As Valentine’s Day approaches, there’s no better time to treat your loved ones to something sweet that’s baked with love! These heart shaped sandwich cookies are the perfect combination of soft sugar cookies and sweet raspberry buttercream icing. What makes them special is they are perfectly shaped into charming hearts and topped with pink, sparkling sugar.
They are adorable, pretty and the perfect cookie for Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re sharing them with your significant other, gifting them to friends, or simply indulging in a moment of self-love, these cookies are sure to spread love and happiness wherever they go. So this Valentine’s Day, spread love and sweetness with these irresistible heart shaped sandwich cookies. Because nothing says “I love you” quite like a homemade treat made with care and affection!
Ingredients
The sugar crystals, generously sprinkled on top before baking, create a delicate, crispy layer that contrasts beautifully with the softness of the cookies. It’s the finishing touch that enhances both the visual appeal and the crispy bite of these heart shaped cookies. A simple mixture of coarse sugar and a drop of red food colouring transforms the cookies. You can find coarse sugar at your local Bulk Barn store. I have a large jar filled that sits on my counter ready to sprinkle on my baking for a little extra sparkle.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Coarse sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Icing sugar
- Whipping cream (or whole milk)
- Fresh raspberries
- Red food colouring
- Pure vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
Variation
This simple sugar cookie recipe can be used for any occasion or season. Simply change the shape by using different cookie cutters in shapes like stars, flowers, circles, or even letters to personalize your cookies for birthdays, holidays, or special events. You can also adapt the colours and decorations of your cookies. For example, use pastel colours and flower-shaped cookies for spring, vibrant reds and greens for Christmas, or spooky shapes and colours for Halloween. The options are endless.
Tips For The Perfect Heart Shaped Cookies
- Chill the dough. This recipe doesn’t require a lot of chilling time as the dough is a little easier to handle. But for the best results chilling the dough for 20 minutes helps firm it up, making it easier to roll out and cut into shapes. Also, and most importantly chilled dough spreads less during baking, helping the cookies maintain their heart shape.
- If the dough is too firm it will crack when you try and roll it out. If this happens let it sit at room temperature for approx. 15-20 minutes or until its managable to roll without cracking the dough.
- Consistent Cookie Size. Bake the same size cookies on the same baking sheet. Don’t mix and match different sized cookies as they will bake differently and unevenly.
- Cookie Thickness: Be careful not to get the sugar cookies too thin. If the cookies get too thin you risk them getting crispy.
- Underbake Slightly. To achieve the soft, tender texture that’s perfect for sandwich cookies, it’s best to slightly underbake the cookies. Keep a close eye on them while they’re in the oven, and remove them as soon as the bottoms start to turn golden. The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool, so it’s okay if they seem slightly underdone when you take them out of the oven.
- Gentle Pressing of Coloured Sugar. When sprinkling the coloured sugar on top of the cookies, use a gentle touch to press the sugar into the dough. Avoid pressing too hard, as this can flatten the cookies and affect their texture. Plus they just don’t bake as nice.
- Allow Cookies to Cool Completely. After baking, allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before assembling them with the raspberry buttercream filling. Cooling ensures that the cookies are set properly and prevents the filling from melting or becoming too runny when sandwiched between the cookies.
- Pipe the Filling. When piping the raspberry buttercream filling onto the cookies, it’s best to use a piping bag fitted with a star or round tip for precision and control. Aim for an even distribution of filling to ensure that each bite is bursting with flavour.
How To Make Heart Shaped Sandwich Cookies
Step One: Make your cookie dough. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the sugar with the mixer running on medium-low speed. Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary. Continue to beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract. Beat until thick, pale in colour and fluffy. Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix to combine. Spoon the flour mixture into the butter mixture beating on medium-low speed. Beat until the mixture forms into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Step Two: Prepare your coloured sugar. In a small bowl add sugar and food colouring. Mix until the sugar turns pink. Set aside.
Step Three: Make your icing. Beat butter for approx. 1 minute, add icing sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of whipping cream and fresh raspberries. Beat until the raspberries have broken and the mixture is fluffy and light, approx. 2 minutes. Cover icing and set aside.
