January 31, 2011 (updated March 15, 2022) by Zoë François | cookies, equipment, Lemon
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Did you know that Saint Valentine’s Day dates back to Pope Gelasius in 500 AD, not the Hallmark Cards of 1910? The original holiday was a religious one, with nothing to do with romance, flowers, chocolate or red royal icing. The modern Valentine’s Day must have been recreated by a pastry chef.It is an excuse to make sweet, pretty, heart-shaped treats like this Valentine cookies. There really isn’t another time of the year when heart-shaped desserts are permissible. It’s a shame really, but Valentine’s Day owns the shape, so we must take advantage of the opportunity.
These Valentine cookies are not only pretty, but most importantly they are delicious. They are made of a lemon shortbread and decorated with a lemon icing. Often these stylized cookies give way toaestheticsand forget that the flavor still rules supreme. These are both tasty and gorgeous!
As you know I am trying to thin out my baking pantry of all the loot various companies send me to test out and review. This scale is one of them. I think it is lovely and it works well, but I have several scales and honestly I prefer digital. This scale by Eat Smart can weigh up to 11-pounds, has a nice big hopper (bowl) and is stylish in a retro way. The down side is that is requires a kitchen that can handle itsformidablesize. This company also makes a tinyDigital Scale
that I really like. If you don’t bake with a scale yet, it is something you should consider. It is the only way to get really consistent results and allows you to bake recipes from the pros like Michelle Gayer.
How to Make Heart Shaped Valentine Cookies
See me make these step by step here and find the full recipe at the end of this post!
To make the Valentine cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Remove the rind, with some of the pith and chop it up into small pieces. Grind it up in a coffee or Spice-and-Nut Grinder
.
Until it is in very fine pieces. It should almost be powdery. If there are large chunks the cookies will not hold together when rolled out.
In a food processor grind some regular granulated sugar for about 1 minute and then measure out 1/2 cup of the superfine sugar for your recipe. The rest of the sugar can be saved for another recipe.
Beat the butter in a stand mixer with the Beater Blade Paddle Attachment 
on medium-high, until it is smooth. Gradually add the sugar, then vanilla and lemon, mixing until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Inthirds, add the flour and salt. Mix until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
Knead very lightly until it is a smooth ball.
Use your favorite cookie cutters.
Dust the dough with flour and roll to about a scant 1/4-inch thick rectangle. The dough does not need to chill first.
You canre-rollthe scraps once, beyond that it starts to get tough.
Position the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. If you are baking both sheets at once you will want to switch from top to bottom and back to front. Cool on a rack.
Meanwhile make the royal icing:
Combine all the meringue powder, cream of tartar, confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice in a stand mixer. It will be quite thick.
To decorate the cookies follow these instructions.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentine Cookies
Don't be fooled into thinking a cookie isn't decadent and special enough for a Valentine's Day dessert. These Valentine cookies are made of lemon shortbread with a lemon icing. Add in the heart shapes and the decorations, and you have a tasty and gorgeous treat for the holiday.
5 from 2 votes
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Servings: 24 cookies (approximately)
Author: Zoë François
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (see note)
- 1/2 cup superfine sugar see step-by-step instructions in the blog post for how to make this
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract homemade vanilla extract
- rind of 1 lemon see step-by-step instructions in the blog post
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour measured by stirring flour and then using scoop and sweep method
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Remove the lemon rind, with some of the pith and chop it up into small pieces. Grind it up in a coffee or Spice-and-Nut Grinder until it is in very fine pieces. It should almost be powdery. If there are large chunks the cookies will not hold together when rolled out.
In a food processor, grind some regular granulated sugar for about 1 minute and then measure out 1/2 cup of the superfine sugar for your recipe. The rest of the sugar can be saved for another recipe.
Beat the butter in a stand mixer with the Beater Blade Paddle Attachment on medium-high, until it is smooth. Gradually add the sugar, then vanilla and lemon, mixing until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. In thirds, add the flour and salt. Mix until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead very lightly until it is a smooth ball. Use your favorite cookie cutters. Dust the dough with flour and roll to about a scant 1/4-inch thick rectangle. The dough does not need to chill first. You can re-roll the scraps once, beyond that it starts to get tough.
Position the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. If you are baking both sheets at once you will want to switch from top to bottom and back to front. Cool on a rack.
Icing
Combine all the meringue powder, cream of tartar, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice in a stand mixer. It will be quite thick.
To decorate the cookies follow these instructions.
Notes
I used a European-style butter, which has lower amounts of water and whey. This makes the cookies taste better and have a fantastic crisp texture, but isn’t absolutely necessary.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
