Several layered Italian rainbow cookies topped with chocolate on a marble surface.

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A pink bowl filled with flower-shaped sugar cookies topped with decorating sugar.
Ellen Silverman
1 of 11

Valentine’s Sugar Cookie

Valentine’s sugar cookies are perfect—soft in the center, slightly crisp at the edges, and sweet but not too sweet through and through. Heart-shaped and perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Easter, and random days when cookie cravings steamroll you.

This perfect Valentine’s Day sugar cookie recipe has a wonderful butter and vanilla flavor. From now on, I’ll definitely be using this recipe for my holiday cut-out cookies.

Susan
A scalloped round sugar cookie with a heart-shaped windowpane cutout hanging from a tree branch.
Jackie Alpers
2 of 11

Windowpane Cookie

These windowpane cookies give the illusion of being made of stained glass thanks to melted Jolly Ranchers. The appearance of cathedral windows only adds to their appropriateness at Christmas.
A metal tray with a pile of chocolate espresso shortbread cookies on it. Nearby, a glass of milk.
David Leite
3 of 11

Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies

These slice-and-bake chocolate espresso shortbread cookies are studded with bits of semi-sweet chocolate and laced with espresso to create a slightly bitter, oh-so-chocolatey cookie.

I just made these chocolate espresso shortbread. I love chocolate, and now I love these. They’re delicious with a capital “D.” And yes, they are intense, but that’s OK. I have to go and eat more of them and then make more. Thank you.

Tannis
Eight homemade Milano cookies in a metal loaf tin.
Dan Goldberg
4 of 11

Homemade Milano Cookies

Milano cookies. You know what we’re talking about, yes? The buttery cookies made by Pepperidge Farm that are darn near impossible to not inhale by the fistful? This is the homemade version. And they’re better than you can even imagine.
A pile of cream-filled macarons, each in a white wrapper.
Tessa Traeger
5 of 11

Cream-Filled Meringue Cookies

These cream-filled meringue cookies are made with a whipped cream filling sandwiched between two ethereally light meringue cookies.

I just made a batch of these cream-filled meringue cookies just, and they’re amazing! I had some chocolate ganache in my fridge, and I dabbed a little on several. No need to bother because they are perfect as written.

Helen
A parchment lined baking sheet filled with rows of round peanut butter cookies with chocolate centers.
Maura McEvoy
6 of 11

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

These peanut butter blossom cookies are, like chewy and chocolatey like the classic but they also go a little glam with the addition of Guittard milk chocolate wafers. Otherwise, they’re exactly the same as the kiss cookies your mom had waiting for you after school.
Six Italian rainbow cookies on a marble slab
7 of 11

Italian Rainbow Cookies

Italian Rainbow cookies are popular at Christmas, when they are called Neapolitan or Venetian cookies, perhaps to denote the colors of the flag of Italy. They are sometimes associated with the Passover holidays (when made with matzo cake meal instead of flour).

I have been using this Italian rainbow cookie recipe for years. It’s a perfect recipe. I couldn’t conceive of eating a commercially made rainbow cookie, ever, after making these. This is the cookie everyone looks for in the cookie tray.

Leeann M.

Valentine’s Day Cookies Storage

Cookies are best stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If your cookies are topped with frosting or any kind of soft jam or chocolate, use a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each layer of cookies.

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For longer storage, freeze the cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to 2 months.

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About David Leite

I’ve received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. I’m the author of The New Portuguese Table and Notes on a Banana. For more than 25 years, I’ve been developing and testing recipes for my site, my books, and publications. My work has also appeared in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and more. I’m also a cooking teacher, memoirist, and inveterate cat lady.

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