Flower-shaped cookies. What a lovely alternative to a pricey bouquet for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day. The versatile sugar cookie dough can be rolled out and cut into any desired shape for any time of year and turns out what folks are calling “crunchy with a chewy center, buttery and sweet” and “truly stress-free cookies.” You could opt to omit the sugar topping and decorate them with the icing of your choice or take it over the top and turn these into windowpane cookies.–Renee Schettler Rossi
What’s even better than flowers for Valentine’s Day?
Few flowers, even a bouquet of stunning long stems, can stand up to the splendor and thoughtfulness contained in a batch of these tender, subtly sweet little somethings known as Valentine’s sugar cookies. They elicit the same response no matter what time of year you bake and share them. It’s the difference between “Oh, how sweet, but you shouldn’t have!” and “Oh, how sweet, and I’m ridiculously giddy that you did!”
Valentine’s Sugar Cookie
Equipment
- Flower- or heart-shaped cookie cutter (or a different shape, if you prefer)
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling, whether sanding or pearl or raw
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugars until light and irresistibly fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in the salt and flour just until combined.
- Roll the dough between a couple of pieces of parchment paper until it’s about 1/2 inch thick.
- Remove the top piece of parchment and, using a 1 1/2-inch flower cookie cutter (or whatever shape you prefer), cut out cookies and place them on the prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (If you find the dough too soft to cut with a cookie cutter, transfer the dough, still sandwiched between the parchment paper, to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Then try again.) Sprinkle the cookies with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until the edges of the cookies just begin to brown. Let the cookies cool completely on wire racks before showering them upon your sweetie.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I made these today with my three-year-old. What a easy, simple recipe to follow for someone like myself who does not have a talent for sweets. The end result was absolutely amazing. Tasty, sweet, not overly soft in the middle, and a little crisp on the edges.
The dough spread between 2 sheets of parchment paper very well. They did spread quite a bit during baking, although the end result was fantastic.
What tends to keep me from baking sugar cookies is that most recipes do not allow you just to make them. You’re supposed to make the dough, refrigerate it, roll it out (which is messy), and then bake. No longer will I go through all that trouble. These are truly stress-free sugar cookies. No refrigeration, no messy rolling (the parchment paper works like a charm), and no waiting. Just make the dough and bake.
The resulting cookie is crunchy with a chewy center, buttery and sweet. No baking soda or baking powder give the cookie a clean finish with no aftertaste. I baked mine about an inch apart, as they did spread a bit. This is a great go-to cookie recipe.
This is a fantastic, easy sugar cookie recipe. The cookies end up with a delightful crunch around the edges but have a soft center, and they aren’t too crumbly, as is the case with some sugar cookies.
It takes a while to mix in all of the flour to the dough, so be patient. Additionally, the cookies should be placed at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the pan to avoid running together. Be careful to watch them, as the edges brown quickly.
I’ve been searching for a quick, easy, tasty sugar cookie recipe, and voila! Here it is! The dough doesn’t need to be prepared and chilled overnight. It doesn’t contain baking soda or powder. All you’re tasting and eating is flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. The texture is wonderful as well—crunchy on the edges and delightfully chewy in the center. I wanted to see if this dough would work with our cookie cutters, so I rolled it to 1/4 inch thickness and cut shapes from a 3-inch and a 2 1/4-inch cookie cutter. They cooked to perfection in a convection oven on 350°F for 8 and 7 minutes, respectively.
The cookies came out good. I did add in 1 tbsp of milk towards the end cause the dough was not molding together. That did the trick and they were delicious.
Thanks, Griselda! Appreciate the tip on the extra milk, if needed.
What kind of flour is used? And how many grams of butter would 8oz be?
Hi Emily,
Thanks for drawing our attention to this missing information. This recipe should call for all purpose flour, and 227 grams of butter. We have updated the recipe to show the metric weights and type of flour. Happy baking!
Angie
Really liked this recipe but I had to make a substitute for the butter with the butter-flavored Crisco. I got minimal spread and pulled the cookies out before the edges browned because that’s what I wanted to do. I think for me it was right at 10 minutes. I probably would do it again and chill the dough before baking if I was using Crisco again. (They had to be dairy free) I’m giving 5 stars because even with my changes we all thoroughly like these cookies.
Angela, I’m glad the recipe worked and I’m delighted you enjoyed it. Happy Valentine’s Day!