Today I’m sharing my favorite Valentine’s Day cookie recipe and creating Valentine’s Day cookie care packages to enjoy and share.
Are you ready to spread some love on Valentine’s Day?
Today I’m making my favorite old fashioned roll cookies.
And creating Valentine’s Day care packages to share with family and friends.
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Monica Vargas Photography
I’m teaming up with Annie, Mary Ann, Cindy, Sheri, and Kim.
I can’t wait to see what they have planned.
They’re so creative and clever and you’ll find their post links below.
Whether you’re hosting a Valentine’s Day cookie decorating party,
or making care packages to deliver or ship,
my favorite roll cookie has you covered.
Roll cookies are easy, fun and a delight to share.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day gifting.
“Aunties and grandmothers who roll cookies for and with children are scarce these days.”
So says a page torn from my mom’s, The Joy of Cooking, circa 1960’s.
This auntie is on the job!
Valentine's Day Roll Cookies with Decorative Icing
Ingredients
Roll Cookies
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
- 2 Eggs
- 2-1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Double-Acting Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Decorative Icing
- 4 Egg Whites
- 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract or Lemon Extract I use lemon extract.
- 5 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
Instructions
Roll Cookies
- Using standing mixer, cream together sugar and butter.
- Mix in eggs, one at a time.
- Add flour, baking soda and vanilla (or lemon extract) and continuing mixing until dough forms.
- Roll dough into ball and cover with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.
- Prepare cookie sheets by greasing or lining with Silpats or parchment sheets.
- Divide chilled dough into 2-4 smaller pieces and roll out one at a time using enough flour so dough won't stick (but not too much).
- Roll to desired thickness. Maybe 1/8" ... these cookies with rise up and become thicker with baking.
- Cut dough with cookie cutter and place onto prepared cookie sheets.
- Repeat process, incorporating
- Bake each sheet of cookies for 11 minutes. Don't let the bottoms brown.
- Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes, then move cookies to cooling racks.
Decorative Icing
- Beat egg whites until frothy.
- Gradually add sifted sugar and continue beating until frosting is consistency you desire.
- Divide icing into smaller bowls and add food colorings.
- Frost away ... then let cookies sit until completely dried. They are generally best eaten the next day, after frosting continues setting overnight. Cover lightly to keep fresh. To freeze, place in single layer on cookie sheet into freezer for a couple of hours, then move to small containers. To defrost, remove from freezer and place on single layer.
Let’s Decorate ~
After the cookies are baked and completely cooled, it’s time to decorate. Piping and flooding a cookie is way beyond my ability so I came up with a more abstract way of decorating. First, I ice the entire cookie using a regular knife or small, offset spatula. Then I dip a bamboo skewer into a different color icing and create a zig zag pattern by holding it over the cookie and waving it back and forth quickly. I might go over it a couple of times. And you can also use multiple colors.
Creating Care Packages ~
Almost as fun and decorating the cookies is finding cute ways to package them as gifts. Who doesn’t enjoy finding a cute cookie care package on their doorstep? I used these small, bakery-style windowed boxes and filled them with pink confetti. For a perfectly sized cookie cutters I used the largest in this set of heart shaped cookie cutters.
For my local niece and friends nearby, I placed the cookies right on top of the confetti and dropped the boxes on their doorsteps. For the care packages I shipped to my grand-nieces and nephews, I put the cookies inside cellophane bags before placing them in the bakery boxes. And I tied each box with this pink and white ribbon.
For larger cookies, I used this Wilton cookie cutter and placed them on these Valentine themed appetizer plates (here’s another cute plate option). I wrapped them with cellophane paper and red and white ribbon. These would make great Valentine’s Day party favors and can be repurposed as trinket trays.
A few tips:
- Depending on the size of your cookie cutters, make at least two batches of dough. One batch yields only 18-20 of my medium and large size hearts.
- The icing takes a long time to dry and fully set. At least 12 hours, preferably overnight.
- If you’re hosting a cookie decorating party, asks guests to bring cookie sheets to transport their cookies home.
- Here’s the ideal timeline for the entire process: make dough and chill overnight; roll and bake in the morning; decorate in the afternoon; package and deliver/ship (or eat) the next day.
- If you’re shipping cookies and want them to stay fresh, overnight shipping is ideal. But … big BUT … overnight shipping (any kind of shipping) is outrageously expensive and I nearly passed out at the UPS Store counter. A lot has changed since I used my babysitting money to mail cookies, packed in a shoe box, to my high school sweetheart at the Air Force Academy. Anyhoo, you can probably get a decent pair of shoes for what shipping is likely to cost. Be warned.
- As tempting as it may be, try to hold off sampling your cookies until the icing is fully set. For some reason they just don’t taste their best until completely dry.
PIN TO SAVE & BE READY FOR VALENTINE’S DAY!
For more Valentine inspiration you may enjoy my Valentine’s Day Tea Party Ideas.
So there you have it,
Valentine’s Day Care Packages to Enjoy and Share!
Now let’s visit Annie, Mary Ann, Cindy, Sheri & Kim!
Valentine’s Day Ideas to Share with Friends
As always, I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Cute cute CUTE!!! I want to make these and hopefully ship them off rather than polish them off.
Great job. And so instructional. I have pinned away!
Happy Valentines Day!
