Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies
This recipe transforms classic sugar cookies into oversized conversation hearts with buttery flavor and a perfectly smooth surface, ideal for decorating. Make them for your favorite Valentine or Galentine! Be aware - this recipe makes a big batch of thick cookie dough, so use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to mix it up. To create the cute messages, you’ll need conversation heart message stencils, which are linked in the post. Use the provided recipe for stiff peak royal icing as the stenciling medium.
Equipment
- large baking sheets (2 or more)
- Offset spatula
- Chefmaster Neon Liqua-Gel Food Colors (set of 6)
Ingredients
Sugar cookies
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon Lorann Cotton Candy Flavoring Oil or 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- Neon pink food color Chefmaster, see equipment link
- Neon orange food color
- Neon yellow food color
- Neon green food color
- Neon blue food color
- Neon purple food color
Royal icing (stiff peak)
- 1 large egg white, pasteurized at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/2 tablespoon red gel food color such as Chefmaster Super Red
Instructions
Sugar cookies
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together until just incorporated. Do not over-mix at this stage, or the cookies may spread while baking. Add the egg and cotton candy flavoring or lemon extract. Mix again on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl intermittently as needed.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add to the butter and egg mixture. Mix on low speed until a thick dough is formed and there are no longer any streaks of butter in the mixing bowl. The dough will often clump around the paddle attachment while being mixed. This is normal and a good sign that your dough is the right consistency.
- Turn out the dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Tint each piece of dough with one of the neon gel food colors; begin by mixing in 1/4 teaspoon of gel food color and increase as needed to achieve a bright hue. If color looks spotty and doesn’t want to mix evenly, add 1 tablespoon of ice water and mix until the color disperses. Don't add more water - overhydrating can make rolling the dough out tricky.
- Roll each piece of dough flat between 2 sheets of parchment paper and chill until ready for use, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two or more large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a 5-inch heart motif cookie cutter to stamp shapes from the dough and transfer them to the prepared pans. Chill the shapes in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies lose their shiny surface and appear matte on top. The edges may be very lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Re-roll scraps and repeat process. You should be able to get about 5 large heart shapes from each color of dough.
- Let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Royal icing
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg white with the lemon juice until combined and slightly foamy.
- Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. Increase the speed to high and beat for 4-5 minutes, or until thick and billowy. The icing should stand in a stiff peak from the tip of the whisk attachment when it’s ready. Add the lemon extract and whip on high speed until well incorporated.
- Add the red food color and mix again until thoroughly combined. Add more red food color a little at a time, if needed. Keep in mind that some food color brands darken over time. You can wait a few minutes to see the final shade before adding more. Either way, cover with a damp tea towel so the frosting doesn’t dry out.
Stenciling
- Place a cookie on a flat work surface. Center the stencil on top of the cookie as evenly as possible.
- Dip the offset spatula into the royal icing so that about 2” of icing coats the tip of the spatula. Hold the stencil steady on the cookie with one hand while you spread the royal icing evenly over the words. Lift the stencil straight up from the cookie to reveal the message. Don’t peel it off from the side because the words will smear.
- Set aside on a wire rack to dry completely, about 30 minutes. Rinse stencil under warm tap water and wipe dry (see recipe notes). Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Cookies will keep well air tight for up to a week. Baked and stenciled cookies can be layered between waxed paper and frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Royal Icing: The recipe is for 1/2 batch of my trusty royal icing recipe, but you will still have leftovers after stenciling all of your cookies. It can be stored airtight at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for two weeks. You can also freeze it for several months, if you’re not planning to decorate cookies for a while.
Flavoring Oils: The cotton candy flavoring oil I used in the dough has strong concentrated flavor, and works well to give these cookies a candy note. But it should not be used in the royal icing. Oil flavorings will deflate the icing, so be sure to use a non-oil based or alcohol-based extract instead.
Stencils: Stencils need to be rinsed off and dried after each use. This may seem like a chore, but the icing removes quickly under warm tap water. Sometimes a little of the royal icing will cling to the back of the stencil, so be sure that the stencil is completely clean before using it again.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!