Heart Shaped Cookies
Our Heart Shaped Cookies are sweet, shortbread sandwich cookies with raspberry preserves in the center. They’re fun to make and great for sharing with that special someone on Valentine’s Day!
The best way to show someone you care? Baked goods made with love. Skip the fancy store bought chocolates or cardboard flavored box of cookies and make your own Valentine’s day treat right at home!
These heart shaped Valentine cookies have a delicious buttery shortbread cookie base with sweet raspberry preserves sandwiched between two cookies and dusted with powdered sugar.
Step up your baking game this Valentine’s Day with a tray of beautiful homemade sweets. The fastest way to someone’s heart is surely through the stomach!
Looking for other treats for your sweetie? Try our chocolate truffles, Valentine Rice Krispie Treats, or Valentine’s Chex Mix.
Tips and Variations for Heart Shaped Cookies
- You don’t have to use raspberry preserves in these cookies; you can use any flavor preserves you like, or try nutella or a chocolate based filling.
- For extra flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to the cookie batter.
- Always use parchment paper to keep your cookies from browning too quickly on the bottom and prevent them from sticking to the baking tray.
- Use any shape cookie cutter for any occasion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these sandwich cookies very sweet?
No, these cookies aren’t super sweet. They’re closer to the taste and texture of shortbread cookies rather than sweet, sugar cookies.
Some of the sweetness comes from the dusting of powdered sugar, but they aren’t overly sweet.
Why did my cookies spread?
These cookies contain a lot of butter, so we recommend letting the dough chill for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.
Additionally, in our experience, name brand butter works better for this recipe than store brand butter.
Lastly, make sure your oven isn’t baking at a hotter temperature than it should. Even the best ovens (new ones included) have trouble sometimes.
How do you make heart shaped cookies without a cookie cutter?
If you don’t have a cookie cutter, no worries! There are a couple of ways to make heart-shaped cookies without one.
One way is to gently form the cookies by hand or with a knife. Then, use a sharp knife to cut a small heart out of the center of half the cookies to form a “window” in order to see the fruit preserves.
Another way is a cut heart-shaped stencils out of waxed or parchment paper. Lay the stencils over the dough and use a sharp knife to carefully cut around the stencils.
You’ll want to re-refrigerate the dough after using either of these methods since the dough has a tendency to get warm quickly.
How to Make Heart Shaped Cookies
This cookie recipe is fairly straightforward, but it does take some time to prepare the ingredients and let the dough chill.
(These instructions include step-by-step photos but don’t include the exact amounts of each ingredient. For that information, you’ll want to scroll to the recipe card further down the page.)
- Start by using a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the flour until a soft dough forms.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or longer if possible.
- When ready, preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4 to ½-inch thick.
- Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out 24 cookies (or any even amount you can get depending on the size of your cookie cutter).
- Reroll the dough and continue cutting until you have an even number and the dough has been used up.
- Use a second, smaller heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut the center from half of the cookies.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving space in between each. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. They’ll be soft when finished.
- Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, place a teaspoon of raspberry preserves in the center of each solid heart cookie. Place the hollow heart cookie on top to form a sandwich.
- Lightly dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
Storage
Room Temperature: Store any leftover Valentine Cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days. You can move them to the refrigerator to store for an additional couple of days.
Freezer: These cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (name brand butter recommended)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup raspberry preserves
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, or more as needed
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on low-medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the flour and mix on a low speed until a soft dough forms.¾ cup unsalted butter¼ cup granulated sugar1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- Shape the dough into a disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or longer if possible.
- When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured surface, and roll it to ¼ to ½-inch thick.
- Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut 24 cookies. Re-roll any unused dough to ensure you’re able to cut an even number of cookies.
- Using a second, smaller heart shaped cookie cutter, cut the center out of half of the cookies. Transfer the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space in between each cookie.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until the edges are set. Once baked, the cookies will still be soft. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- After the cookies have cooled, add a teaspoon of raspberry preserves to the center of the solid heart cookies. Spread around the cookies using a spoon or knife.¼ cup raspberry preserves
- Place the cookie with the hollow center on top of the raspberry preserves to form a cookie sandwich. Dust the finished cookies with the powdered sugar. Enjoy!1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- See post for storage options, tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.
