Remember the excitement and anticipation of walking into your classroom on Valentine's Day? Seeing all the cheery pink and red decorations filling the room. Receiving a "Be Mine" valentine or those oh so coveted conversation hearts. 

This Valentine's Day we're bringing back the nostalgia with a fun and totally festive cookie recipe! You can never go wrong with a classic sugar cookie, especially when they're as cute as these are! 

As far as sugar cookie recipes go, this one couldn't be easier! The dough requires no chilling ahead of time and comes together with just a few simple ingredients. The end result is a soft & buttery cookie that will keep you coming back for seconds, or thirds.. we won't judge. 😉

Let's get started!

First things first, cream that butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl for about 3 minutes. Once the mixture is silky and smooth, add in that vanilla extract and the egg. 

In another mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder & salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to your wet ingredients and gently mix together. Initially the dough will look pretty crumbly, but don't worry, just keep mixing for an additional minute and it should come together. 

Now it's time to put a little muscle into it. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and finish kneading by hand. NOTE: if the dough still looks a little dry and crumbly, wet your hands before you start kneading. 

Divide your dough into workable batches and roll out onto a floured surface. The dough should be on the thicker side, about 1/4" thick. Next, cut out those adorable hearts and bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. (These cookies are more of a soft and chewy cookie, so make sure not to over bake them. They will look a little pale, but don't be alarmed they will harden up a bit as they cool.) 

Once your cookies have properly cooled you can whip up your favorite royal icing recipe. Divide your icing into small bowls and tint using a gel food coloring to match those iconic candy shades. 

Complete your creations by piping on those signature conversation heart phrases and voilà the perfect Valentine's Day treat!

Recipe

 Ingredients: (30 Cookies)

1 cup of butter (softened) 

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter & sugar for approximately 3 minutes, or until smooth. 

3. Add in the vanilla extract & egg, gently mix together.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt & baking powder. 

5. Slowly add the flour mixture to your wet ingredients and mix together. NOTE: The dough may look pretty crumbly, just keep mixing for an additional minute and it should come together. 

6. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and finish kneading. If the dough still looks a little dry and crumbly, wet your hands before you start kneading. 

7. Divide the dough into workable batches and roll out onto a floured surface. The dough should be on the thicker side, about 1/4" thick. 

8. Cut out heart shapes and bake for 6-8 minutes. (These cookies are more of a soft and chewy cookie, so make sure not to over bake them. They will look a little pale, but don't be alarmed they will harden up a bit as they cool.)

9. Let them cool down on the cookie sheet until they're firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack. 

10. Mix up your favorite royal icing recipe, divide your icing into small bowls and tint using a gel food coloring. Ice cookies and once dried, pipe candy phrases on top.