Soft Frosted Valentine Heart Cookies

Birthday week. I turned thirty-one on Tuesday, March third, in the morning, before work, with a coffee Ryan made me and the twins screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY" at the top of their lungs from the breakfast table, which I will frame in my brain forever. The school had a card for me at lunch — my co-teacher made it, the kids signed it in their best handwriting which is not very good handwriting which is part of why I love it. I taped it to the fridge next to all the other birthday cards I have not taken down from previous years. The fridge is its own museum at this point.

The actual day was a Tuesday. I taught school. I came home. The twins were already asleep. Ryan was at the firehouse. I ate a piece of cake standing at the counter and called Mom and we talked for twenty minutes about my classroom and about Wally and about whether I should get a haircut. She said yes. I have not gotten a haircut.

Saturday I went to a Nar-Anon meeting — the one I've been going to on and off for ten years now, less often now than I used to, but every March and every September I make myself go because that's the rhythm of grief. I sat in the basement of a church on Western with seven other people and we talked. I shared. I always share at this meeting because it's my home meeting and they remember Jess's name. I said it had been almost ten years and that I was thirty-one and that Jess would have been thirty-one too and that this was the first birthday where I felt the math of that with my whole body. Mary, who has been at this meeting longer than I've been coming, hugged me afterward and didn't say anything. The good ones don't say anything.

For the blog this week I wrote about birthday cake — specifically, about not making your own. About how my whole life I made birthday cakes from a box mix with the buttercream from the can and they were perfect. About how a four-dollar Aldi cake at thirty-one is also perfect. About how you do not have to bake your own birthday cake to be a person who matters. The post got more comments than anything I've written in a year. Apparently a lot of women needed to hear that.

The post I wrote about birthday cake — the one about the Aldi box and the can of frosting and not having to justify any of it — got more response than I expected, and I think it’s because a lot of us have been holding quiet permission slips for ourselves that we never quite hand over. So this week I wanted to give you a recipe that carries that same energy: these Soft Frosted Valentine Heart Cookies, which are exactly what they sound like, which is a thick, pillowy sugar cookie under a thick, pillowy swipe of frosting, and they are perfect. They’re the kind of thing you make not because a birthday is a production, but because you’re thirty-one and you’re still here and that is genuinely worth a sprinkle or two.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 1 hr (includes chill) | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup full-fat sour cream
For the frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3–4 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pink or red food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles, for topping (optional but recommended)

Instructions

Make the dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla and sour cream until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
Chill. Divide the dough in half, flatten each portion into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This keeps the cookies from spreading too thin.
Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll and cut. On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough disk to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into heart shapes using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch heart cutter. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Re-roll scraps as needed.
Bake. Bake 8–10 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops look barely dry — you do not want color on these. They will look underdone. That is correct. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting. Beat softened butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, alternating with cream, beating on low until incorporated, then on medium-high until fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add food coloring a drop at a time until you reach your desired pink. If frosting is too thick, add cream by the teaspoon; if too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.
Frost and finish. Spread a generous layer of frosting on each cooled cookie using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Top immediately with sprinkles. Let frosting set for 15–20 minutes before stacking or storing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Soft Frosted Valentine Heart Cookies — Because You Deserve the Frosting Right Out of the Can