Valentine’s Day Cookie Recipe

I love Valentine’s Day; always have and always will! I don’t think it has much to do with a romantic love; I think it’s just celebrating LOVE in any way that it happens to show up in your life! I love the colors red, pink and white and I love candy and eating delicious things so you could say that’s why I have always loved it. It’s a simple kind of love for me. The sweet kind. Literally.

These Valentine’s Day cookies might look familiar to you because I love making them for Christmas, too! I love that they are versatile and you can change them up for different seasons by changing out the color of the drizzle on top. They are hands down my favorite cookies. I love that they are so buttery, I love the subtle almond flavor, and I love the raspberry jam in the middle. Oh, my!! I also love that these Valentine’s Day cookies are so easy to make. They have have 7 simple ingredients that you most likely have on hand most of the time.

If you missed my post on the best Valentine’s Day gifts (for yourself or others…he he) then click here. I also included how Tyler and I met, and our engagement story. AKA our love story. I guarantee it’s different than any other you have heard! We are getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit over here!

One tip: If you haven’t used baking mats, get them!! They make baking so easy because 1) you don’t have to wash your pan after you use it since the cookies don’t touch it, and 2) since you don’t have to use baking spray, the bottoms of your cookies don’t get too crispy. Game changed!

MY FAVORITE VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIES

Yield: 16 cookies (deepening on how big you make them)

Ingredients

For the cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

For the drizzle on top

• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 Tbsp milk
• Food coloring (I used pink here and I like to use green during Christmas!)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• In a mixer, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. It should be pretty crumbly and you should have squeeze the dough pretty hard to shape it into the shape of a cookie!
• Roll dough into 2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with raspberry jam. You may need to use your other hand to help shape the dough as you press the small hole so the dough stays together more.
• Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until very, very lightly browned. I like mine less cooked so they are softer. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet then let cool on cooling racks.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Add more to get the consistency that you want. Add it to a plastic sandwich bag and cut a very small bit off of the corner. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies.
• Enjoy!!

MY FAVORITE TOOLS TO MAKE DEM COOKIES!