Easy Decorated Valentine Cookies
These cookies are not only delicious and look like they come from a fine bake-shop, but the dough recipe is one-bowl and no-mixer!
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 8 ounces very soft butter (2 sticks)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup corn starch
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons half and half maybe more
- ½ teaspoon vanilla or other flavored extracts
For the buttercream piping:
- 1 tablespoon very soft butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½-3 tablespoons half and half you might need more
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla or other flavored extracts
- 3-4 drops food coloring
- nonpareils
Instructions
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Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside. Place soft butter in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula until nice and smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix together by hand for about 1 minute, until fluffy and well blended.
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Add the flour and corn starch. Stir until dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough is shaggy.
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Generously flour a work surface. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and press into a ball. Knead 5-6 times times until fairly smooth, then form into a ball again and press with your hands into a flat disk. Turn the disk to coat both sides with flour.
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Roll out the dough to an approximate ⅜-inch thickness (see tips above in post). Keep work surface, dough and rolling pin dusted with flour. Cut desired shapes and place on prepared pans. Re-roll scraps as many times as needed to use up the dough.
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Place cutouts in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375˚F. Remove 1 pan of cutouts from the refrigerator and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Rotate pans halfway through for even browning. Repeat with second pan of cutouts. Cool completely before icing.
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For the glaze, combine powdered sugar, half and half and extract in a medium-size bowl. Mix until smooth. Glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add a little more half and half if too thick. Taste the glaze and add more extract, if more intense flavor is desired.
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Transfer the glaze to a shallow bowl. To glaze the cookies, hold onto the edge of a cookie and dip the top surface into the glaze, being sure all of the top surface touches the glaze. Pull cookie straight up and out of the glaze. Allow excess glaze to drip back into the bowl for about 15-20 seconds. When glaze stops dripping, quickly flip the cookie to the right side up and give it a gentle jiggle to allow the glaze to flow evenly over the surface. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow glaze to dry for 15-30 minutes.
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For the buttercream piping, place butter in a medium-size bowl and stir until smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons half and half and extract and stir vigorously until smooth, adding a bit more half and half if needed to achieve a thick, but smooth consistency. Add food coloring, a drop at a time, to reach desired shade.
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Place buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a small round icing tip (I used a Wilton #5 round tip).
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10. Make an outline on the top of each cookie with a small heart-shaped cookie cutter. Pipe around the outline with buttercream. Then, starting at the top, fill in the heart with diagonal, back and forth lines (see pictures above). Immediately sprinkle with nonpareils of choice. Set aside to dry.
Recipe Notes
See Café Tips above for lots of extra tips and detailed instructions.
This recipe makes a dozen large (3-inch) or two dozen smaller (2-inch) cookies.