mix and spoon half into the piping bag.

Carefully pipe round the edges of each cookie and leave to set for 15 – 20 minutes. Squirt any remaining royal icing back into the bowl for later.

When the borders have set hard, give the lighter pink flooding icing a good mix then pour into the piping bottle. Flood the centres of each cookie and leave to set for at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the flood icing has finally set you’re ready to make them beautiful!

Load a piping bag with the writing nozzle. Give the remaining border (soft peak/darker pink) icing a good mix and spoon it all into the piping bag. With a steady hand, carefully pipe over the border once more. (Not essential but I think it makes them look much more professional.) Then pipe whatever pattern your heart desires! (Pun intended.) To create my pattern, work from the heart border inwards, towards the middle of the heart.

Repeat until all your Valentines Day Heart Cookies are decorated and allow to set at room temperature for at least 45 mins – 1 hr.

Store in an airtight container (I prefer metal as they keep their crunch better) at room temperature and consume within 7-10 days.

Seriously, how beautiful are these Valentines Day Heart Cookies?! I know they take a little while to make but the love of your life is definitely worth it. Who doesn’t love a good, crunchy vanilla biscuit that looks as amazing as it tastes? Exactly!

For more awesome step by step recipes check out www.kitchenmason.com