Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and you might be on the search for a treat to bring to work, school, church, the neighbors, etc. If you’re looking to impress, these are the choice for you! Would you believe me if I told you that these cookies are extremely easy to decorate? It only takes 3 colors of royal icing (red, white and pink) in 3 squeeze bottles and a handful of toothpicks. An off-set spatula to spread the icing is also helpful.
I saw these cute hearts originally on Karen’s Cookie blog. Karen’s Cookies is my latest favorite discovery. I’ve bought a few baking items from her store and plan to purchase more in the future. She recently started a blog to share photos of her delicious creations, including these cookies.
To create the marble hearts, you simply flood the cookie with the royal icing and then quickly dot the background with another color. While it’s still wet, run a toothpick through the dots and they magically become hearts! Below is a quick photo tutorial on how to create the marble hearts on the cookies…
…and then a few photos on how to create the tie-dyed look.
Again, just make sure you are working one or two cookies at a time so that the icing is still wet. This causes the different colors to set into each other for flat results. A few more helpful hints? It helps to keep the bottles tipped upside down in glasses so they are ready to go. Additionally, keep paper towels nearby to wipe your toothpick(s) after each use. For more detailed instructions, visit Karen’s Cookie blog.
I am now a fan of the royal icing recipe provided by Karen’s Cookies and her sugar cookie recipe. Although, I do still like the original royal icing I used and will continue to use both. You’ll be very proud of yourself after making these cookies. And, you’ll have a hard time eating them since they’re so pretty!
- 1 cup butter , softened
- 1 cup superfine sugar (or granulated sugar processed in food processor for 30 seconds)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract , optional
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and salt at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and beat until fully incorporated. Mix in the whole egg, vanilla and optional almond extract. Beat until full mixed. Add the flour, then beat at low speed just until combined. Be careful to not over-mix. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in fridge until firm, at least one hour and up to 2 days.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a floured work surface, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick, sprinkling with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Use cookies cutters to cut into shapes and place on parchment or silicone-lined pans. Bake until cookies appear dry on the surface and are light golden brown on the edges, about 10 minutes (or a few more for larger cookies). Let sit for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets. Allow to cool completely on cooling racks before decorating.
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Source: Karen’s Cookies
Snap a photo and tag @seededtable on Instagram so I can share!
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
- 6 + tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract , optional
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Beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). Divide into separate containers, depending on how many colors you plan to use. Mix in food coloring. Add water to thin each color out so that when it runs off the spoon it quickly dissolves back into the remaining icing within 10 seconds. Add powdered sugar if need to thicken. Pour into squeeze bottles and decorate cookies.
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Source: Karen’s Cookies
Snap a photo and tag @seededtable on Instagram so I can share!
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keeley says
February 7, 2011 at 6:32 AMI love your cookies! so cute! Where did you get the bottles that you used to decorate? That’s a really good idea for royal icing!
Pennies on a Platter says
February 7, 2011 at 8:13 AMHi Keeley,
Within the post, I provided an Amazon link to the squeeze bottles, however, you can get them at Michael’s or Joann Fabrics, as well. (Or, any craft store where you can find Wilton baking items.)
-Nikki
Anonymous says
November 15, 2014 at 7:18 PMwalmart has them to
Rachel says
February 7, 2011 at 7:27 AMThese are GORGEOUS and I love the picture tutorial. It will help those of us who aren’t so adept with the royal icing. 🙂
Josie says
February 7, 2011 at 7:58 AMGorgeous, Nikki!! So so pretty!
Happy When Not Hungry says
February 7, 2011 at 8:05 AMThese cookies look so beautiful! I definitely am going to try some of Karen’s techniques since they look fairly easy. Thanks for sharing!
Becky says
February 7, 2011 at 8:08 AMThese are so beautiful! Do you outline and flood the cookie with the royal icing at the same consistancy or do you thin it to flood? What kind of food coloring do you use? I’ve never used royal icing before, and these seem like great cookies to start with! Have a happy Monday!
Pennies on a Platter says
February 7, 2011 at 8:11 AMHi Becky,
For these, I use the same consistency of icing to both outline and flood the cookies. Just make a thin layer for the base to avoid overflow when adding the dots for the hearts. Here is a link to the icing colors I use.
