These Valentine cookies with buttercream frosting are thick, soft cutout sugar cookies topped with fluffy vanilla buttercream in a range of pretty pink shades. They’re ideal for Valentine’s Day parties, cookie-decorating gatherings, or anytime you want a festive cookie that tastes as delightful as it looks.
This soft sugar cookie method comes from my work at Amycakes Bakery, where texture and flavor always come first. The recipe combines a classic sugar cookie dough with a creamy American-style buttercream, producing cookies that are tender, flavorful, and sturdy enough to decorate. The process is approachable for both beginners and experienced bakers.
The buttercream finish is slightly textured and forgiving to pipe, so you can keep the design simple with textured swirls or create more elaborate rosettes and leaf accents if you choose. The result is an attractive cookie that holds up well for gifting or display.
Equipment Checklist
Essential tools to make these Valentine cookies:
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Rolling pin
- Parchment paper
- Cookie sheet
- Heart-shaped cookie cutters
- Offset spatula (for smoothing buttercream)
- Disposable piping bags
- Star piping tips (various sizes)
- Leaf piping tip (optional, for leaf accents)
Tip
If you don’t have piping tips, you can still decorate these cookies using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. The texture will be more rustic, but the flavor will be just as good.
Key Ingredients
These components create soft, flavorful cookies with a buttercream that pipes cleanly and keeps cookies tender.
- Salted butter: Adds richness to both the dough and buttercream. If you prefer unsalted butter, add 1/8–1/4 teaspoon extra salt per stick.
- Instant ClearJel or instant pudding mix: Helps the cookies stay soft for days. Use an instant variety for best results.
- Almond extract: A small amount enhances vanilla without making the cookies taste distinctly almond.
- Butter-flavored shortening: Stabilizes the buttercream so it pipes and holds shape well.
- Nonfat milk powder: Improves the buttercream’s structure and gives a light, bakery-style texture.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed measurements.
Recipe Notes & Baking Tips
- Roll the dough to about 3/8 inch thickness for soft, bakery-style heart cookies.
- Avoid overbaking — cookies should look slightly underdone when removed from the oven; they finish setting as they cool.
- Bake on the middle or top rack to prevent the bottoms from over-browning.
- Cool cookies completely before frosting so the buttercream does not melt on contact.
- Use gel food coloring for vibrant shades without thinning the frosting.
- Whip the buttercream 2–3 minutes on high for a light, pipeable consistency.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Make the dough: In a mixer with a paddle, cream room-temperature butter and sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Add eggs and extracts, then mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Roll and cut: Roll the dough to about 3/8 inch thick and cut into heart shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart.
Tips
Work quickly and avoid overworking the dough. If the dough softens too much while cutting, chill briefly before continuing.
- Chill: Refrigerate the cutout cookies on the sheet for at least 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Chilled dough helps cookies keep their shape while baking.
- Bake: Bake at 325°F on the middle or top rack until the bottoms are only lightly golden and the tops have lost most of their shine. Remove while still slightly underdone—the cookies will set as they cool.
Tip
To avoid crumbly cookies, pull them from the oven before the tops brown. Look for a slight shine and a rounded top.
- Make and tint the buttercream: Whip butter, butter-flavored shortening, powdered sugar, and rehydrated milk powder mixture until light and fluffy. Divide into bowls and tint with gel food coloring for vibrant pinks.
- Decorate: Frost cooled cookies using an offset spatula for a flat finish or piping bags with star tips to pipe swirls, rosettes, and ruffled textures. Add small leaf accents if desired.
Tip
For a smooth, flat finish, warm an offset spatula in hot water, dry it, and glide it over the frosting a second time. Add mini rosettes around the edge with a star tip for a polished look.
Tip
If your buttercream softens while decorating, chill the piping bag in the fridge for 5–10 minutes, then continue piping.
FAQ
The best way to prevent spreading is to bake the cookies from cold. After cutting shapes, place them on the baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Cold dough helps maintain sharp edges and tidy shapes.
Yes. Bake the cookies 1–2 days ahead and decorate when ready. You can also freeze unbaked cutout dough and bake from frozen after a brief thaw.
No. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these cookies stay soft and delicious for about 3–5 days.
Once the frosting has set for a couple of hours, stack cookies carefully in an airtight container with parchment between layers to protect decoration.
Yes. Decorated or undecorated, they can be frozen for up to one month. Thaw covered at room temperature to avoid condensation on the frosting.
Yes. Cut out hearts first, layer them between parchment, and freeze. When ready, place on a baking sheet to thaw a few minutes before baking.
Yes. Almond extract is optional—substitute a touch more vanilla if you prefer.
You can, but these cookies are designed for buttercream, which keeps them soft and adds rich flavor.
📖 Recipe & Step-by-Step Instructions
Valentine Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dry Ingredients
- 400 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 4 teaspoons Instant Clearjel or 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix (instant only)
Sugar Cookie Creamed Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) salted butter, soft
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Buttercream Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) salted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (3.4 ounces) butter-flavored shortening
- 48 grams (1/2 cup) nonfat milk powder
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 680 grams (5 1/4 cups) powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside.
- Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and almond extract, beating until uniform. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined to form a smooth dough.
Roll out and Bake the Cut-out Heart Cookies
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 3/8 inch thickness and cut heart shapes. Place on parchment-lined sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake on the middle or top rack at 325°F for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly golden and the tops have lost most of their shine. Remove while slightly underdone and cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the Buttercream
- Whisk nonfat milk powder, warm water, and vanilla to rehydrate the milk powder; let sit 5–10 minutes and whisk until smooth.
- Beat room-temperature butter and butter-flavored shortening until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar on low, then add the rehydrated milk mixture. Beat on high for at least 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Tint with gel food coloring as desired and pipe or spread onto cooled cookies.