Description
This delightful Valentine’s Day Slice N’ Bake Cookies recipe features charming heart-shaped cookies with colorful pink and red dough wrapped around each centerpiece. These slice-and-bake treats are speckled with festive Valentine’s Day nonpareil sprinkles, perfect for sharing or gifting during the holiday of love. The recipe combines a buttery, flavorful dough enhanced with vanilla and almond extracts, making each bite irresistibly tender and sweet.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Coloring & Decorations
- Pink and red gel food coloring
- Valentine’s Day nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Set this mixture aside for later.
- Cream butter and sugar: Place the granulated sugar and softened unsalted butter into a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and extracts: Incorporate the large egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract into the butter and sugar mixture. Beat until fully combined.
- Form the dough: Gradually spoon the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and gently fold with a spatula until a dough forms. Avoid overmixing to keep the dough tender.
- Color portion of dough: Remove one-third of the dough and divide it into two equal parts. Knead red gel food coloring into one portion and pink gel food coloring into the other until the colors are evenly incorporated.
- Roll and cut hearts: Roll out the colored dough to approximately ½ inch thickness. Using a lightly floured 1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Gather scraps and re-roll to maximize the number of hearts.
- Chill hearts: Arrange the heart cookies on a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap them securely, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Prepare outside dough ropes: While the hearts chill, roll the remaining plain dough into long, narrow ropes. These should be long enough to fully encircle each heart.
- Wrap hearts with dough ropes: Remove hearts from the refrigerator. Gently press the dough ropes around each heart, enclosing the colored centers completely.
- Coat cookies with sprinkles: Pour Valentine’s Day nonpareil sprinkles onto a baking dish. Roll the wrapped dough hearts in the sprinkles to coat all sides fully.
- Chill assembled dough: Wrap the sprinkle-covered dough logs tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best slicing results.
- Slice and bake cookies: Once chilled, slice the dough logs into ½-inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on a baking sheet, spaced at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden but the centers remain soft.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store: Store cooled cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
Notes
- Ensure the butter is softened to room temperature for easy creaming with sugar.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering dough consistency.
- Chilling the dough before slicing helps maintain clean edges on the cookies.
- Adjust baking time carefully to avoid over-baking, which can dry out the cookies.
- These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week or frozen for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 70mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
