These Valentine cookies are not only pretty, but most importantly they are delicious. They are made of a lemon shortbread and decorated with a lemon icing. Often these stylized cookies give way to aesthetics and forget that the flavor still rules supreme. These are both tasty and gorgeous!
Order my new cookbook, Zoë Bakes Cookies, now!
Did you know that Saint Valentine’s Day dates back to Pope Gelasius in 500 AD, not the Hallmark Cards of 1910? The original holiday was a religious one, with nothing to do with romance, flowers, chocolate or red royal icing. The modern Valentine’s Day must have been recreated by a pastry chef. It is an excuse to make sweet, pretty, heart-shaped treats like this Valentine cookies. There really isn’t another time of the year when heart-shaped desserts are permissible. It’s a shame really, but Valentine’s Day owns the shape, so we must take advantage of the opportunity.
As you know I am trying to thin out my baking pantry of all the loot various companies send me to test out and review. This scale is one of them. I think it is lovely and it works well, but I have several scales and honestly I prefer digital. This scale by Eat Smart can weigh up to 11-pounds, has a nice big hopper (bowl) and is stylish in a retro way. The down side is that is requires a kitchen that can handle its formidable size. This company also makes a tiny Digital Scale
How to Make Heart Shaped Valentine Cookies
See me make these step by step here and find the full recipe at the end of this post!
To make the Valentine cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Remove the rind, with some of the pith and chop it up into small pieces. Grind it up in a coffee or Spice-and-Nut Grinder
Until it is in very fine pieces. It should almost be powdery. If there are large chunks the cookies will not hold together when rolled out.
In a food processor grind some regular granulated sugar for about 1 minute and then measure out 1/2 cup of the superfine sugar for your recipe. The rest of the sugar can be saved for another recipe.
Beat the butter in a stand mixer with the Beater Blade Paddle Attachment 
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
Knead very lightly until it is a smooth ball.
Use your favorite cookie cutters.
Dust the dough with flour and roll to about a scant 1/4-inch thick rectangle. The dough does not need to chill first.
You can re-roll the scraps once, beyond that it starts to get tough.
Position the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. If you are baking both sheets at once you will want to switch from top to bottom and back to front. Cool on a rack.
Meanwhile make the royal icing:
Combine all the meringue powder, cream of tartar, confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice in a stand mixer. It will be quite thick.
To decorate the cookies follow these instructions.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (see note)
- 1/2 cup superfine sugar see notes
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- rind of 1 lemon see step-by-step instructions in the blog post
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour measured by stirring flour and then using scoop and sweep method
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Remove the lemon rind, with some of the pith and chop it up into small pieces. Grind it up in a coffee or Spice-and-Nut Grinder until it is in very fine pieces. It should almost be powdery. If there are large chunks the cookies will not hold together when rolled out.
- In a food processor, grind some regular granulated sugar for about 1 minute and then measure out 1/2 cup of the superfine sugar for your recipe. The rest of the sugar can be saved for another recipe.
- Beat the butter in a stand mixer with the Beater Blade Paddle Attachment on medium-high, until it is smooth. Gradually add the sugar, then vanilla and lemon, mixing until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. In thirds, add the flour and salt. Mix until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead very lightly until it is a smooth ball. Use your favorite cookie cutters. Dust the dough with flour and roll to about a scant 1/4-inch thick rectangle. The dough does not need to chill first. You can re-roll the scraps once, beyond that it starts to get tough.
- Position the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. If you are baking both sheets at once you will want to switch from top to bottom and back to front. Cool on a rack.
Icing
- Combine all the meringue powder, cream of tartar, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice in a stand mixer. It will be quite thick.
I am just thinking here, with these lemon cookies. It could make a great ice cream sandwich. Humm maybe cherry, or raspberry. Even rolling the ice-cream in some of those cute Valentine sprinkles again. One of my fav. Next to the krispy treats above, is a chocolatey cookie with the best strawberry ice-cream you can find, ice cream sandwich. It’s the best.
awesome cookies, terrific giveaway! my favorite valentine’s day treat would have to be a raspberry-tinged bete noir. so creamy and smooth and with just a hint of fruitiness. yum. 🙂
I am this close to ordering a scale for my kitchen! Guess I’ll wait to see how this contest pans out!
I’d have to say anything chocolate. More chocolate the better! 🙂
I like the idea of making chocolate lava cake batter ahead and then pop them in the oven 15 minutes before I want to serve them. Then I have a warm chocolate dessert with no stress. Making them in heart shaped ramekins would be perfect for Valentines.
We aren’t eating desserts for a year, so I will have to save that idea for next year. Maybe I will do something with fresh berries.
I make heart-shaped dried cherry and chocolate chip scones to take to work on Valentine’s Day. They are always a hit!
I sure love your site, but I especially love that everything I have made from it always turns out well. These cookies look awesome, cannot wait to try them. The flavor combo sounds so good, and they are really cute.
I would love to win the scale, it is so cool. My favorite dessert for Valentines Day is a dark chocolate heart shaped cake filled with a chocolate truffle filling, topped with ganache, and piped with fudge. Love it!
Creme brûlée with blackberries!
This is such a great site. My favorite valentine day dessert is mini 3 inch heart shaped chocolate decadence with creme anglaise and raspberry puree. My husband could do without the raspberry but I think it’s perfection!!
My favorite Valentine;’s Day dessert is anything with scrumptious strawberries!!!…and those cookies you just made too…;-)
I am hosting a Valentine’s dinner for my parents this year. I planned to make heart shaped sugar cookies and decorate them. I hope mine turn out as gorgeous as the ones pictured. I also plan to serve them with olive oil gelato.
Last year I made a Chocolate Irish Creme Chesecake with a mocha whipped cream. It was so smooth and rich. Definitely my favorite Valentine’s Day dessert. There is something about the sweetmess and richness of coffee and chocolate that just goes great with love 🙂
My favorite Valentine”s treat would be raspberry buttermilk cake.
How lovely! I love making cupcake for Valentine’s Day, easy to make a small batch + experiment with!
The cookies look delicious! My favorite Valentine’s dessert would have to be cheesecake! (any kind, any flavor!)
Cream puffs with whipped cream and fresh raspberries. Yum.
Favorite V-Day dessert is a big box of chocolates that is mine, all mine, and from which I can nibble off each one until I find my favorite flavors.
I bake a heart cookie that is more like a butter cookie and has almond extract with an almond glaze. It is my favorite but it might be my second favorite after trying your recipe!
Thanks for a great blog!
My favorite valentines dessert would have to be chocolate raspberry cheesecake! Thanks for the cookie recipe, looks wonderful!
My favorite valentine dessert was made by my mother when I was young – an angel food cake with frosting made with orange juice and grated orange rind. It was simply delicious. I would love the scale, have been wanting to get one.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!
Flourless chocolate cake screams romance to me for some reason.
I am all for a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day, but it is also a great excuse to make anything chocolate and on the elegant side…flourless chocolate cake!
My favorite Valentine’s treat is sugar cookies from Louisa’s Bakery in Montgomery, AL. They are the most divine cookies! I will have to try the recipe you’ve shared and see if they are similar to Louisa’s!
Chocolate cake or cupcakes with pink frosting….just something about that combination says Valentine’s Day like nothing else! Thanks for entering me in the giveaway — the red scale would be absolutely perfect in my kitchen!!
It must be a box of See’s candies. If it’s homemade, it would be chocolate cake.