Let's face it - you can use ANY cut-out cookie recipe to make decorated, iced Valentine cookies, but some lend themselves more to Valentine's Day than others. Probably spiced pumpkin cut-out cookies aren't going to make the list.
Be sure you have a great royal icing recipe for decorating as well!
Five Cut-Out Cookie Recipes Perfect for Making Decorated Valentine Cookies
Perfect Every Time Cut-Out Cookies
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We have to start with the OG - my vanilla-almond cut-out cookies. They're called "perfect" for a reason. I've made literally many thousands of cookies using this recipe. The recipe makes cookies that are sturdy enough for decorating, packaging, and mailing, but still chewy and delicious.
(I also have a gluten-free version.)
Dark Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies
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Valentine's Day is THE holiday for chocolate. It's no different for cookies. Here's what one of my nephews said about these dark chocolate cut-out cookies..."Aunt Bridget, is this a brownie that is a cookie?"
Chocolate Hazelnut (Nutella) Cut-Out Cookies
Continuing with the chocolate theme - Nutella Cut-Out Cookies. This recipe was originally featured in my first (now out-of-print) book, Decorating Cookies. It's luscious and one of those recipes where I could just sit down and eat the cookie dough with a spoon.
If your Valentine is a coffee lover, these cappuccino sugar cookies are the ones to make! Delicately coffee-flavored, the dough is made using both brown and granulated sugars, so they're extra soft, but still sturdy enough for decorating with royal icing or buttercream.
What is it about flecks of vanilla bean that seems...romantic? I'm not sure, but your Valentine will surely swoon upon biting into one of these speckled cookies.
I'm making at least one batch of the dark chocolate cut-outs this week...and who am I kidding, probably 2 more varieties as well! Happy decorating!
