Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and boy oh boy do I have a perfect recipe for you! These sandwich cookies are a classic and a crowd pleaser, but they are so darn cute for the upcoming holiday that you’re S.O. will think “We’re a batch made in heaven”. Ok I’m done. Maybe. I don’t know if you can tell but I kind of love Valentine’s Day. I know a lot of people aren’t too fond of it. A big consensus is there shouldn’t be only one day in the year to show people you love them a little more than you usually would, or that it’s just another excuse for consumerism. While I understand that, it doesn’t bother me so much. I’ve always enjoyed Valentine’s Day, boyfriend-less or with boyfriend, alone or with Galentines, because I grew up celebrating it with friends and family too. What’s wrong with an extra day in the year to cheese-ily show the people in your life that you love them? I view it as a big day that celebrates love in all forms. I LOVE love, aaand I may also love pink and red hearts everywhere and cute treats surrounding me. Well, I still know the v-day haters are out there even after my little speech, so if you’re not completely sick of me yet, let me show you how to make these cookies. I promise you’ll love them no matter what your February 14th feelings are 😉
The foundation of these cookies are as classic as sandwich cookies get. The base cookie is a cross between a sugar cookie and a shortbread, and they are bordered with buttercream and filled with jam. They do have a special twist however with an orange scented buttercream, which I believe is a great complement to the strawberry jam, and gives the cookie just a little more flavor. I’ve been loving our orange tree lately and trying to incorporate orange into all my recipes before citrus season is over, but you can skip the orange flavor if you wish.
I also wanted these cookies to look like conversation hearts, so I dyed the dough into pastel colors and wrote cute phrases on each cookie with red royal icing. It’s an extra step that I think is absolutely worth it for that festive touch, but if you can’t be bothered with that they will still look amazing without these extra steps 🙂
The dough couldn’t be easier to make. This is an old school recipe that my mom had, so it starts with egg yolks and milk. Later on, you simply add the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla and salt, and mix until a dough forms. This method is a little unconventional in terms of how most cookie doughs are made now, but trust me, it works!
If you are dying the dough, now would be the time to split it up and add your food coloring. My best advice with this if you are doing multiple colors like me would just be split the dough in three and do each part in the mixer, otherwise you might overwork it by hand. This dough is perfectly smooth so I didn’t even worry about mixing up colors because it was so easy to remove the dough from the bowl each time. If you are only choosing one color, you could just add the food coloring to the wet ingredients before adding the dry. I always use gel food coloring for everything.
Now it’s time to roll and cut! I rolled the dough out to 1/4 inch thick because I wanted the cookie to stay somewhat soft. I used a heart shaped 2 1/4 inch cookie cutter. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.
While the cookies are cooling make the filling and icing! I chose a standard buttercream to fill and added fresh orange zest and juice, but I think regular vanilla would be great too. I also decided on strawberry jam for the very center of the cookie. Simply cream butter and powdered sugar together until smooth and then add the orange juice and zest. For the icing on top, I used powdered sugar, corn syrup and more orange juice. This icing is perfect because it will set on top and will also have that teensy extra bit of flavor. I dyed half of it red for the writing to match the font of a conversation heart. I left the other part white for decoration.
Now it’s time to assemble! Match up all your cookies. Flip one cookie over and pipe a border of buttercream, which will help keep the jam in place. Fill with the jam of your choice! On the other cookie that is still right side up, use your red icing to pipe a saying similar to that of a conversation heart. Then, use the white icing to border the cookie in dots or lines, or whatever you like.
And that’s it! I mean you cannot deny the cuteness of these. Whether you’re giving these to one special person or delivering them to a group of people, I am certain they will enjoy these cookies immensely. Please let me know if you try this recipe and your thoughts on Valentine’s Day in the comments <3 Enjoy!
With Love,
Jenna
Conversation Heart Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter unsalted
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Buttercream:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tbsp butter room temperature
- 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp corn syrup
- fresh orange juice as needed
- food coloring
Instructions
For the Cookies:
- In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, whisk the egg yolks and milk together. Add in the rest of the ingredients and beat until combined.
- Divide the dough into three parts for three different colors. Add one part back to the mixing bowl at a time, and mix in your food dye of choice. Be sure to fully scrape out all the dough before adding the next part to ensure the colors do not mix.
- Roll out one part of colored dough at a time and use a 2 1/4 inch cookie cutter to cut out an even amount of hearts. Repeat with the two remaining colored doughs.
- Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden. Let cool completely.
For the Buttercream:
- While the cookies are cooling, work on the filling. Beat the powdered sugar and butter together until smooth. Next, beat in the orange zest. Add the fresh orange juice, about 2-3 tablespoons, until the icing is nice in smooth. Set aside.
For the Icing:
- Add the powdered sugar and corn syrup to a bowl. Mix in the fresh orange juice 1/4 teaspoon at a time until smooth but still thick. Since we are piping on letters with this icing, it is better to leave it a little thicker than your classic sugar cookie icing.
- Divide in two bowls, dying one red for the writing and leaving the other white for extra decoration.
Assembly:
- Pair up your cookies so there are perfectly even sandwich cookies. Decorate your top cookie by piping on different Valentine's related sayings, just like a conversation heart would have. Use your white icing to pipe on dots and borders for added decoration.
- Flip your bottom cookie over and pipe a buttercream border around the edge. Fill the center with strawberry jam or any complementary jam of your choice. Sandwich the top decorated cookie on the bottom cookie with filling, and enjoy!