These little pink cookies are just adorable, and you can chill the dough tonight, then slice and bake a batch with the kids tomorrow.
Each slice reveals a bright pink heart baked inside a pale sugar cookie, so every cookie looks like one sweet treat tucked inside another.
This is a make ahead dessert for Valentine’s Day, and it is especially fun for a family celebration because children can see the surprise as soon as you slice the log.
The recipe makes 20 cookies, with one cookie as a serving. Preparation takes 20 minutes, cooking takes 10 minutes, chilling takes 5 hours, and the total time is 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The first reason to love these cookies is the surprise inside. A pink heart sits in the center of each slice, so the finished cookie feels more special than a plain sugar cookie, and it is easy to see why children love it.
You can also split the work across two days, which keeps baking relaxed and fun. Make the dough on the first day, wrap it well, and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake the next day.
That split is especially helpful when you bake with children. You can share both stages with older children, or you can prepare the dough alone first and let children help with slicing and baking on the second day.
Younger children in particular can enjoy the second day, because slicing reveals the heart and the finished cookies are ready to share at a family Valentine’s Day celebration.
If you love the slice and bake idea, you may also enjoy Peppermint chocolate slice and bake cookies for another chilled log you can slice when you are ready to bake.
For a family Valentine’s Day party, the hidden heart gives each cookie a small surprise, and the cookies are easy to share once they have cooled completely.
Planning ahead also helps on a busy Valentine’s Day, because the dough is already shaped and chilled when baking time arrives, so the baking day stays calm and simple.
Jump To
Supplies
Gather these tools before you start, so mixing, shaping, chilling, and baking stay easy.
- Electric mixer or stand mixer
- Heart shaped cookie cutter, about 2 inches
- Rolling pin
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Glass measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Wire cooling rack
- Rubber spatula
- Plastic wrap
- Large mixing bowl
With these tools ready, you can move from mixing to shaping without stopping to search for a missing item.
Slice and Bake Heart Cookies Ingredients
Use these ingredients for the dough, and keep the butter and egg at room temperature for the best mixing.
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 egg, preferably at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, store bought or homemade
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pink or red food dye
- Red sugar sprinkles, optional
If you use salted butter, reduce some of the salt. If you prefer a natural option, you can use a natural food dye instead of pink or red food dye.
Vanilla extract can be store bought or homemade, so use the version you already have at home.
For one cookie, the source nutrition is 195 calories, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0.4 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 14 milligrams of sodium, and 33 milligrams of cholesterol.
Full ingredient amounts are listed above, and the steps below follow the same dough from mixing through baking.
How to Make Slice and Bake Heart Cookies
Start with room temperature butter and egg, then follow each step in order. The pink dough needs time to chill, the plain dough stays soft, and the log needs a long chill before slicing.
The method has three clear phases. First, you mix one dough and divide it into a plain portion and a pink portion. Next, you shape the pink hearts, wrap them in plain dough, and chill the log. Finally, you slice and bake the chilled log.
Do not refrigerate the plain undyed dough at this stage, because it needs to stay soft for shaping around the hearts.
- Add the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the flour and salt, and mix slowly until the cookie dough comes together.
- Separate about 1 3/4 cups of cookie dough into a separate bowl and set it aside for later.
- Add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to the remaining cookie dough and mix until the color is fully incorporated.
- Form the dyed dough into a disk, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Remove the chilled pink dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut out hearts with a 2 inch, heart shaped cookie cutter until all the pink dough is used up.
- Stack the hearts on top of one another and compress them gently so they all stick together.
- Roll small sections of the undyed dough between your hands and press the strips around all sides of the stacked hearts until no pink is showing.
- Roll the dough log gently back and forth to smooth it out, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit when ready to bake the cookies.
- Remove the chilled cookie dough log from the refrigerator and slice it into cookies that are about 1/3 inch thick.
- Roll the edges of the cookies in the red sugar sprinkles if desired.
- Place 8 cookies, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.
The two chills add up to the 5 hour chill time in the recipe card. The pink disk chills for at least one hour, and the finished log chills for a minimum of four hours or overnight, so the total chill time is 5 hours.
Bake in batches of 8 cookies, evenly spaced, and repeat the baking step until all the cookies are baked. This keeps the spacing even and helps you watch each batch for lightly golden edges.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then move them to a wire cooling rack until they are completely cool. Cooling on the rack keeps the shape neat and makes the cookies easy to handle.
When you press the plain dough strips around the hearts, make sure no pink is showing, so each slice has a clean pale edge around the heart.
Roll the log gently back and forth until it feels smooth, then wrap it well before the long chill, so it holds its shape for slicing.
How to Store
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to three days. Keep the container sealed, so the cookies stay fresh for sharing over the next few days.
