1. Marbled Valentine Sugar Cookies
These marbled Valentine sugar cookies get their pink swirl from one simple trick. Split a plain butter dough in half, tint one half with dark pink gel color, then roll golf ball sized pieces of each and knead them together just until streaks appear. Chill the disc for 30 to 60 minutes, roll it 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350°F. Tip: freeze the cut hearts for 15 minutes before they go in the oven so the edges stay crisp and the swirl does not blur. Stop kneading early, because overmixing turns the whole batch a flat pink. Get the full recipe at Baked by Rachel.
2. Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Strawberry chocolate chip cookies start with a box of strawberry cake mix, so the pink color and berry flavor are already done for you. Stir in eggs, oil, baking powder, vanilla and chocolate chips by hand. The dough is thick and oily, and that is normal; it still bakes up soft and puffy. No chilling is needed, so the whole batch takes about 20 minutes start to finish. Tip: roll about 2 tablespoons of dough per ball and pull them as soon as the edges set, since an extra minute browns the pink tops. Get the full recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.
3. Brown Butter Heart Cookies
Brown butter heart cookies taste nutty and toasty under a smooth, bakery-style finish. The dough uses browned butter with brown and white sugar plus a little cornstarch for tenderness, and it chills for about 30 minutes before rolling. The topping is homemade marshmallow fondant, made from mini marshmallows, water and powdered sugar melted in the microwave, then painted in ombre stripes of pink, coral and red. Tip: let the butter cool after browning before mixing it in, and let the color dry fully before storing the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. Get the full recipe at SugarHero.
4. Perfect Every Time Cut-Out Cookies
Perfect every time cut-out cookies earn the name because this dough needs no chilling at all. Cold salted butter, sugar, one egg, vanilla and almond extract and 3 cups of flour make a crumbly dough you knead together by hand as you roll it 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Tip: freeze the cut shapes on the pan for 5 minutes first so the edges stay sharp. The cookies are sturdy enough for royal icing like these striped hearts and they even hold up to shipping. Get the full recipe at Bake at 350.
5. Red Velvet Hugs Cookies
Red velvet Hugs cookies take only four ingredients: a box of red velvet cake mix, two eggs, half a cup of butter and a bag of Hershey’s Kisses or Hugs. The dough is wet, so scoop tablespoon balls and chill them for at least an hour, or freeze the tray for 15 minutes in a pinch. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the tops crack, and press a Kiss into each one right away. Tip: leave the pan alone until the chocolate firms back up, because the flavored Kisses collapse if moved while soft. Get the full recipe at Crazy for Crust.
6. Very Valentine Pudding Cookies
Very Valentine pudding cookies are thick, soft and deeply chocolate thanks to a box of instant chocolate pudding mix stirred right into the dough along with cocoa powder. A tablespoon of water, or brewed coffee if there is some in the pot, deepens the flavor. Then 1 1/4 cups of Valentine M&M’s and a quarter cup of red, pink and white sprinkles go in, with extra pressed on top. Tip: use regular pudding mix, not sugar-free, and press the extra candies onto the dough balls before baking so they show on the finished cookies. Get the full recipe at Crazy for Crust.
7. Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate dipped shortbread cookies use 3/4 cup of cocoa powder for a dark, buttery cookie that snaps instead of bends. Beat the butter and sugar for a full 4 minutes until fluffy, then roll the dough between parchment and chill it for an hour. Cut hearts 1/4 inch thick and bake at 325°F. Half of each heart gets dipped in semi-sweet chocolate thinned with 2 teaspoons of oil, then covered in pink sprinkles. Tip: sift the cocoa with the flour, since lumps of cocoa will not mix out once the butter is in. Get the full recipe at Crunchy Creamy Sweet.
