Easy Heart Cookies {With Cake Mix}
Easy heart cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Starts off with red velvet cake mix. These cut out sugar cookies hold their shape with no spreading.
These are the perfect way to say “I love you” this season! Make them for your family or let the kids decorate them or give them as gifts to family and friends. There is no wrong way to share the love! These Valentine’s Day Cookies {Love Letter Cookies} and Easy Love Cake are two other fun ideas. If you are still stuck on ideas, be sure to browse these Pink Desserts {Valentine’s Day Dessert}. There has to be some treat in there to inspire you.
Table of contents
How to make heart cookies?
- Mix egg and butter-Until combined.
- Add cake mix- And mix again.
- Cover– And chill dough.
- Roll dough– Between two sheets of wax paper.
- Cut out shapes– Using a cookie cutter.
- Remove excess dough– From around the shapes.
- Bake– Until crisp along the edges.
- Decorate-With royal icing or melted white chocolate and sanding sugar.
Variations for decorated heart shaped cookies
Decorate with marshmallow fondant– It can be Homemade Marshmallow Fondant or store-bought fondant. Both work well.
Decorate with icing that dries hard- The two choices are Royal Icing and Glace Icing.
Try soft frosting– Such as this Best Sugar Cookie Frosting. You won’t be able to stack cookies, but they will taste great.
Try other sprinkles and seasonal sugar decorations– Such as these Fondant Flowers or Royal icing Flowers.
Valentine sugar cookies /heart sugar cookies– Use my Cut Out Chocolate Sugar Cookie Recipe or these Classic Cut Out Sugar Cookies.
Dip the cookies in melted chocolate– Dip only halfway for an elegant decoration.
Decorate with nuts or coconut– Nuts should be finely chopped and if using coconut, use shredded or desiccated versions.
Add extracts- Such as coconut, caramel, cherry, almond for a unique flavor profile.
Add zests- Such as lemon, lime or orange.
Make sandwich cookies– By adding jam or American Buttercream Frosting in the middle of 2 cookies.
Use other cake mix flavors- Instead of red velvet, use chocolate, lemon or yellow mix for different flavors.
Tips and techniques for Valentine’s Day cookies
Chill dough– Because this makes it easier to handle. Don’t skip this step! Most importantly, it prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking and helps hold their shape.
Don’t over mix– Because that will make your cookies fall flat and become dense.
Only work with half the dough at a time– Keep the other half in the fridge so that is stays cold and remains easy to work with.
Roll dough between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper– Make sure you are leaving enough space between each cookie so that there is enough space for them to expand during baking.
Cool cookies completely– Before removing them from the tray so that they don’t break when you remove them.
Make sure the egg and butter at room temperature– Because this allows them to blend properly.
There is no milk or water in this recipe– Do not add those ingredients or else the dough will become very sticky.
Sift cake mix– Because that removes any lumps, resulting in a smooth dough.
Use unsalted butter- Because that prevents these cookies from becoming too salty.
Don’t decorate warm cookies- They must cool completely because if they are warm, the decorations can melt and become sticky.
The number of total cookies from this recipe will vary- Because that depends on the size of your cutter and the thickness in which you roll out your dough.
Storage
Room temperature– Store leftovers in a cookie jar for up to 3 days.
Refrigerate– They can also be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freeze– In a sealed container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature.
More heart designs
You can also make 8 other designs with just 1 heart cutter. Use fondant or royal icing or glace icing.
- Strawberries
- Swimwear
- Love Bugs
- Corset
- Bride’s dress
- Tuxedo
- Santa Claus
- Web of Love
More Valentine’s Day desserts
- How To Make A Flower Cupcake Bouquet
- How To Make Buttercream Ruffle Cake
- Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
- Valentine’s Day Dessert Table
Easy Cut Out Heart Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Egg, Large
- 1/2 cup Butter, Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1 box Red velvet cake mix
- 1 cup Royal icing, Or melted white chocolate, For decorating
- 1/2 cup Sanding sugar, For decorating
Instructions
- Add egg and butter in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Sift the cake mix powder.
- Add this sifted cake mix into the bowl of wet ingredients.
- Mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Cover and chill dough for 1-2 hours so that it's not sticky and easier to handle. Do not skip this step!
- Remove dough from fridge and divide in half. Work with one portion at a time and keep the other portion chilled in the fridge.
- Roll dough between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper and use a heart cutter to cut out pieces. Make sure you are leaving enough space between each cookie so that there is enough space for them to expand during baking.
- Remove excess dough from around the shapes.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until the edges are firm.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely and then, remove them from the tray.
- Drizzle the tops with royal icing or melted white chocolate. Toss some sanding sugar on top, if you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- The number of cookies you get from this recipe depends on the size of your cutter and thickness you roll out your dough. I prefer thin, crispy cookies and roll out my dough thin.
I made these today and came out perfect. I drizzled icing over, so pretty. Crip on edges and soft inside.