🍓Fruit Pizza: The Perfect Light Easter Dessert

Easter may have a reputation for being all about the chocolate and jelly beans, but that doesn’t mean we can’t sneak in a little fresh produce every now and again! If you want a break from the non-stop candyfest, give my Easter fruit pizza a try this year.

🍇What is fruit pizza?

I grew up eating fruit pizza, but if you’ve never had one, you may be a bit confused or skeptical. Pizza? Fruit? Haven’t we already done this with Hawaiian pizza?

Fruit pizza is typically made with a sugar cookie crust, topped with frosting, and finished with a variety of fresh fruit. Although it’s most often in a large round pizza shape, you can also make mini individual pizzas, rectangular pizzas, or do what I did here, and make it into the shape of an Easter egg!

🥭When do you serve fruit pizza?

One of the best things about fruit pizza is its versatility. It’s piled high with fruit, so it makes a wonderful brunch or tea time dish. But the sugar cookie crusts and cream cheese frosting can also push it into the after-dinner dessert category. And honestly, it’s so good, I find myself nibbling on it for any and every meal.

Ingredients

Here are a few ingredient tips to help you get started making these cute cookies. Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

FOR THE SUGAR COOKIES

• Flour: To prevent dry, dense cookies, make sure to measure your flour correctly. Use a food scale if you have one, or use the spoon and level method.
• Baking powder
• Granulated Sugar
• Unsalted butter and salt: I like to use unsalted butter and control the amount of added salt. If you only have salted butter, feel free to use it, and leave out the additional salt. Using room temperature butter will help it blend with the other ingredients better and prevent lumps.
• Eggs: Make sure to use large, room temperature eggs (not medium or extra large).
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla is the classic sugar cookie flavor, but you can also experiment and add other extracts in addition to or instead of vanilla. Try lemon or almond!
• Sour cream: Adding sour cream to the cookies makes them extra-soft and tender, and I love the very subtle tang it gives to them. Make sure your sour cream is at room temperature so everything blends together nicely.

FOR THE ROYAL ICING

• Meringue powder: This meringue powder by Wilton is great for making royal icing. It stays fresh for a long time, so it’s good to keep as a pantry staple. 
• Water
• Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar has hard lumps, be sure you sift it before using it in the icing.
• Light corn syrup: Just a touch of light corn syrup helps with the texture and glossiness of the royal icing. You can omit it if desired.
• Flavoring: The recipe calls for almond extract to flavor the icing, but you can substitute other flavors like lemon or clear vanilla extract according to preference.
• Gel food coloring: Depending on how you plan to decorate your cookies, you’ll need an assortment of gel food coloring. I use Americolor brand.

TO MAKE THE SUGAR COOKIES

1. Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the 19 oz (4 1/4 cups) flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder, and set aside for now.
2. Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 8 oz (1 cup) softened butter and 12.25 oz (1 3/4 cups) sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add eggs one at a time: Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla and sour cream: Then add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1oz (2 TBSP) sour cream.

5. Mix in dry ingredients: With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients gradually, and mix until they’re just about incorporated. Stop the mixer when only a few streaks of flour remain. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula, and finish mixing all the dough by hand.
6. Divide dough and refrigerate: Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes.

7. Prepare to bake: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Roll out dough: Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
9. Cut dough: Use a 2-inch egg cookie cutter to cut out your cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough to cut more cookies. You should get about 60 small cookies.
10. Freeze for 10 minutes: Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.

11. Bake: Bake the trays of cookies for about 8 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and they have lost the raw shine in the middle.
12. Cool: Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove them to wire racks to cool completely before decorating them.

TO MAKE THE ROYAL ICING

1. Mix meringue powder and water: Combine 1.8 oz (6 TBSP) meringue powder and 6 floz (3/4 cup) water in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium speed until foamy.
2. Sift in powdered sugar, then add corn syrup and flavoring: Stop the mixer and sift 24 oz (6 cups) powdered sugar over the bowl. Beat on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add 2 tsp corn syrup and 1/2 tsp flavoring.

3. Mix until stiff: Turn the mixer speed back to medium-high and mix for 5 minutes, until the royal icing is shiny, stiff, bright white, and voluminous. Do not mix on the highest speed, and do not mix for more than 5 minutes.
4. Thin the icing: Right out of the mixer, this icing is too thick for smooth flooding, so you’ll want to thin it a bit. Start by adding a tablespoon of water to the mixing bowl, and stir until it’s incorporated. Continue to add water a bit at a time, testing regularly, until you achieve the right consistency. You’ll know you have it when you drizzle a spoonful of icing over the bowl and it takes about 15 seconds for the trail of icing to fully disappear (see photo for an example of the different textures of royal icing).

5. Divide and color the icing: Decide how many icing colors you want, and divide the icing into that many bowls. Add a few drops of gel food coloring to each bowl of icing and stir by hand until the color is evenly distributed.
6. Fit and fill piping bags: Place each color in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I recommend a #2 tip). Or, you can use “tipless” bags that keep a sharp tip when you snip the end, eliminating the need for a separate piping tip.