8. Heart-Shaped Thumbprint Jam Cookies
No cookie cutter required for this one. DIY JOY rolls a simple butter dough into tablespoon balls, then presses each one with a wet fingertip in a V shape so the dent comes out as a heart. A spoonful of raspberry jam fills the heart and the cookies bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. The dough is just flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, an egg and vanilla, so it’s pantry-friendly. Tip: beat the butter and sugar a full five minutes until fluffy, because that’s what keeps these tender instead of tough. Get the full recipe at DIY JOY.
9. Rose Almond Cookies Recipe
Rose almond cookies are a buttery, eggless shortbread perfumed with rose water, dried rose petals and a little cardamom. The ingredient list is short: flour, butter, sugar, chopped almonds and a pinch of salt. Grind the sugar fine first so the dough turns out tender, then chill it for about 40 minutes before rolling it 5mm thick and cutting hearts. Bake at 180°C (350°F). Tip: go easy on the rose water, because 1 teaspoon is plenty and more can taste soapy. A lovely, grown-up flavor next to all the chocolate. Get the full recipe at Blend with Spices.
10. Cherry Kiss Cookies
These pink blossom-style cookies get their color and flavor from maraschino cherries, finely chopped and folded into the dough, with the cherry juice mixed in too. The dough is a tender confectioners’ sugar butter dough, rolled into one-inch balls and baked at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Press a chocolate kiss into each warm cookie right out of the oven and add a sprinkle of sanding sugar. Tip: unwrap the kisses and chill them before you start, so they hold their pointy shape instead of melting into a puddle on the hot cookie. Get the full recipe at Bunsen Burner Bakery.
11. Valentine’s Conversation Heart Cookies
These Valentine’s conversation heart cookies swap the chalky candy for vanilla almond sugar cookies iced in pastel royal icing and lettered with modern sayings like “BAE,” “Text Me” and “Swipe Right.” The dough gets almond meal, nutmeg and almond extract, then chills for 1 to 24 hours before cutting. Outline each heart with icing, let it set about 5 minutes and then flood the center. Tip: let the base coat dry completely before piping the words in red, or the letters will bleed into the pastel. Get the full recipe at DIY JOY.
12. Red Velvet Cookies Recipe
These red velvet cookies use just four ingredients: a box of red velvet cake mix, two eggs, a third of a cup of vegetable oil and powdered sugar for rolling. The batter is thick, so scoop it into balls and roll each one in powdered sugar before baking at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. As they spread, the sugar coating cracks into that crinkle look. Tip: pull them when the edges barely brown so the centers stay soft. They keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and they freeze well too. Get the full recipe at Eating on a Dime.
13. Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
A box of strawberry cake mix does most of the work here, which is why these pink cookies come together so fast. The dough is just cake mix, melted butter, two eggs and a little lemon juice, with chopped fresh strawberries and white chocolate chips folded in. Two-tablespoon scoops bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 11 minutes and come out soft and chewy. The dough will be sticky, and that’s normal. Tip: save some berries and chips to press on top of each dough ball before baking so every cookie looks bakery pretty. Get the full recipe at On My Kids Plate.
14. Homemade Linzer Cookies With Raspberry Jam
Homemade Linzer cookies are tender sandwich cookies with a window of raspberry jam peeking through the top. The dough is simple: flour, powdered sugar, an egg and cold butter, rested in the fridge overnight. Roll it thin, about 1/8 inch, cut flowers or hearts and bake at 350°F for roughly 8 minutes, checking at 6 so they stay pale. Dust the tops with powdered sugar before sandwiching them with jam. Tip: assemble within a day or two of serving, because the cookies soften as they sit with the jam. Get the full recipe at Happy Foods Tube.
15. Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies
Chocolate chip cherry cookies start with a white cake mix, softened butter, one egg and cream cheese for a soft, almost cheesecake-like dough. Diced maraschino cherries and mini chocolate chips get folded in, and the dough chills for an hour so the cookies do not spread too much. Bake at 350°F for 9 minutes, then press a whole cherry on top and finish with a spoonful of chocolate ganache. Tip: pat the diced cherries dry with paper towels first, because extra juice makes the dough wet and streaky. Get the full recipe at Inside BruCrew Life.
