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Valentine’s Day Slice N’ Bake Cookies Recipe

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day with these festive and colorful Slice N’ Bake Cookies. This charming recipe combines classic buttery sugar cookie dough with vibrant pink and red accents shaped into hearts, perfect for gifting or sharing. The cookies are adorned with nonpareil sprinkles for an extra festive touch and baked to a tender, buttery perfection.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Coloring and Decoration

  • Pink gel food coloring
  • Red gel food coloring
  • Valentine’s Day nonpareil sprinkles

Instructions

  1. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Set this mixture aside.
  2. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the granulated sugar and softened unsalted butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and light in color, approximately 2 minutes.
  3. Add Egg and Extracts: Add the large egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Continue beating until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
  4. Mix in Dry Ingredients: Gradually spoon the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the flour into the wet mixture until a dough forms. Avoid overmixing.
  5. Color the Dough: Remove one-third of the dough and divide it into two equal parts. Add red gel food coloring to one portion and pink gel food coloring to the other. Knead each portion gently until the color is evenly distributed.
  6. Roll and Cut Shapes: Roll each colored dough portion out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Using a lightly floured 1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many hearts as possible. Re-roll any scraps to cut out additional hearts.
  7. Chill Heart Cutouts: Place the colored heart cutouts in a line on a piece of plastic wrap, then wrap tightly. Refrigerate these for 30 minutes to firm up.
  8. Prepare Outer Dough Ropes: About 10 minutes before the hearts come out of the fridge, roll the remaining plain dough into long, narrow ropes long enough to wrap around the hearts lengthwise.
  9. Assemble the Cookies: Place the chilled heart cutouts on a clean surface, and carefully wrap each heart with the dough ropes, pressing gently to seal completely around each heart shape.
  10. Coat with Sprinkles: Spread nonpareil sprinkles in a shallow dish. Gently roll the dough-covered hearts in the sprinkles to coat all sides evenly.
  11. Final Chill: Wrap the entire cookie dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight to firm up for easy slicing.
  12. Slice Dough: Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and slice into approximately 1/2 inch thick rounds using a sharp knife. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between each.
  13. Bake the Cookies: Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to set without browning.
  14. Cool: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  15. Store: Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.

Notes

  • Gel food coloring is preferred for vibrant color without altering dough consistency.
  • Do not overbake the cookies to keep them tender and soft.
  • Refrigerating the dough logs overnight allows for cleaner slices and better shape retention during baking.
  • You can substitute almond extract with an equal amount of additional vanilla extract if almond flavor is not desired.
  • If you do not have a heart-shaped cookie cutter, any small cookie cutter shape will work.

Find it online: https://bitezly.com/valentines-day-slice-n-bake-cookies-recipe/