-Nikki
Shawnda says
February 7, 2011 at 8:36 AMSuch a great job! I absolutely love the trail of hearts and the swirly valentine vortex 🙂
Marg Sandiford says
February 7, 2011 at 10:06 AMThese hearts are great! I used this technique on leaf shaped cookies in fall colours and they turned out really well
Sara says
February 7, 2011 at 10:56 AMGorgeous! I love the swirls. I want to make cute cookies like these! 🙂
Marissa says
February 7, 2011 at 11:08 AMThese are so cute!!! I can’t wait to try them! 🙂 I love decorating sugar cookies, but it takes me such a long time that I can’t do it too often! haha
-Marissa
http://noraisinsonmyparade.com
tryityoumightlikeit says
February 7, 2011 at 12:00 PMI did my first cookies with the flood technique yesterday and it worked out great. I love your designs!
Amy's Cooking Adventures says
February 7, 2011 at 1:40 PMSo cute! I’ve been nervous about using royal icing in the past, but this one has me convinced–off to get squeeze bottle I go!
Sarah says
February 7, 2011 at 5:28 PMThese are adorable! This time of year really brings out some of the cutest dessert recipes. We had another blogger friend who shared her Text Message cookies with us recently. So fun! You can see that cute recipe here:
http://blog.recipelion.com/guest-post-valentines-day-brings-sweet-text-messages/
Thanks as always for the great recipes.
Sarah
Editor
http://www.recipelion.com
Bridget says
February 8, 2011 at 12:53 PMThat’s perfect! I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring super frilly royal icing decorated sugar cookies to the office potluck on Monday after being out of town all weekend. This is the answer because I don’t have to wait until the icing dries before adding detail like I would for most royal icing decorations!
Rachel says
February 8, 2011 at 1:04 PMThese cookies are beautiful and look as if you spent HOURS decorating! I love that you demonstrated your techniques!
Vicki says
February 8, 2011 at 2:31 PMThese are beautiful, Nik. Can’t wait to try them!
Beth Ann says
February 9, 2011 at 7:31 AMI wondered how you did those beautiful patterns on the cookies! Thanks for sharing all the info!!! Love them! Beth Ann
Cora says
February 9, 2011 at 11:03 PMThis is my first time making royal icing and I couldn’t find merengue powder. I asked the clerk at the grocery store and they told me to get cream of tartar. Is that right? Or where else could I possibly look for merengue powder? Thanks 🙂
Pennies on a Platter says
February 10, 2011 at 12:32 PMNo, do not use cream of tartar. You can find meringue powder at baking supply stores or craft stores that have a baking area such as Michael’s, Joann Fabrics, and possibly Hobby Lobby. I’m sure you can also order it on Amazon.
Nikki
Denise says
February 12, 2011 at 5:54 PMI made these with my 10 year old girls for their classes at school. They had so much fun with it, their 7 and 5 year old brothers joined in the fun! They’re not as professional looking, but they’re still beautiful. The best part is, everyone, including mom, had fun with the icing. I got it a little thin, so it ran a little bit, but adding more powdered sugar helped. Also, I was able to find everything I needed except the super fine sugar at Wal-Mart. The one near me has the cake decorating materials near the greeting cards, not in the baking aisle, FYI! Thanks for sharing a fun idea!
Pennies on a Platter says
February 12, 2011 at 6:21 PMDenise – What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing! (And, very weird how the cake decorating materials are near the greeting cards rather than the baking aisle. ha! I’ll have to remember that!)
-Nikki
Amy says
February 13, 2011 at 3:40 PMI am making these cookies today for my son’s party at school tomorrow. So far it’s been pretty easy but some of my cookies bubbled up a little during baking. They will be fine for three year olds but how can I prevent this in the future?
new baker!
