These puffy heart-shaped sugar cookies have a soft cake-like texture just like the popular store-bought version. They’re finished with vanilla buttercream frosting and a mixture of bright, cheery sprinkles.
Fancy desserts get a lot of attention around Valentine’s Day, but sometimes the best way to show someone you care is with a cookie (or 12). These Lofthouse style sugar cookies are a simple and fun way to celebrate the occasion, and I think they’re the perfect hybrid of birthday cake and sugar cookie rolled into one sweet confection.
I first made these for Christmas in 2015 (see here), and I remember being surprised at how simple the dough was to make – and also how sticky it was! I’ve made many batches since then, and I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight for easier handling.
The cookies have a nice big helping of sour cream in the dough, which gives them their cakey texture. I remember when I first taste-tested a cookie by itself, I found it was a little plain, but the real magic happens when you frost them with buttercream. The lightly sweet cookies are the perfect vehicle for truly sweet vanilla frosting. The two were made for each other!
It’s hard to tell from the photographs, but I made these cookies JUMBO sized using a 5-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. This yielded about 10 cookies, and just one cookie makes a sizable Valentine’s Day gift. If you’d like a bigger batch, then use a 3-inch cutter which will yield about 2 dozen cookies.
Frosting and sprinkling the cookies is a lot of fun, so if you have little ones they can definitely help with this part of the process!
Heart-Shaped Lofthouse Style Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Heart shaped cookie cutter 3 inch
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup 200g granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons 170g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup 115g full fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/4 cups 390g all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Neon pink gel food color
- Neon purple gel food color
Buttercream frosting
- 12 tablespoons 170g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups 340g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
- Colorful confetti sprinkles and nonpareils
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Cream the sugar and butter together until smooth. Add the eggs, sour cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Dough will be soft and sticky.
- Divide the dough in half. Return half the dough to the mixing bowl and add 2-3 drops of pink food color; mix well. Turn the pink dough out onto a piece of waxed paper and wrap. Return the remaining dough to the bowl (no need to wash first). Add 2-3 drops of purple food color and mix well. Transfer the purple dough to a piece of waxed paper and wrap. Refrigerate both portions of dough until semi-firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight (preferred).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove cookie dough from refrigerator. Dust a work surface with flour, also dust a rolling pin. Unwrap each portion of dough and place them on the work surface. Dust them with flour; roll to slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. Cut the dough using a floured heart-shaped cookie cutter (3-inch for 2 dozen cookies, 5-inch for 10 cookies). If there are streaks of flour on the cut-outs, gently dust it off with a soft pastry brush. Re-roll dough scraps and repeat cutting until all the dough is used.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are puffed and fragrant. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment; beat in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in the vanilla. If the frosting is stiff, beat in the milk or cream 1 tablespoon at a time until a smooth, fluffy consistency is achieved.
- Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the frosting onto the cookies. Sprinkle each cookie with the sprinkles immediately after frosting. Let cookies stand until the frosting crusts, about 20 minutes. Store cookies in a single layer under plastic wrap or in airtight containers.
Is look yummy
I don't have neon food colors, just the regular McCormick primary colors- do you think those are ok?
Hi! Yes! You can use those. I believe those are liquid colors instead of gel, so the color may not be as bright. If you use too much of the liquid food color it may make the batter lax. If this happens mix in a little more flour.
Hi, Heather: Could you recommend a brand of neon food colors? Thank you.
Hi! I've used all kinds of brands, but recently I've been using (and loving!) Chef Master soft gels. Their hues stay true under oven heat (in recipes such as this) and they have a neon set that gives frosting eye-popping color.