Step Four: Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface approx. 1/4 inch thick. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter (approx. 1 1/2-2 inches in size) cut out hearts and place them on your prepared cookie sheet. Continue until all the cookie dough is used. Sprinkle the tops of half of the cookies with the coloured sugar. Use the back of the spoon to gently press the sugar into the cookies. Bake cookies in the middle of the oven for 7-9 minutes or until the bottoms just start to turn golden . Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two before removing to a wire rack.
Heart Shaped Sandwich Cookies
Spread some love with these cute heart shaped sandwich cookies. Each cookie features a soft buttery sugar cookie, filled with sweet raspberry buttercream icing and topped with pink sugar crystals for a crispy bite. They make the perfect cookie for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion.
- Prep Time: 44 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 54 minutes
- Yield: 32 Sandwich Cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Soft Sugar Cookie
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Coloured Sugar
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar
- 1 drop red food colouring
Raspberry Buttercream Filling
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2–1 Tablespoon whipping cream (or whole milk)
- handful of fresh raspberries, approx. 6-8 berries
Instructions
- Make your cookie dough. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter with the paddle attachment for approx. 1 minute. Slowly add the sugar with the mixer running on medium-low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Continue to beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract. Beat until thick, pale in colour and fluffy.
- In a separate large bowl add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix to combine ingredients.
- Spoon the flour mixture into the butter mixture beating on medium-low speed. Beat until the mixture forms into a ball.
- Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap (or wax paper) and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350˚F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare your coloured sugar. In a small bowl add sugar and food colouring. Mix until the sugar turns pink. Set aside.
- Make your icing. Beat butter for approx. 1 minute, add icing sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of whipping cream and fresh raspberries. Beat until the raspberries have broken and the mixture is fluffy and light, approx. 2 minutes. Add more whipping cream to thin the icing out or more icing sugar to thicken the icing. You can always add more raspberries for more flavour and colour, just be careful on the consistency of the icing. You want it thick enough to hold between the cookies but smooth enough to pipe. Cover icing and set aside.
- Once the cookie dough has firmed up, roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface approx. 3/4 inch thick. Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter (approx. 1 1/2-2 inches in size) cut out hearts and place them on your prepared cookie sheet. Leave approx. 2 inches between each cookie. Continue until all the cookie dough is used.
- Sprinkle the tops of half of the cookies with the coloured sugar. Use a small spoon and generously spoon the sugar on top. Use the back of the spoon to gently press the sugar into the cookies (very gently, you don’t need to push the sugar into the cookies too hard).
- Bake cookies in the middle of the oven for 7-9 minutes or until the bottoms just start to turn golden (if anything you want them slightly underbaked, they will firm up as they cool). Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (be careful not to overbake the cookies, if the bottoms get too dark, remove the cookies from the pan immediately).
- Once cookies have cooled pipe icing onto the back side of an empty heart then sandwich a pink sugared heart on top. Repeat until all the cookies are filled and sandwiched together. Let cookies set for 30-40 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
It’s best to slightly underbake the sugar cookies. You want the cookies nice and soft when making sandwich cookies. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Store sandwich cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Best served within 1-2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 82
- Sugar: 8.5g
- Sodium: 504mg
- Fat: 3.2g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 11.4g
- Fiber: 1.1g
- Protein: 0.8g
- Cholesterol: 13mg
FAQ’s
Yes, in a pinch you can use frozen raspberries. Be aware that frozen raspberries will add more moisture to the icing so you may need to add more icing sugar. You’ll want to defrost the raspberries first. I much prefer working with fresh raspberries before frozen berries.
Yes, you can definitely prepare the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. Simply wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. When ready to bake, allow the dough to come to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before rolling it out and cutting it into shapes.
Yes, if you’d like to omit the raspberry buttercream icing, try using your favourite raspberry jam or strawberry jam. You may want to roll the cookies a little thinner as 1/4 inch might be too thick with the jam.
This blog post has been sponsored by Bulk Barn Canada where you can find all your baking needs! All opinions are my own and I’m so happy to work with brands I love so I can continue to share these recipes with all of you! I hope you guys get to a Bulk Barn soon and try out this recipe.
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