Happy February dear friends. If there is one way to get you in the Valentine spirit it is with heart shaped sugar cookies! I have to admit that there is only one sugar cookie recipe that I use. This Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie is the bomb and so I don’t mess with perfection. The frosting however is fun to change up. This Strawberry Buttercream is a super easy recipe that only requires a few ingredients and the end result is a fabulous looking and tasting cookie that everyone will be impressed by! Keep scrolling to get all of the details.
I have a lot of people who ask me about how to decorate cookies with Royal Icing. I use Glace’ Icing normally because it is easier to work with and I love the taste.
Buttercream in my opinion is even better. Plus decorating with it is super simple. All I used for these cuties was a Ziploc bag and a few sprinkles.
The best part is that the strawberry jam actually colors the buttercream the prettiest shade of light pink. You could always add a little food coloring if you wanted the color to be a little deeper.
There is so much to love about these Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.
Thank you so much for stopping by! This heart shaped sugar cookies recipe contains affiliate links, I receive a small amount of compensation if you choose to purchase from my links (for example – as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases). I only link to products that I know and love!
The BEST Sugar Cookie Recipe
Like I said above, this Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie recipe is what I consider to be the very best. The addition of cream cheese keeps them soft for days and allows them to bake up beautifully.
See this post will all of my tips for getting these awesome Sugar Cookies just right. Now all you need is the perfect buttercream.
How to make Strawberry Buttercream
Combine the softened butter and powdered sugar with a hand held mixer. The mixture will not come together completely. You will have more of a clumpy texture.
Add the strawberry jam and continue to combine with the mixer. It might take a minute for it to go from this.
To this…a beautiful light pink strawberry buttercream. Add a little milk or heavy cream to get it to a consistency that will allow it to be piped.
How to Decorate Valentine’s Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies without any Special Equipment or Skills
Put the frosting into a Ziploc bag or a piping bag and begin by piping the outline of the cookie.
Then go back and using a zigzag pattern, fill in the center of the cookie with strawberry buttercream.
The most important part is to not worry about it being perfect. There can be parts of the cookie that are showing. The lines don’t have to be exact. Just go with it and have fun.
The final step is to add a few sprinkles around the perimeter of the cookie. I kept them around one outside edge.
You can go back and lightly press them into the buttercream if you feel like they aren’t sticky nicely.
AND…that’s IT! You have amazing sugar cookies with strawberry buttercream that look awesome and taste like heaven.
The best part is that there are no special decorating skills required.
You can serve these heart shaped sugar cookies right away or allow them to sit at room temperature until the buttercream sets up.
Allowing the frosting to set up is especially important if you plan to stack the cookies. You can always put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
Excuse me while I go and make a double {errr…triple} batch. One for us, and two to send out in the mail to my loves. This is my Tater’s and Tales’s all-time favorite cookie recipe.
Over Christmas I packed them in my carry on just so I could take some to my Tater. Now with the addition of strawberry buttercream they are even more amazing.
Do you love holiday cookies? Try these recipes…
- Easy Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
- Lucky St. Patrick’s Day Cookies
- Spooky Brownie Bites
- Candy Corn Sugar Cookie Bites
- Easy Turkey Cookies
Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter or margarine {softened}
- 8 oz. cream cheese {softened}
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Strawberry Buttercream
- 3/4 cup butter {softened}
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup strawberry jam {I used seedless}
Sprinkles
Instructions
Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies
- In a mixing bowl beat butter or margarine and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla extract and baking powder. Beat in flour gradually, until completely combined. Divide dough in half, wrap each half in saran wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours {and up to 3 days} or until easy to handle.
- On a lightly floured surface roll dough to about 1/4" thickness. Using a cookie cutter of choice, cut shapes out and place on a silicone mat {or parchment} lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 9-10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Buttercream
- Combine the butter and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a hand held mixer. The two ingredients will not totally combine but the butter will break down into smaller pieces. Once that happens add the strawberry jam and continue to mix. It will take 30 seconds to a minute for the mixture to come together into a spreadable buttercream. Add enough milk or cream to make the buttercream piping consistency. Add the mixture to a piping bag or Ziploc bag.
- Take each heart shaped sugar cookie and pipe the outline. Then go back and using a zig zag motion, fill in the middle of each cookie. Add a few sprinkles to each cookie and let them sit at room temperature until the butter cream is set up. Cookies are awesome at room temperature for up 5 days.
- These heart shaped sugar cookies also freeze well unfrosted for 3 months.
