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Slice and Bake Heart Cookies

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Slice and bake heart cookies are the cutest make-ahead Valentine’s Day dessert idea!

top down view of slice and bake heart cookies on a cooling rack

Every year for Valentine’s Day, we love to have a special family party to celebrate. And we’re always on the lookout for treats for our party. These homemade slice and bake cookies with heart-shaped centers are so adorable! Kids will especially love that these cookies have small hearts baked right into the dough. The hearts make them so much more special than just plain sugar cookies.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These are perfect Valentine’s Day cookies with hearts! You can always make regular cookies like peanut butter cookies, thumbprint cookies, or even brownie cookies. But these cookies are just extra-special because they’re like having a cookie inside of a cookie! And, they’re pink!

In addition to being completely adorable, these DIY slice and bake cookies are convenient because you can make the dough the day before. Wrap and store the dough in the fridge to bake the following day. These would be super fun to make with kids, because you could break up the cooking sessions into two days. Or, mix up the dough one day by yourself, and then pull the dough out the following day to have the kids help you slice and bake it (this would be helpful if you’re baking with younger children).

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Supplies

top down view of ingredients in small white bowls on marble countertop

Slice and Bake Heart Cookies Ingredients

Find the full list of ingredients, amounts, and instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

  • Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature. If you use salted butter, you may want to leave out some of the salt in the recipe.
  • Sugar: White granulated sugar.
  • Flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
  • Salt: As mentioned above, you may want to leave out some of the salt if you use salted butter.
  • Egg: You’ll just need one egg, preferably at room temperature.
  • Vanilla Extract: You can use store-bought vanilla, or homemade vanilla extract.
  • Pink or Red Food Dye: ​You can make this recipe dye-free by using a natural food dye.

How to Make Slice and Bake Heart Cookies

1. Add the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.

    four photos showing steps for recipe with dough being mixed in stand mixer bowl

    2. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Mix slowly until the cookie dough comes together.

    3. Separate about 1 ¾ cups of cookie dough into a separate bowl and set aside for later.

    4. Add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to the remaining cookie dough and mix until the color is fully incorporated.

    5. Form the pink dough into a disk shape, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour (do not refrigerate the plain undyed dough, as it needs to be kept soft).

    6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out until it is ¼ inch thick.

      four photos showing steps to make slice and bake heart cookies

      7. Cut out cookies with a small heart cookie cutter (about 2-inch size) until all the pink dough is used up.

      8. Stack the cookies on top of one another and compress them gently so they all stick together.

      9. Roll small sections of the undyed plain dough between your hands and press the strips around all sides of the stacked hearts until no pink is showing.

      10. Roll the dough log gently back and forth to smooth it out, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours or overnight.

        slice and bake heart cookies dough wrapped in plastic wrap

        11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit when ready to bake the cookies.

        12. Remove the chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and slice it into cookies that are about ⅓ inch thick.

          slice and bake heart cookies being sliced from the log of dough

          13. Roll the edges of the cookies in the sugar sprinkles if desired. I did half of mine with sprinkles and half without.

          14. Place 8 of them, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are LIGHTLY golden brown.

            slice and bake heart cookies on cookie sheet ready to be baked

            15. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

            16. Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.

              How to Store

              Store slice and bake heart cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

              slice and bake heart cookies on a cutting board

              Make-Ahead Instructions

              You can make the dough a day ahead, form into a log shape, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and store overnight in the refrigerator. 

              You can also freeze slice and bake heart cookie dough. Wrap the cookie dough logs tightly in plastic wrap and then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Remove to the fridge the night before you plan to bake them, to allow the dough to thaw. You may need to increase the baking time by a few minutes.

              More Valentine’s Day Recipes

              If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a comment with a 5-star recipe rating and let me know! Thank you!

              top down view of slice and bake heart cookies on a cooling rack

              Slice and Bake Heart Cookies

              Slice and bake heart cookies are the cutest make-ahead Valentine's Day dessert idea! The dough can be made ahead, chilled overnight, and then baked the next day to save time.
              No ratings yet
              Print Pin Rate
              Course: Dessert
              Cuisine: American
              Prep Time: 20 minutes
              Cook Time: 10 minutes
              Chill Time: 5 hours
              Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
              Servings: 20 cookies
              Author: Joy Kincaid

              Equipment

              Ingredients

              • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
              • 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
              • 1 egg
              • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
              • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
              • ½ teaspoon salt
              • Pink or red food dye
              • Red sugar sprinkles optional

              Instructions

              • Add the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
              • Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the flour and salt to the mixing bowl. Mix slowly until the cookie dough comes together.
              • Separate about 1 ¾ cups of cookie dough into a separate bowl and set aside for later.
              • Add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to the remaining cookie dough and mix until the color is fully incorporated.
              • Form the dyed dough into a disk shape, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
              • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out until it is ¼ inch thick.
              • Cut out cookies with a 2-inch, heart-shaped cookie cutter until all the pink dough is used up.
              • Stack the cookies on top of one another and compress them gently so they all stick together.
              • Roll small sections of the undyed dough between your hands and press the strips around all sides of the stacked hearts until no pink is showing.
              • Roll the dough log gently back and forth to smooth it out, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
              • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit when ready to bake the cookies.
              • Remove the chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and slice it into cookies that are about ⅓ inch thick.
              • Roll the edges of the cookies in the sugar sprinkles if desired. I did half of mine with sprinkles and half without.
              • Place 8 of them, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are LIGHTLY golden brown.
              • Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
              • Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.

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