16. Soft Frosted Heart Cookies
averiecooksThese are the soft cakey bakery style hearts, made in one bowl with no rolling out, which is exactly why I make them. Pink frosting and sprinkles on top and my kids are thrilled. Averie Cooks has the recipe.
17. Chocolate Dipped Heart Cookies
Big four-inch hearts with a half coat of chocolate and a pile of Valentine sprinkles make these look far fancier than the work involved. The buttery cut-out dough uses one cup each of butter and sugar plus two eggs and vanilla, then chills for an hour before rolling half an inch thick. They bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Tip: add the sprinkles the second each cookie comes out of the chocolate, because the coating sets fast and nothing will stick once it does. Get the full recipe at Dinner at the Zoo.
18. Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
sallysbakingaddictionRed velvet cake texture inside a chocolate chip cookie is a combination I did not know I needed. Soft centers, vivid color, and they look striking on a plate. I make a batch every February without fail. Sally’s Baking Addiction has the recipe.
19. Chocolate Spritz Cookies
Chocolate spritz cookies are pressed straight from a cookie press into little flowers, then finished with a pink M&M in the center. The dough is a classic butter and sugar spritz with cocoa powder and a touch of almond extract. Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes until set. One batch makes 10 to 12 dozen small cookies, which is handy for class parties. Tip: do not chill this dough. It needs to stay soft to push through the press, and it goes straight onto an ungreased or silicone-lined sheet. Get the full recipe at Mom Loves Baking.
20. Heart Pizza Valentine Cookies
Heart pizza Valentine cookies turn plain cut-out cookie dough into slices of pizza with red heart sprinkles for pepperoni. Cut the triangles by hand with a bench scraper, knife or pizza cutter, then pipe royal icing in brown for the crust, red for the sauce and ivory for the melty cheese, smoothing it with an offset spatula. Tip: add the heart sprinkles while the first cheese layer is still wet so they stick. Pair them with iced letters spelling out a pun about wanting a little pizza someone’s heart and the gift practically writes itself. Get the full recipe at Bake at 350.
21. Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Soft cut-out sugar cookies stay thick and tender instead of crisp, which makes them great for kids to decorate. The dough uses flour, butter, sugar, one egg, vanilla and a little almond extract, which adds a bakery flavor. Roll it out right after mixing, between sheets of parchment, then chill the rolled sheets for 1 to 2 hours or up to 2 days. Rolling before chilling is easier than fighting a cold block of dough. Tip: if the dough feels too sticky to roll, add one more tablespoon of flour. Get the full recipe at Sally's Baking Addiction.
22. Valentine Sugar Cookies
sixsistersstuffButtery vanilla sugar cookies with pink frosting are what my kids want to help with, and the dough behaves well enough that I actually let them. Soft in the middle with lovely frosting on top. Six Sisters’ Stuff has it.
23. White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
Freeze-dried raspberries are the secret to these chewy drop cookies, because they bring bright berry flavor and little red pops of color without making the dough wet. The base is a classic brown sugar dough with an extra egg yolk for chewiness, folded with raspberries and white chocolate chips. Scoop with a 1.5 tablespoon scoop and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, pulling them while the centers still look slightly underdone. Tip: spoon and level the flour or weigh it, because packed flour is the usual reason these won’t spread. Get the full recipe at Baked by an Introvert.
24. Strawberry Valentine Cookies
iheartnaptimeThree ingredients, one of which is a box of strawberry cake mix, and they come out soft and chewy and very pink. I keep this one in my back pocket for when I have forgotten something. I Heart Naptime has the recipe.
25. Cherry Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies
Cherry cheesecake thumbprint cookies taste like a slice of cheesecake in cookie form. A full 8 ounces of cream cheese goes into the butter and sugar, and each dough ball is rolled in graham cracker crumbs for that crust flavor. The thumbprint gets filled with canned cherry pie filling. Tip: chill the dough at least 3 hours, though 8 to 24 hours helps the cookies hold their shape best. Scoop with a medium 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop and bake at 350°F. Get the full recipe at I Heart Eating.
26. Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies
Chewy red velvet chocolate chip cookies become a sandwich with a swirl of cream cheese frosting piped in the middle. The dough gets its color from red velvet bakery emulsion or red gel color and its flavor from a little cocoa powder, and each batch bakes at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. The frosting is cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and a splash of milk, piped with a 1M tip. Tip: let the cookies cool completely before filling, or the frosting slides right out the sides. Get the full recipe at Yellow Bliss Road.
27. Cherry Vanilla Pie Cookies
Cherry vanilla pie cookies are a shortbread-style thumbprint made from butter, flour, powdered sugar and vanilla, with no egg in the dough. Roll tablespoon-size balls, press a well in the center and spoon in one or two cherries from a can of cherry pie filling. Bake at 325°F for 12 to 15 minutes, let them cool, then drizzle with melted white chocolate. Tip: melt the white chocolate in 30 second bursts and pipe it from a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off for neat lines like these. Get the full recipe at The Recipe Critic.
28. Chocolate Croissant Cookies
Chocolate croissant cookies wrap a buttery cream cheese dough around pieces of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, so they taste like a mini pain au chocolat. Roll the chilled dough into a 20 by 8 inch rectangle and cut twenty 2 by 4 inch pieces. Lay chocolate across each piece with the ends hanging out, fold, brush with egg and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 350°F and drizzle with melted chocolate. Tip: chill the dough for at least an hour, up to 24, so it rolls cleanly instead of tearing. Get the full recipe at Spicy Southern Kitchen.
29. Valentine Sugar Cookie Cups
Only three ingredients stand between you and these little pink cookie cups: a package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, a tub of frosting and heart sprinkles. Cut the dough into 24 pieces, press each into a greased mini muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. While they’re hot, press the puffed centers down with a shot glass or the back of a spoon to make the cups. Tip: bake the cups a day ahead and frost them the day of the party so they stay crisp. Get the full recipe at Love Bakes Good Cakes.
30. Chocolate Cherry Blossom Cookies
Chocolate cherry blossom cookies are pink butter cookies flavored with maraschino cherry juice and studded with chopped cherries. Two teaspoons of the reserved juice plus red gel coloring give the dough its color. Shape 1 inch balls, roll them in sugar, flatten them gently with a small glass and bake at 325°F for 12 to 15 minutes, until the sides just begin to brown. Tip: press a Hershey’s Kiss into each one the moment they come out of the oven, while the cookie is soft enough to hug the chocolate. Get the full recipe at Baking Beauty.
31. Colorful Spiral Cookies
Colorful spiral cookies are slice-and-bake cookies with a pink swirl rolled into a plain vanilla dough. The dough comes together in a food processor, half gets strawberry extract and rose food coloring, and each half is rolled about 1/8 inch thick between waxed paper and chilled at least 2 hours. Stack the layers, roll them into a log and coat the outside in rainbow nonpareils. Slice and bake at 325°F for 15 to 17 minutes. Tip: chill the dough until firm before rolling the log so the spiral stays tight. Get the full recipe at Sprinkle Bakes.
32. Sparkle Sweetheart Cookies
sallysbakingaddictionButtery heart cutouts edged in red and pink sanding sugar with a milk chocolate heart on top. They sparkle properly under the light and I think they are the prettiest thing I make all February. The recipe is at Sally’s Baking Addiction.
33. Gluten Free and Vegan Sugar Cookies
Gluten free and vegan sugar cookies use a vegan buttery spread and a quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of butter and eggs, with a gluten free flour blend for structure. Chill the two discs for at least 2 hours, roll them 1/4 inch thick on waxed paper well dusted with gluten free flour and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. The pink frosting gets its color from strained raspberry juice. Tip: gluten free blends absorb liquid differently, so add flour until the dough feels quite stiff before chilling. Get the full recipe at The Pretty Bee.
