Heart shaped chocolate chip cookies are the perfect homemade treat for Valentine's Day. These soft cookies hold their shape beautifully when baked and are filled with plenty of mini chocolate chips and festive sprinkles.
Looking for a sweet homemade treat to surprise your valentine? Give these heart shaped chocolate chip cookies a try. They bake up soft, not too sweet, and make the perfect Valentine's day gift for any age.
I've combined my recipes for maple cut out cookies and chocolate chip cookies to make this new chocolate chip cut out cookie recipe. These cookies are the perfect combination - they are filled with mini chocolate chips, vanilla, and a bit of brown sugar. But, they hold their shape beautifully and don't spread out when baked.
Serve these valentine's day cookies to your coworkers, children, and family to celebrate the holiday. Package into decorative bags and give out as a gift!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Unsalted butter - Butter should be room temperature to easily incorporate with the other ingredients and create a smooth, even dough. If using salted butter, cut the listed salt in half.
- Sugars - We're using a combination of granulated and brown sugars for the perfect texture and chewiness.
- Vanilla extract - Adds flavor to the cookies.
- Eggs - Adds moisture and structure.
- Flour - I've only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour, so I can't say for sure how other flours would turn out. Have a different type of flour on hand? Instead of wasting ingredients, I highly recommend searching for a recipe that's written using the ingredients you have on hand.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the cookies.
- Leavening - Baking powder is needed for this recipe, not baking soda. The two are not interchangeable.
- Mini chocolate chips - I highly recommend using mini chocolate chips for this recipe. You'll be rolling out your dough to about ¼" thickness - larger chocolate chips are a bit too big for this style of cookie.
- Sprinkles - I recommend using jimmies sprinkles in red, pink, and white.
Tools needed
Other than the basics, like mixing bowls and measuring cups, you'll need a few specific tools to make cut out cookies.
- Rolling pin - a simple wooden rolling pin is all you need.
- Cookie sheets - half baking sheets easily hold about a dozen cookies each.
- Cooling rack - grab a cooling rack to cool your freshly baked cookies.
- Heart shaped cookie cutter- I recommend using a medium sized heart shaped cookie cutter, about 2 to 3 inches in length. I used a 2.75 inch cookie cutter (the middle size) from this set: 5 Pieces Heart Cookie Cutters
- Sprinkles - I used a combination of red, pink, and white jimmies.
- Parchment paper - It prevents cookies from sticking to your baking sheet. I don't suggest greasing your baking sheet - this will make your cookies spread more.
Tips and tricks
Ever struggled to make cut out cookies work for you? These are my favorite tips for cut out cookie success.
Room temperature ingredients - Make sure you're using room temperature ingredients when specified, not melted or cold. Room temperature ingredients emulsify when mixed with the sugar, creating a creamy, even dough.
Do not substitute ingredients - Baking is an exact science and there is a reason for each ingredient listed. If you don't have the proper ingredients on hand, try searching for a recipe that does include your ingredients.
Measure flour properly - The most common mistake I see in baking is the improper measuring of flour. Too much flour will cause your dough to be dry, crumbly, and tough. The most accurate way to measure flour is with a kitchen scale. If you don't have a scale, spoon your flour into a measuring cup, then level off with a knife. When scooping directly from a bin with a measuring cup, this compacts the flour into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to your recipe.
Chill the dough - This is an important step that shouldn't be skipped. Chilled dough spreads less in the oven, ensuring that your cut out cookies keep their shape.
Dust everything with flour - Don't be afraid to dust everything with flour while you're rolling out your dough. Dust the counter top, your hands, your rolling pin, and your cookie cutters.
Allow baking sheets to cool - Do not place dough onto a hot baking sheet. This causes your dough to spread.
Are your cookies still spreading in the oven? - Once you've cut out your cookies and placed them on your baking sheet, refrigerate the entire baking sheet for 10 minutes before placing them in the oven. This will help them spread less.
Don't grease your baking sheet - Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat instead of greasing your baking sheet. Added grease will cause your cookies to spread more.
Storage
Cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
Baked cookies and cookie dough both freeze well for three months or more when stored in optimal conditions. To thaw baked cookies, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for about 1 hour. To thaw dough, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight before rolling and baking.
Frequently asked questions
If your cookies are dry and also bland, it sounds like too much flour was added. I highly recommend measuring flour by weight instead of using a measuring cup, which can add up to 25% extra flour to a recipe.
This recipe contains the proper ratios of wet to dry ingredients, including plenty of moisture-retaining ingredients, and will not turn out dry or bland if the proper measurements, ingredients, and baking recommendations are followed.
This can happen when your dough is too warm or the baking sheet was greased instead of lined with parchment.
- Don't skip the step of refrigerating your dough. Refrigerating not only helps the flavors meld, but also makes the dough easier to roll out and cut and reduces spreading in the oven.
- If your dough is still spreading in the oven, try refrigerating the your cut outs for 10 minutes, then transfer directly into the oven.
- Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. I do not recommend using a greased cookie sheet. A layer of grease/cooking spray makes cookies of any kind spread more in the oven.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (53 g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (180 g) mini chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons colorful jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer), cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients into butter mixture and mix until just combined. Add mini chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix until evenly incorporated.
- Shape dough into two round discs and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for one hour, or up to 24 hours (dough can be made a day ahead of time).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove one disc of dough at a time from the refrigerator.
- Dust counter top, rolling pin, and top of dough with flour. Roll dough out to ¼" thickness, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using a medium (2-3 inch) cookie cutter, cut into hearts and place onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes, OR until cookies just begin to lightly brown around edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- See the tips and tricks and FAQ sections above for best success.
- Dough scraps can be rerolled once before additional refrigeration is needed. Warm dough will spread more in the oven and cookies may lose their shape. If your cookies are spreading in the oven - after cutting out your cookies, place entire baking sheet in the refrigerator for 10 minutes just before baking. This will help your cookies keep their shape.
- I do not recommend greasing your baking sheet. Additional grease can cause cookies to spread more when baking.
- Leftover dough and leftover baked cookies (that have been cooled completely) can be frozen in a tightly sealed freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
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