These heart sugar cookies with fondant decorations make perfect heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day and even weddings! Decorated with hand shaped puffed fondant hearts, these cookies are easy to make and very romantic!
These cookies are made using my favorite sugar cookie recipe. This cookie recipe makes easy cut out cookies and the shape is perfectly maintained even after baking, producing symmetrical and perfectly shaped heart sugar cookies.
These heart sugar cookies are layer cookies (sandwich cookies), and each completed cookie consist of 2 layers of heart cut out cookies. The first layer is a full heart shaped cookie while the top layer, although is of the same shape as the bottom layer, has a heart shaped hole cut in the center. The idea is for the filling of the sandwiched cookie to show from the top.
For the filling, instead of using the typical jam or buttercream frosting, I used fondant. In between the 2 layers of cookies, there is a of thin rolled fondant in pink. In the center of each sandwiched cookie, is a tiny cute puffed heart (which is shaped entirely by hand without any cutters), and for the top of the cookie, a layer of powdered sugar dusting. I used 2 shades of pink in the cookies and together with the white of the powdered sugar make a very pretty combination for the cookies.
For more decorated cookies, check out my daisy cookies, butterfly cookies, chocolate heart cookies and snowflake cookies. You might also be interested in this mini heart shaped cakes tutorial which make perfect treats for Valentine's Day too.
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❤️Why You Will Love These Cookies
- They rich and buttery and very delicious.
- The cookies are very simple, with only 5 basic ingredients. And they hold their shaped perfectly well after baking.
- The cookies are very easy to decorate.
- These cookies make perfect gifts for Valentine's Day.
🧾Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies:
- All purpose flour - best to sift before using to break any lumps and to aerate the flour.
- Granulated sugar (caster sugar) - fine sugar works best for these cookies. Coarse sugar will leave sugar marks on the cookies after baking.
- Butter - I use salted butter. Salt enhance the taste of the cookies.
- Egg - helps bind the ingredients to form a dough. Use large egg.
- Vanilla extract - adds a lovely flavoring to the cookies.
For the Decoration:
- Fondant – I used Satin Ice fondant in Baby Pink and Pink. You can also make your own fondant with this homemade fondant recipe or marshmallow fondant recipe and tint them in pink.
- Powdered sugar - this is for the pretty white layer of dusting on the cookies.
Tools and Other Supplies:
- Hearts cookie cutters in 2 sizes - these are used to cut out the cookie dough.
- Rolling pin - to roll the dough and the fondant.
- Sieve - to sift the powdered sugar onto the cookies. Use a fine sieve.
- Cake decorating brush (food grade brush)
*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*
📃Substitution and Variation
- You can make your own powdered sugar by processing coarse sugar in a food processor until fine. Sift before using.
- If using unsalted butter, add one eighth teaspoon of fine salt when creaming the butter and sugar.
- Flavor and color option for the cookies:
- Citrus - add 1 tablespoon of freshly grated lemon rind or orange rind to the creamed mixture, before adding flour.
- Almond - replace vanilla with almond extract.
- Coconut - replace vanilla with coconut extract.
- Cocoa - reduce the flour by 50 grams and add 50 grams of cocoa powder. Sift the cocoa powder with flour before adding into the creamed cookie dough.
- Strawberry - replace vanilla extract with strawberry extract. Add some pink food coloring when creaming the butter and sugar.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!
👩🍳How to Make
Step 1: Mix the Cookie Dough
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line baking trays with parchment paper and clear space in your fridge to chill the cookies after cutting.
Place butter in a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar (image 1) and cream both on medium-high speed until the mixture turns light and creamy with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer). If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Do not over mix.
Next, add the egg (image 2) and continue beating on medium speed until it is well incorporated into the creamed mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
Finally, add the flour in batches into the creamed wet ingredients and mix these flour mixture until the dough comes together (image 3). Place the dough in a cling wrap (plastic wrap) covered bowl and refrigerate until it is firm. This step helps give the dough enough time to rest and is easier to handle.
Remove dough from the fridge and divide it into smaller sections for easy rolling.
Note: Do not leave the dough too long in the fridge or it will become too hard to roll. Suffice if it firms slightly. If it becomes too hard, let it rest at room temperature to soften slightly.
Place the dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and place 2 dowel rods on either side of the dough. Roll the dough with the rolling pin running on the dowel rods (image 4).
Note: Rolling between parchment sheets prevents the dough from sticking to your workspace and the rolling pin. The dowel rods help maintain consistent thickness for your cookies.
Step 2: Cut and Bake the Cookies
Cut the rolled sugar cookie dough using the heart cookie cutter. Divide the unbaked heart cut-out cookies into two. Leave the first set as it it. For the second set, use a smaller heart cutter and cut out heart shaped holes in the center.
Reroll the scrap dough and cut out more cookies. For each cookie, you need 2 hearts, one with the hole and one without.
Place the cookies on prepared baking trays and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before placing them in the oven for baking. The full heart sugar cookies would require slightly longer baking time as compared to the ones with the holes in the center. Refer to the recipe card below for details.
Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack (cooling rack) to cool (image 5).
If not decorating immediately, store the cookies in an airtight container.
Note: The cookies can be made a few days in advance.
Step 3: Cover with Fondant
Roll the lighter baby pink fondant thin (about ⅛ inch thick) and cut out heart shapes using the same cookie cutter used to cut the cookie dough. Attach these to half of the full heart cookies by brushing the back of the heart fondant cut outs with a damp brush. This helps to stick the fondant to the sugar cookies (images 6 & 7).
Repeat the process with darker pink fondant. Cover the remaining half of the full heart cookies with fondant hearts cut out of this darker pink fondant.
