Chocolate-Dipped Sugar Cookie Hearts – The Perfect Valentine’s Day Treat
Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love and what better way to do that than with a sweet treat for your special someone?
These heart-shaped chocolate-dipped sugar cookies, dipped in rich and creamy chocolate, are the perfect gift to show how much you care.
Not only are they cute, but they are also delicious. Whether you’re baking for your significant other, friends, or family, these cookies are sure to put a smile on everyone’s face.
Let’s start by answering some questions you might have about making these simple yet effective treats.
What is the best cookie recipe?
I am biased but I feel the recipe below is the best one. If you get the temperature of the butter correct then this recipe will give you tasty, buttery sugar cookies that won’t spread in the oven.
Can I add any variations or flavour combinations to the cookies?
For this recipe, I use vanilla extract but nothing is stopping you change that for any other flavoured extract, lemon or orange would make a refreshing change.
You could make a sandwich with the cookies and fill it with preserves, Nutella, biscoff, or peanut butter.
Experiment by adding spice to the mix like cinnamon for a warming flavour.
Fancy a minty cookie then you could crush up some peppermints or candy canes and sprinkle on the top before baking.
Why do sugar cookies spread during cooking?
The reason sugar cookies spread will be due to several factors, including the ratio of ingredients in the recipe. Also the softness of the dough plus cooking time and the temperature of the oven.
One of the main reasons I mention the temperature of the butter so much during this post (as you will see) is because if you can master that and get the sugar cookie dough right then these will not spread in the oven.
How to shape the cookie dough into heart shapes?
Shaping cookie dough into heart shapes for Valentine’s Day is quite simple. Here are the steps you can follow:
- Roll out the cookie dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the dough.
- Place the heart-shaped cookies onto a lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough, re-rolling it if necessary.
Make sure to lightly flour the surface to ensure the cookie dough doesn’t stick and the shapes come out cleanly.
What equipment do I need for the heart chocolate-dipped sugar cookies?
Stand Mixer, I would highly recommend that you have a stand mixer but a hand whisk will do the trick, it’s the first part of the recipe where the butter is still quite firm that is the most difficult part.
Greaseproof paper- I like using Tesco baking paper. Look out for a comparison post of different types soon.
Rolling pin – I have a large nonstick one, similar to this one.
Spacers – These are great, you place them on either side of your dough to ensure the dough is rolled out to an even consistency.
Rolling pin with spacers – If you don’t have either of the above then this is a great purchase as it has the two in one!
Heart Cookie Cutters- you can get these in sets but 1 medium-sized heart cookie cutter will do. I like this set from Amazon
Good quality chocolate, clicking here will get you £5 off your first order on Henley Bridge
What is a good quality chocolate for tempering?
The number of cocoa solids in the chocolate will determine the type of chocolate you use for tempering. Generally, it is recommended to use high-quality couverture chocolate that contains at least 30% cocoa solids for tempering.
This type of chocolate is specifically designed for dipping and coating confections, and it will melt and set smoothly and evenly. However, you can use any type of chocolate that you prefer for tempering, as long as it contains cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar.
How can I temper milk chocolate easily?
Tempering milk chocolate is the process of heating and cooling the chocolate to a specific temperature range to ensure it sets properly, resulting in a glossy and smooth surface that won’t easily melt or bloom. I like to use the seeding method for tempering and I have written in depth about this method in this post.
Here is a good brief description of how to do the method easily. This will produce tempered chocolate that you can use for your valentines chocolate-dipped sugar cookies.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces (if not bought in callets or buttons) and place all but 10% of it in a heatproof bowl. Set the 10% aside for later
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30-second intervals (I prefer the microwave), stirring frequently, until it’s fully melted.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and add the remaining chopped chocolate to the melted chocolate, stirring until it’s completely melted and the mixture cools to a comfortable room temperature.
- At this point, you can use the chocolate and it will set quickly and give you all the elements of tempered chocolate.
Here is my no-spread sugar cookie recipe. This will be perfect for creating chocolate-dipped sugar cookies further down. I hope you like it and find it as easy as I do…. For a more in-depth post on sugar cookies click here.
No Spread Sugar Cookies: The perfect base for decorating
Ingredients
- 220 g unsalted butter
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 425 g plain flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (fan)/200c/ Gas Mark 6
- Pop the butter and caster sugar into a bowl and cream together, this will take longer than when butter is softened beforehand but it will be worth it.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat well to combine.
- Next, add the flour, I do this in sections, adding a bit at a time.
- You will find that the beater attachment (if using a stand mixer) will bring the dough together as one. When this happens stop mixing, your dough is ready.
- If you are using a hand mixer you will want to hand knead the dough.
- On a clean surface, lightly dust with plain flour and hand knead your dough a little. Next, split your dough into 3 (refer to the tips in the post as to why we do this)
- Using your rolling pin and spacers roll out your dough to around ¼ inch thick
- Avoid the dough sticking by adding some flour to the surface, and after you have rolled out once lift and rotate the dough.
- Line a baking tray with baking or greaseproof paper.
- Cut out your shapes and transfer them to the tray.
- This will give you around 30 medium-sized cookies.
- You don’t have to use all the dough in one go, you can store this in the fridge but I recommend freezing instead. Wrap in cling film and freeze.
- I cut out the number of cookies I want and bake them all in one go.
- These take around 8-10 minutes in the oven, I suggest putting the timer on for 8 minutes and checking at this point. They are ready when they are a golden brown colour around the edges.
- Leave these for 5 minutes on the tray to cool slightly, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely before either decorating or popping in an air tight container for another day.
I have shared my cookie recipe so you have some heart-shaped cookies (or a different shape). You also have my method on how to temper chocolate easily. So, let’s get started and see how we can make these delicious, chocolate-dipped sugar cookies!
This is such a simple, effective way to make a treat for your loved ones on Valetines day.
With the melted chocolate in one bowl, simply dip the cookies into the chocolate so they are covered halfway.
As in the above picture.
I like them half-covered but you could cover the tip or even fully dip them.
Once you have dipped your sugar cookies into the chocolate, place them onto a sheet of baking paper. (I like to place this onto a baking sheet- easy to move at a later point!)
Once you have put the chocolate-dipped sugar cookies onto the baking paper then leave them to set.
However, before the chocolate sets, why not make them look more attractive? I have put some sprinkles on the top for this post but you could use marshmallows or dried fruit.
How can I decorate sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day?
This is just one way to decorate your cookies, but here are a few ways to decorate sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day:
- Royal icing: Decorate with various shades of pink, red, and white royal icing. You can pipe hearts, polka dots, swirls, or write “Happy Valentine’s Day
- Sprinkles: Sprinkle Valentine’s Day-themed sprinkles, such as red and pink hearts, onto the cookies.
- Melted chocolate:Melt white, milk or dark chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies. Decorate with sprinkles or even edible glitter.
- Food coloring: Mix food coloring with clear vanilla extract to create a colored glaze. Brush the glaze onto the cookies, then add sprinkles or decorate with royal icing.
- Fondant topped, you can get cute embosser tools with hearts on or even happy valentines day message, like this one.
Remember to let the icing or decorations dry completely before serving the cookies.
I hope you liked this post and as always happy baking!
