These heart sugar cookies with royal icing are buttery, soft, and bake up beautifully every time! The smooth, glossy icing makes them perfect for fun and festive decorating. They're a great homemade treat for Valentine's Day, whether you're gifting or just enjoying them yourself!
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These heart sugar cookies are one of my favorite Valentine's Day treats to make! I love taking my time decorating each one, adding fun details with icing and, of course, plenty of sprinkles. This year my daughter helped me out, and we had a blast together!
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The cookies are just as delicious as they are pretty and make the perfect homemade gift. Whether you're baking for family, friends, or just yourself, these cookies are a sweet way to celebrate the season! These cookies and my heart-shaped brownies are my favorite Valentine's Day recipes!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfectly Soft & Buttery: These cookies have the ideal texture-crispy edges with a soft, buttery center that melts in your mouth.
- Elegant & Glossy Finish: The smooth royal icing creates a beautiful, shiny finish that makes these cookies look as stunning as they taste.
- Valentine's Day Ready: Whether for gifting or enjoying solo, these cookies make the perfect sweet treat to celebrate the season of love!
Royal icing tips
Royal icing is a smooth and shiny icing made from egg whites (or meringue powder) and powdered sugar. It's perfect for decorating cookies and cakes.
Once it dries, royal icing hardens to a firm, smooth finish, making it ideal for piping detailed patterns. You can also thin it out to a flood consistency for covering cookies or adding intricate details.
Tips for working with Royal Icing
Make sure your tools are completely free of grease so the icing sets just right. Even a tiny bit of butter will ruin the icing.
Start with thicker royal icing for piping the border, as it helps keep the outline sharp and prevents spreading. Then, gradually add more water to thin the icing for flooding. This way, the consistency will be perfect for filling in the center with smooth, glossy coverage!
Key ingredients
This recipe has basic ingredients that you likely have in your pantry already! Cookie ingredients are pictured below.
Unsalted Butter: We're using unsalted butter because it gives the cookies that rich, melt-in-your-mouth flavor without being too overpowering. Plus, who doesn't love the creamy texture it adds?
Granulated Sugar: This is our sweet secret weapon! It gives the cookies that perfect crispiness on the outside while keeping the inside soft and chewy. It's the foundation of that signature sugar cookie sweetness.
Vanilla Extract: A few drops of pure vanilla extract make all the difference in elevating the flavor. It adds a cozy, aromatic sweetness that pairs perfectly with the royal icing. It's like the warm hug of the cookie world! Feel free to use these substitutions if you don't have any on hand!
Heather's helpful hints
- Royal Icing Consistency is Key - When making your royal icing, pay close attention to its consistency. If it's too runny, your designs will be more of a blob than a masterpiece. If it's too thick, it'll be hard to pipe. Aim for something that flows easily but holds its shape when piped. If it's not quite right, just add a little more water or powdered sugar until you get it perfect!
- Use Parchment Paper for Baking - Line your baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies bake evenly and don't stick. It also makes cleanup a total breeze (you're welcome!).
Step-by-step instructions
Here are the step-by-step instructions for the recipe, along with some pictures to make it easier to follow along in your kitchen!
Make the dough
Cream butter & sugar and gradually add in the dry ingredients to make the dough.
Roll and cut out cookies
Divide the dough, roll it out to ¼-inch thickness to cut cookies, and bake until golden.
Outline cookies
Cool the cookies completely and pipe a thick royal icing border around each.
Fill and frost cookies
Flood the center with thinner royal icing, then sprinkle with your favorite toppings!
Equipment
For decorating these sugar cookies, piping bags and couplers are your best friends. Piping bags allow for more precision when applying royal icing, and using couplers makes it easy to swap out tips without changing bags.
This means you can quickly switch from fine lines to thicker outlines, making your designs look more professional. These tools help you achieve those perfect, intricate details without the mess!
Substitutions
Get creative with fun flavor combos for your sugar cookies! You can switch up the vanilla extract with almond or lemon for a unique twist.
Adding citrus zest or even a dash of cinnamon can give your cookies a delightful surprise. And for added flavor, try using flavored extracts in your royal icing!
Make ahead and storage
You can make these heart sugar cookies ahead by baking and decorating them in advance. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
If you need to keep them longer, freeze the cookies after decorating-just make sure they are fully dry first! This way, you'll always have a batch ready to go for any occasion.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! After decorating, let the cookies dry completely, then freeze them in an airtight container. When ready to enjoy, just let them thaw at room temperature.
While homemade royal icing is the best for detailed decorating, store-bought can work if you're short on time-it just may not give you the same smooth finish and it will not harden.
Related recipes
If you're in the mood for more recipes for Valentine's Day, check out these favorites from My Sweet Precision!
Not sure what to try? Check out our complete recipe index to search for recipes, baking tips, and more!
Recipe
Heart Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- parchment paper
- Piping bags
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 2 ¾ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest optional
Royal Icing
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 6 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 20 minutes before baking your cookies. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the room-temperature butter and sugar together on high speed for about three minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add your flour mixture to the dough one cup at a time. The dough will be very stiff (it does not need to be refrigerated).
- Divide the dough into two sections and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to make shapes and transfer the cookies to your parchment-lined pans.
- Bake in the oven for 6-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the cookies, and remove them when the edges are light brown. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the royal icing, mix the confectioners' sugar, water, and meringue powder in a large bowl with a stand mixer until soft peaks form, 7 to 10 minutes. You may need to add some extra water to achieve your desired consistency.
- If you want red or pink frosting, you can tint the icing using gel food coloring. Royal icing is the easiest to manage using a piping bag (couplers and tips are optional). Your frosted cookies will need to dry at room temperature for several hours before the icing is hard.
Notes and Tips
- Food Coloring: I always use gel food coloring for vibrant colors!
- Meringue Powder: Sometimes, I like to use a flavored meringue powder to give my royal icing a boost of flavor.
- Rolling the Dough: An adjustable rolling pin can help ensure that all your cookies are exactly ¼ inch. I love using mine!
- Flavoring: I love adding a little lemon zest to this dough for a bright pop of citrus flavor. You can also add ½ teaspoon of almond extract or maple extract.
Betsey says
These look great, Heather! Quick question... could I decorate these with buttercream icing instead?
Heather says
Absolutely! The butter cream won't set up as hard as royal icing, but they will be just as delicious!