The recipe card gives the same storage guidance as the method step, so you can bake ahead, cool the cookies, and keep them ready for Valentine’s Day.
Make-Ahead Instructions
You can make the dough a day ahead. Form the dough into a log shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and store it overnight in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze the dough for longer storage. Wrap the cookie dough logs tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to use frozen dough, move it to the refrigerator the night before baking so it can thaw. Baking time may need to increase by a few minutes after freezing.
This make ahead plan fits the two day approach in the first section, because the log can wait in the refrigerator or freezer until baking day, and slicing and baking can then happen as a separate, relaxed step.
Whether you chill the log overnight or freeze it for up to 3 months, the plan stays the same: thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator the night before baking, then slice and bake.
More Valentine’s Day Recipes
If you want more ideas for Valentine’s Day, these recipes from the original post give you other sweet options to try.
- Strawberry Donuts
- Valentine’s Day Pretzels
- No Bake Cherry Cheesecake, 9 x 13 size
- Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies
If you want another slice and bake option, try Valentine’s Day marbled sugar cookies for a different Valentine’s Day look with the same slice and bake ease.
These related recipes give you a wider Valentine’s Day table, with donuts, pretzels, cheesecakes, and brownies to choose from alongside the heart cookies.
For the full recipe, see the artfulhomemaking.com.
Source: Valentine’s Day Pretzels
Source: No Bake Cherry Cheesecake (9 x 13 size)
Source: Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
Source: Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies
FAQs
How do you make slice and bake heart cookies?
Beat 1 cup room-temperature unsalted butter with 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla, then mix in 2 1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Tint part of the dough pink, cut 2-inch hearts from it, stack them, and enclose the stack in the reserved plain dough to form a log. Chill the log, slice it about 1/3 inch thick, and bake at 350°F for 10 to 11 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.
How long do you chill slice and bake cookie dough?
Chill the pink dough for at least 1 hour before rolling it to 1/4 inch thick and cutting the hearts. After wrapping the stacked hearts in plain dough, chill the finished log for at least 4 hours or overnight. Together, the chilling totals 5 hours, which is why the recipe works well when made a day ahead.
Can you freeze slice and bake heart cookie dough?
Yes. Wrap the formed dough log tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months. To use it, move it to the refrigerator the night before baking so it thaws evenly. Slice it about 1/3 inch thick and bake at 350°F, allowing a few extra minutes if needed because the dough may still be cold.
How do you keep the heart shape from spreading when baking?
Keep the dough well chilled and work with it while it is firm, since a cold log holds its shape when cut. Use a sharp, thin knife, slice about 1/3 inch thick, and return the log to the refrigerator if it softens or a slice tears. Bake the cookies spaced on a parchment-lined sheet at 350°F for 10 to 11 minutes, and let them rest on the sheet before moving them so they firm as they cool.
Slice and Bake Heart Cookies
These little pink cookies are just adorable, and you can chill the dough tonight, then slice and bake a batch with the kids tomorrow. Each slice reveals a bright pink heart baked inside a pale sugar cookie, so every cookie looks like one sweet treat tucked inside another.
- Total Time: 330 min
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Pink or red food dye
Red sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Instructions
1-Add the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla: Add the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
2-Scrape the sides of the bowl with: Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the flour and salt to the mixing bowl. Mix slowly until the cookie dough comes together.
3-Separate about 1 ¾ cups of cookie: Separate about 1 ¾ cups of cookie dough into a separate bowl and set aside for later.
4-Add a few drops of pink or: Add a few drops of pink or red food coloring to the remaining cookie dough and mix until the color is fully incorporated.
5-Form the dyed dough into a disk: Form the dyed dough into a disk shape, wrap it with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
6-Remove the dough from the refrigerator and: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out until it is ¼ inch thick.
7-Cut out cookies with a 2-inch, heart-shaped: Cut out cookies with a 2-inch, heart-shaped cookie cutter until all the pink dough is used up.
8-Stack the cookies on top of one: Stack the cookies on top of one another and compress them gently so they all stick together.
9-Roll small sections of the undyed dough: Roll small sections of the undyed dough between your hands and press the strips around all sides of the stacked hearts until no pink is showing.
10-Roll the dough log gently back and: Roll the dough log gently back and forth to smooth it out, wrap it in plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four hours or overnight.
11-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit when ready to bake the cookies.
12-Remove the chilled cookie dough from the: Remove the chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and slice it into cookies that are about ⅓ inch thick.
13-Roll the edges of the cookies in: Roll the edges of the cookies in the sugar sprinkles if desired.
14-Place 8 of them, evenly spaced, on: Place 8 of them, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges are LIGHTLY golden brown.
15-Allow the cookies to rest on the: Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
16-Repeat until all the cookies are baked: Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Method: bake
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 195 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 14 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 33 mg