Step 4: Make the Puffed Fondant Hearts
Similar to the heart cut outs in step 3, you will be making half of these puffed hearts in light pink and the other half in darker pink.
Take a pinch of fondant (in the size of a marble) and shape it into a smooth ball with your palms (image 8). Next, use your forefinger to roll the ball into a small sausage (image 9). In rolling the fondant, make a small dent in the center (image 10). And then, fold the sausage into 2 (image 11).
Pinched center of the sausage so that it becomes well pointed (image 12). For final touches, press the sides and top until the heart is well rounded and puffed (image 13).
Step 5: Assemble the Cookies
To assemble the heart sugar cookies, place all the baby pink puffed hearts onto pink fondant covered cookies and vice versa (image 14). Attach them with a light brush of water.
And then, in a separate tray, dust the top layer heart cookies (heard shaped cookies with heart shaped holes) with powdered sugar (image 15).
Note: Place the cookies in a tray or a plate so that you can reuse the sugar what falls outside the cookies.
Gently lift the dusted cookies onto the fondant covered ones. To hold these top layer cookies in place, brush the fondant on the bottom layer of the cookies with a damp brush before placing the cookies on (image 16).
And that completes the heart sugar cookies.
💡Expert Tips
- This recipe makes crisp and buttery cookies. If you wish to make chewy sugar cookies, reduce the baking time.
- You can also adjust the cookie size and if you do, remember to adjust the baking time accordingly, depending on whether you prefer chewy cookies or crumbly cookies. It is advisable to test the baking time with a small batch of cookies.
- To store the cookies, keep them in an airtight container. They are best assembled with the powdered sugar before serving. If you wish to gift these cookies, place doilies or parchment squares when stacking the cookies to prevent the sugar from sticking to other cookies on top.
❤️More Tutorials You Will Love
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📖Recipe
Heart Sugar Cookies with Fondant
Equipment
- Hearts cookie cutters in 2 sizes.
- Sieve
- Rolling Pin
- Cake decorating brush
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
Heart Sugar Cookies
- 400 g all purpose flour
- 180 g granulated sugar
- 200 g butter salted
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration
- Fondant Satin Ice fondant in Baby Pink and Pink.
- Powdered sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions
Bake the Cookies
- Line baking tray with parchment paper and pre-heat oven to 175 °Celsius.
- Place butter in a clean bowl. Add the granulated sugar and cream both until the mixture turns light and creamy. Do not over mix.
- Next, add the egg and continue beating until it is well incorporated into the creamed mixture. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
- Finally, add the flour in batches and mix until the dough comes together. Place the dough in a covered bowl and refrigerate until it is firm (see Note 1).
- Remove dough from the fridge and roll it between parchment paper or plastic sheets. Use dowel rods on either side of the dough when rolling (see Note 2).
- Cut the dough with the larger of the 2 heart cookie cutters. Divide the heart shaped cookies into 2 batches. Place the first batch on a baking tray and refrigerate them again until they are firm for about 20 minutes.
- Bake the cookies for about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) until they have turned golden brown.
- For the second batch of cookies, using the smaller heart cookie cutter, cut out heart shaped hole in the center of each heart cookie. Place the cookies on a baking tray and refrigerate until firm. Bake the cookies for about 10 - 12 minutes until they have turned golden brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and cool them on a wire rack. Keep cookies in an airtight container until ready to be decorated (see Note 3).
Cover with Fondant
- Roll some baby pink fondant thin (about ⅛ inch thick) and cut out heart shapes using the same cookie cutter used to cut the cookies. Dampen the back of the fondant cut outs with a damp brush and attach these to half of the full heart cookies. Repeat the process with the pink fondant for remaining half of the heart shaped cookies.
Make the Puffed Fondand Hearts
- Next, using the same shade of baby pink fondant, make little puffed hearts. To make these, pinch some fondant (about the size of a marble) and shape it into a smooth ball with your palms.
- Next, use your forefinger to roll the ball into a small sausage, making a small dent in the center as you roll it.
- And then, fold the sausage into 2 and pinch center of the sausage so that it becomes well pointed. This will make the pointed end of the heart.
- For final touches, press and shape the sides and top until the heart is well rounded and puffed.
- Repeat the steps for the pink fondant.
Assemble the Cookies
- To assemble the heart sugar cookies, place one baby pink puffed heart onto the pink fondant covered cookie, vice versa. Attach the puffed hearts with a light brush of water.
- In a separate tray, dust the heart shaped cookies (with the heart shaped holes) with powdered sugar (see Note 4). Carefully place them on top of the fondant covered cookies. To make sure these sugar dusted cookies stay attached to the bottom layer cookies, brush the fondant layer on the bottom layer cookies with a damp brush before placing the second layer of cookie.
- And that completes the heart sugar cookies with fondant.
Notes
- Do not leave the dough too long in the fridge or it will become too hard to roll. Suffice if it firms slightly. If it becomes too hard, let it rest at room temperature to soften slightly.
- Rolling between parchment sheets prevents the dough from sticking to your workspace and the rolling pin. The dowel rods help maintain consistent thickness for your cookies.
- The cookies can be made a few days in advance.
- Place the cookies in a tray or a plate so that you can reuse the sugar what falls outside the cookies.
- This recipe makes crisp and buttery cookies. If you wish to make chewy sugar cookies, reduce the baking time.
- You can also adjust the cookie size and if you do, remember to adjust the baking time accordingly, depending on whether you prefer chewy cookies or crumbly cookies. It is advisable to test the baking time with a small batch of cookies.
- To store the cookies, keep them in an airtight container. They are best assembled with the powdered sugar before serving. If you wish to gift these cookies, place doilies or parchment squares when stacking the cookies to prevent the sugar from sticking to other cookies on top.
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