Heart Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting (Recipe)
Valentine’s day calls for hearts and what better gift than a heart shaped sugar cookie! These sugar cookies are decorated with a braided heart design using American buttercream and topped with edible glitter.
Tools
To make these braided heart shaped sugar cookies, we need a few different tools.
Cookie cutter: These cookies make for the perfect medium sized cookie. Just big enough to pipe on braided hearts. I’ve had the heart cutter that I used in the photo above for years and I can’t find a link for this one, but this heart cutter that’s 3 3/8-inches is very similar!
Food gel dye: I use AmeriColor food gel dye to color most of my frostings. Unlike liquid dye, gel dye won’t change the frosting consistency and a little goes a long way. Because the colors are so vibrant, the gel lasts a long time. This set uses electric pink and fuchsia to dye the buttercream.
Edible glitter: I use edible glitter as a finishing touch but it’s optional! I know glitter isn’t for everybody, but it’s lovely for Valentines day (and all year round). I use this edible glitter because it’s FDA approved and has a nice shine. The easiest way to sprinkle on edible glitter is with a food safe brush. Just lightly dip the brush into the glitter, tap the brush over the cookies and it’s glitterfied!
Other tools: This design is made using the Ateco #18 piping tip and 3 couplers. You also need some piping bags to fill up with buttercream!
Step 1: Bake Sugar Cookies
For these heart shaped sugar cookies I’m using my soft cut-out sugar cookies recipe (bottom of the post). This is my ride or die recipe and pairs nicely with my American buttercream recipe. (Tip: take out enough butter to reach room temperature for the cookies and the frosting recipe.)
You want to start by making the dough and chilling it for 30 minutes to an hour or overnight. Once the dough is ready, flour a counter top and roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. It will be slightly hard and the sides may crack because it’s cold but keeping rolling it. As you work it, it will warm up.
Cut out your cookies using a heart cutter and place them on a prepared baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until the bottoms brown and transfer to a wire rack to cool right away.
Step 2: Make American Buttercream
Sugar cookies don’t have to always be paired with royal icing! For these heart sugar cookies you can use my American buttercream recipe. Since the sugar cookies are buttery and not overly sweet, it won’t cause a big sugar rush to pair with American buttercream. Follow my easy American buttercream recipe here. (Tip: This braided shape is much easier to pipe with buttercream. If you really want to recreate this with royal icing, you need stiff consistency icing.)
While the cookies cool, grab your ingredients and stand mixer. Mix the butter and add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and heavy cream and whip until it comes together.
Prepare 3 piping bags with couplers unless you have 3 #18 Ateco tips. Otherwise, the couplers allow you to easily transfer the tip to each bag. (See photo below)
Add 1 cup of buttercream to a bag and set aside. This will be for the white braided hearts. In a bowl, add 1/2 cup of frosting and 1 drop of electric pink and mix together. Scoop into another prepared piping bag and set aside. In the same bowl, add another 1/2 cup of frosting and 1 drop of fuchsia and mix. Add to the last prepared piping bag.
Step 3: Decorate Heart Sugar Cookies
Now that everything is cooled, mixed, and prepared, it’s time to decorate!
Hold the piping bag at about a 45 degree angle. Pipe with even pressure and pull down. The downward piping is what creates a braided design.
Repeat the same technique but pull the piping tip down to the left, making sure you overlap the tail end so that it looks like a braid overlapping. Repeat all the way down the cookie.
Pipe all of the white braided hearts first, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning the tip in-between each cookie. Then, switch the piping tip to the light pink buttercream bag and repeat the same process. Make sure you pipe the pink hearts right next to the white hearts. If a little bit of cookie shows through, that’s fine!
Switch the piping tip to the fuchsia buttercream repeating the same process. Clean the tip and switch it back to the white buttercream bag and finish piping the braided hearts.
Add edible glitter all over the cookies by dipping a food safe brush into the jar and gently tapping the brush with your finger.
Storing Heart Sugar Cookies
These cookies can be stored at room temperature for 5 days in an airtight container. The buttercream is delicate so if you want to stack cookies, place wax paper in-between. You can freeze cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. Let them defrost before eating.
Watch THE VIDEO
RECIPE CARD
Soft Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand held mixer
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature) (226 g)
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar (228 g)
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 g)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, equip the paddle attachment. If using a hand held mixer, equip beaters. Mix the butter on high speed for 30 seconds until creamy.
- Add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes on high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt and mix on medium until just combined.
- Add in half of the flour and mix until incorporated, then add the other half. Stop mixing when the flour has incorporated and the dough comes together.
- Spread out a piece of plastic wrap onto the counter. Turn out the dough onto the plastic wrap. If the dough is slightly crumbly, gently knead it together. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Prepare your baking trays with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into two parts. Lightly flour a clean flat surface and place the dough on top. Gently knead the dough and press flat with your palm. Roll out the dough, turning it as you roll for even thickness. If it's sticky, sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out your shapes and place on a baking tray, 2 inches apart. 3-4 inch shapes should be baked for 9-10 minutes. Shapes smaller than 3 inches should bake for 7-8 minutes. Shapes larger than 4 inches should bake for 10-11 minutes.
- Once the oven goes off, take out the cookies and move to a cooling rack. Don't let them sit on the hot pan or they will keep baking.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate cookies with royal icing. Let the royal icing air dry before covering. For gifting or mailing, let the icing dry for 12 hours or more.
- Plain cookies or decorated cookies can last in an airtight container for 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing: Cookie dough can be frozen up to 2 months. Let the dough thaw before rolling but not all the way until room temperature. Begin from step 7 above with slightly chilled dough. You can freeze undecorated cookies for 2 months. Let the cookies thaw before serving.
- Decorate: Ice cookies with royal icing. See my easy royal icing recipe with egg whites to answer all your royal icing questions. This royal icing recipe was made to pair with these sugar cookies. The cookies are buttery and not overly sweet, so the icing gives it a nice sweetness.
- Tools: The things that help me bake the perfect cookies: Nordic Baking Pans 13 x 18 inches | Stand mixer or Hand held mixer | AmeriColor soft gel paste food coloring | Piping bags | Rubber spatula | Digital scale | Rolling pin
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, and should be used as an approximation.
