Heart Shaped Cookies

Keep your dough cool, measure flour accurately and avoid over creaming butter and sugar. Chill the dough after mixing and again after cutting if it feels soft, use parchment or a silicone mat not greased pans and don’t add extra oil or melted butter. If you want extra structure, add a small spoon of cornstarch or use a touch less sugar so the dough does not turn too runny while baking.

Chill the dough flat between two sheets of parchment and roll it while cold, then use a sharp cookie cutter pressed straight down without twisting. Freeze the rolled dough briefly before cutting or chill the cut shapes for 10 minutes before baking so they hold their outline and remove them from the oven when the edges are just set so they do not slump. King Arthur recommends sandwiching dough between parchment and chilling to keep crisp shapes.

Yes, many bakers use a standard chocolate cookie dough, but pick one that is not too soft and chill it well so it can be rolled and cut. If your usual recipe spreads a lot, adjust by chilling the dough, adding a little extra flour or a splash of cornstarch, or using a cookie sheet that grips the dough. If you want perfect shapes, some people bake a sheet and cut hearts from the baked sheet as an alternative.

Use a little brown sugar for moisture and chew, include an egg yolk for extra tenderness, and use both baking soda and a small amount of baking powder for balance in spread and lift. Chill the dough to control spread so hearts keep their shape, and take cookies out when edges are set but centers still look slightly soft for a chewy finish. Adding a teaspoon of cornstarch can also help keep them tender while maintaining shape.

Let the cookies cool fully, then drizzle tempered or melted chocolate with a spoon or small piping bag in quick back and forth motions for even stripes. Add sprinkles while the chocolate is still tacky so they stick and work in small batches so the chocolate does not set before you place the decorations. For neat lines, chill briefly after piping so chocolate firms before you move the cookies.

Yes. Freeze shaped but unbaked cookies on a tray, then transfer them to a bag and bake from frozen with an extra minute or two as needed. Fully decorated cookies with soft chocolate do not freeze well, but you can freeze baked plain cookies and add the drizzle and sprinkles after thawing. Many bakers also freeze dough discs for quick future batches.

Baking soda helps with spread, browning and chew when acid is present, while baking powder gives gentle lift and keeps cookies from turning cakey or too flat. Using a little of both gives a balanced texture that is soft in the middle with some structure around the edges, which is ideal for cut out heart cookies that should keep their shape.