Ha! MA … shipped AND polished. There’s nothing I can’t do! 😉 xo
Oh my goodness these are darling! I need to learn to be a better baker! Summer would love those!! I am saving this in hopes I could pull it off next year!!
Cindy, this would be so fun with Summer. I loved the years I decorated these cookies with my nieces … we do all the holidays. Christmas, Valentines … Easter. Easter is especially easy because decorating an oval egg is simple simple simple. And when you go abstract … anything goes. Just cover your table and floors!!! xoxo
I love your cookies, Juliet. They turned out so beautiful. I need to make some for my friends and grandchildren.
Tammy, these cookies are so fun to make with kids. Just cover your table, chairs and floors well … and then let the fun begin! xo
What an absolutely charming gift – THOSE PLATES!!!! And that Joy of Cooking article is everything. I want those interlocking cookie cutters! I HATE rolling out cookies so appreciate how you simplified the process while still sharing a beautifully decorated cookie! xo
Sheri, don’t you love reading old cookbooks?! Rolling out cookies does seem like a lot of work and I always think it’s going to be an ordeal … and then it turns out to be pretty simple and fun. Of course, the best part is the free-form decorating!!! xo
Very pretty Juliet and I bet they are tasty too!
Crystal, I can assure you that after careful, ahem, testing and retesting … they pass muster! xo
NO WONDER YOU NEVER SLEEP!
BETWEEN BAKING, COCKTAILS, BLOGGING AND STAYING UP WITH THE NEWS AND FOOTBALL AND WALKING THOSE BEASTS YOU ARE A VERY VERY BUSY LADY!
THESE LOOK BEAUTIFUL……………….XXX
Why thank you, Contessa … I love my sugar and gluten!!! xo
Juliet these are beautiful! Love the different colors and the packaging. The window boxes are adorable! Your ribbon and the confetti are the cutest idea too. Oh those heart plates – also darling.
Great tips on the rolling – that old article is precious! Grandmas and aunties!
I need tips and patience with these kind of cookies. I would have no patience for flooding, but I think these look just as pretty, maybe even better with your method! I think I need a Valentines cookie cutter! Mine went missing. Maybe I can make these this weekend with the 20 somethings! They still love cookies.
Oh and I hear you about shipping.. I’ve had better luck shipping packages now FedEx to Utah for Griffin. Cheaper and faster than USPS..
xo
Are your 20 somethings in residence this weekend?! How fun! Find yourself a heart shaped cookie cutter and bake to everyone’s delight! xo
Thank you for motivating me to get baking. I would like to make a batch of these adorable cookies (and delicious btw) since I was the recipient of one your cute Valentines cookie deliveries. I would like to ship some to CO for Graham and his roommates. I know they appreciate home baked goods. You make it look so easy!!
Jane, this shipping thing is no joke. We could get in the car and drive cookies to Graham for less. Maybe we should?!!! xo
Juliet!
These look so beautiful! I had no idea the icing took 12 hours to set! The little boxes with crinkle paper..,what a treat to find on your doorstep! Wow, if making sugar cookies was scarce in the 60s, I’m not sure about now!! I would have thought it was at its peak in the 60s!! Yours look delightful!
Xx
Annie, you’re right, if it wasn’t happening in the 60’s then what?!!! Yes, the icing takes a while to set … patience is required. And it’s in short supply around here! xo
Juliet
Your cookies are beautiful! I love the boxes, the ribbon and the plates. Lucky neighbors, friends and family!
Thanks, Elizabeth … I can’t hold a candle to your baking but I do love to give it a go now and then! xo
Hi Juliet,
Wow the cookies are a total labor of love
and the presentation you put together is so lovely. Mailing cookies is a huge wow. You are something else again. Anything to show all your love is so very special. Valentine’s Day is one of my living favorites. I just showered my Precious Petunias gal pal friends with an early Galentine’s Day care package. I think the world needs more love.
I’m sure your friends and family members will be thrilled with the love from you.
Thank you for sharing.
Katherine, you are so right … the world needs more love. And I’m sure your Galentine’s felt all of yours. Thanks for reading and being so kind. xo
I really miss having little girls next-door that used to come over and bake valentines cookies! Of course, they were not as beautiful as yours, because I was letting a five-year-old and six year old do the decorating! I love the little boxes. Those are so cute.
Martha … that’s how I went the abstract route. My lack of artistic ability, and young nieces did not make for exacting standards. We have fun with the less precise route!!! xo
Hi Juliet,
These are perfect! You did an awesome job they look professional! My family loves sugar cookies, I will try to bake some this year. Thanks for the reminder!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Xo Heidi
Happy baking, Heidi … I know your cookies will be an artistic wonder!!! xo
OMG… these are so darn sweet, Juliet! Love the way you packaged them! You never miss a darling detail. I hope that your weekend is as sweet as your cookies! xx
Katie … YOU are the sweetest! xoxo
I am making Valentine’s care packages for my college son with some other moms tomorrow so thank you for some great ideas ! You are truly amazing !!!
xo
How fun is that … your kids are going to appreciate all the mom-love on Valentine’s Day! Send me pics! xoxo
These cookies are adorable and look so yummy!
Thanks, Ginger … I’m addicted to these cookies and could eat the entire batch myself. Yikes! 😉 xo