Pennies on a Platter says
February 13, 2011 at 8:06 PMHi Amy,
It’s hard to tell, but maybe you are over mixing the dough? When you add the flour, you want to mix until it is JUST combined. I also heard before that if you reuse parchment paper, this can also cause bubbling, but I think on the bottom of the cookies. I have no idea if that’s true, though. 🙂
-Nikki
Gisell says
February 17, 2011 at 11:22 PMlove your blog im just star making then for self
Mary J. says
January 25, 2012 at 7:27 AMHow did you get the colors on your site for the sugar cookie hearts? They are so rich and deep in color especially the “red”. I am going to attempt to make these for a church function in February. Any advice would be appreciated as I am a rookie crafter/creator Mj 🙂
Nikki says
January 25, 2012 at 8:26 AMHi Mary, Since I don’t make sugar cookies extremely often, I don’t really have a specific formula for colors and just experiment every time. I’d recommend a couple of other blogs that specialize in sugar cookies, like Sugarbelle and Bake@350. 🙂
Palomita says
February 14, 2012 at 9:08 AMMade these for my husband for V-day 🙂 They came out pretty good. Normally I never cream stuff first, just throw it in at the same time. This time I followed directions verbatim 🙂 Adding this recipe to the file!
conniesua says
March 1, 2013 at 10:30 AMHi:
I made your cookies recipe, and I want to say yoy, !! its fantastic !! I need to work in the decorating, but all it´s delicious.
vivian says
March 8, 2013 at 9:14 AMGot them in the oven hope they turn out good 🙂
Tiffany says
March 12, 2013 at 5:59 PMHi!! I will be using this recipe for my sons birthday party this weekend. Did you use salter or unsalted butter? Does it matter?
Nikki says
March 13, 2013 at 7:43 AMWhen baking, I always use unsalted butter unless the recipe specifically calls for salted. 🙂 Have a great party!
Kirsten Murray says
April 29, 2013 at 8:00 AMHi Nikki,
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe & tutorial! I made these for a milk & cookies open house event this past week and they were a huge hit.
Have a lovely week,
Kirsten
Nikki says
April 29, 2013 at 1:45 PMSo glad the tutorial helped you, Kirsten! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Mickey Nash says
February 13, 2014 at 8:56 PMFound your darling cookies by typing in Valentines Cookies… these are gorgeous and look so professional! Can’t wait to bake them and bag them in threes in a clear gusseted bag for teachers gifts 🙂
Jennifer Vang says
July 10, 2015 at 11:13 AMHello, I wanted to make these for a baby shower, but I didn’t know how much more I should double the quantity. How many serviings does this recipe make?
I’m assuming 36 cookies?
I’m looking to make roughly 100-150. Thanks!
Nikki Gladd says
July 11, 2015 at 11:16 AMHi Jennifer,
That’s a hard question to answer because it totally depends on the size of your cookie cutters and how thin/thick you decide to roll the dough. I would probably double it first, to see how much it makes for you, then double again, etc.
natalie says
October 21, 2015 at 1:24 AMthese are so cute! im nervous to attempt these because i tried sugar cookies before and the icing was to runny. What do i do if that happens again?
Nikki Gladd says
October 22, 2015 at 8:31 AMHi Natalie,
You can thicken the icing with more powdered sugar. 🙂
Sarah says
November 19, 2015 at 6:18 PMWhat’s the difference between one egg and one egg yolk?
Nikki Gladd says
November 20, 2015 at 1:13 PMSeparate the yolk from the egg white and only use the yolk.
Cristy says
January 2, 2017 at 2:17 PMNikki these look so yummy. I have included them in my roundup of 20 Yummy Heart Shaped Treats.
Cindy says
February 8, 2017 at 9:56 PMLOVE THESE!!! I’m putting together a Foodie Friday Roundup this week for Valentine’s Cookies. Could I include a pic and your post link?
Stephanie says
April 5, 2017 at 12:42 PMHi! Do you think I can make these cookies and freeze them for two weeks before thawing and frosting?
Nikki Gladd says
April 5, 2017 at 3:17 PMI think that should be fine! 🙂
Michaela says
December 30, 2017 at 9:50 AMHello! These just look beautiful! I’ve been wondering how could I change the meringue powder because we don’t have it in Bulgaria, any suggestions? 🙂
Nikki Gladd says
December 30, 2017 at 3:44 PMHi Michaela,
I’m sorry I do not have any suggestions, but hoping another reader might and can comment! 🙂