Description
These classic Valentine’s Day sugar cookies are buttery, tender, and perfect for decorating. With crisp edges, soft centers, and a delicate vanilla-almond flavor, they hold their shape beautifully and make the ideal canvas for royal icing, sprinkles, or simple sugar. Easy enough for beginners but impressive enough for any celebration of love.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Decorating supplies: royal icing, sprinkles, colored sugars (optional)
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Chill dough: Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll and cut: On a lightly floured surface (or between parchment paper), roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
- Chill again: Place the baking sheet with cut cookies in the refrigerator or freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Bake: Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just barely starting to turn golden. Centers will look slightly soft.
- Cool: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate: Once completely cool, decorate with royal icing, buttercream, sprinkles, or colored sugars as desired.
Notes
- Measuring flour: Spoon flour into measuring cups and level off with a knife for accurate measurement. Too much flour makes cookies dry and hard.
- Butter temperature: Butter should be soft enough to leave an indentation when pressed but not greasy or melted (about 65-68°F).
- Don’t skip chilling: Chilling the dough twice (after mixing and after cutting) is crucial for cookies that hold their shape.
- Thickness matters: Roll dough to an even ¼-inch thickness for cookies that bake uniformly.
- Watch baking time: These cookies should be barely golden at the edges. They continue cooking on the hot pan after removal.
- Royal icing tip: Let royal icing dry completely (4-6 hours or overnight) before stacking cookies.
30 minutes (plus 2 hours chilling time)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus 2 hours chilling time)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes per batch
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 65mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 22mg