TO DECORATE THE COOKIES

1. Outline the cookies: Draw a thin outline of royal icing around the outside of the cookies.
2. Flood cookie centers: While the outline is still wet, fill (aka “flood”) the center of the outlined cookies with royal icing. If you miss any spots, use the tip of the piping bag to nudge the icing into place, or use a scriber tool/toothpick to smooth out any rough lines.
3. Let set: Allow the cookies to dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours to set the icing.

3. Make cocoa mixture: For easy clean-up, make sure your cookies are on parchment or waxed paper, and wear gloves during this step. Mix the cocoa powder and warm water in a small bowl to make a thin paste. (Add a bit more water if it seems too thick.)
4. Add speckles: Dip the bristles of a new, clean toothbrush in the cocoa powder and run your thumb over the bristles to flick small specks of cocoa onto the cookies.
5. Set completely: Decorated cookies can be enjoyed as soon as they are finished. However, if you plan to package or stack the cookies one on top of another, you will need to let the cookies sit in a single layer for at least 12 hours at room temperature to be sure the royal icing is completely hard and dry.

🍪 Storing Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

You can enjoy the cookies the same day they’re made — as long as you’ve given the royal icing a few hours to harden before serving. Keep reading for information on longer-term storage, packaging, and freezing.

How long does royal icing take to harden?

It takes a minimum of 12 hours for royal icing to fully harden. So, if you plan to stack or package your cookies on top of each other, you’ll need to let them dry completely, to prevent damaging or smearing the icing.

Let the cookies sit in a single layer, at room temperature, for at least 12 hours to be sure the royal icing is fully dry. If you are in a humid climate, you may need to give them up to 24 hours to fully harden. I find having an oscillating fan pointing at the cookies can speed up the drying process and help them dry more evenly.  

Storing Sugar Cookies at Room Temperature

Once completely set, the cookies can be stacked and stored in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper or parchment. Store the cookies at room temperature for up to two weeks – do not refrigerate them, as the humidity can cause the icing to soften and dissolve. 

Freezing Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Decorated and fully set cookies can also be frozen for up to 6 months. The defrosting process can make the icing bleed or become sticky, so for the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually (for instance, in sealed plastic bags) and then placing them in a plastic container in the freezer.

Let them defrost at room temperature while still in the plastic container – this can help cut down on colors bleeding or other moisture issues. You may still see some changes in the icing, so if you are planning on freezing cookies for an important event, do a test run first to see how they hold up for you. 

💭 FAQs

Here are some of the most common questions about royal icing-topped Speckled Egg Cookies.

4. Mix in chow mein noodles. Add 12 oz (5 cups) chow mein noodles to the bowl of melted chocolate, and stir until fully coated.

5. Scoop mixture. Use a large spoon to scoop out roughly 1/4 cup of the chow mein mixture.
6. Shape cookies. Place the cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, then use the spoon to shape it into a nest shape.
7. Top with candy eggs. While the chocolate is still wet, place three mini eggs in the center of each “nest.”
8. Chill. Refrigerate the cookies for 10-15 minutes to give the chocolate time to set.

💭 Variations

These bird nest cookies are delicious as-is, but there are a couple of ways you can switch things up! Here are some variation ideas:

• Swap the baking chips. While the semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter combination is delicious, you can totally play around with flavor and flavor combos. Try butterscotch chips, caramel chips, or white chocolate chips.
• Use another crunchy. These cookies work great with Rice Krispies or crushed cornflakes. My favorite swap, though, is crunchy toasted coconut!
• Try other nest add-ins. Fill your chocolate nests with whatever Easter candies your heart desires. Try jelly beans, Peeps, or little chocolate figurines.

💡 Tips and FAQs for Success

• Microwave at 50% power. Microwaving at half power prevents the chocolate from overheating, scorching, or seizing up.
• Chill the cookies. Chilling the cookies in the fridge for 10-15 minutes gives the chocolate time to set up.
• Set out before serving. While the cookies do keep best in the fridge, they taste better when they’re not super cold. I like to set them out for 10-15 minutes before serving for the perfect flavor and texture.

Ingredients

Here are a few ingredient tips to help you get started making these cute cookies. Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

FOR THE SUGAR COOKIES

• Flour: To prevent dry, dense cookies, make sure to measure your flour correctly. Use a food scale if you have one, or use the spoon and level method.
• Baking powder
• Granulated Sugar
• Unsalted butter and salt: I like to use unsalted butter and control the amount of added salt. If you only have salted butter, feel free to use it, and leave out the additional salt. Using room temperature butter will help it blend with the other ingredients better and prevent lumps.
• Eggs: Make sure to use large, room temperature eggs (not medium or extra large).
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla is the classic sugar cookie flavor, and Nielsen-Massey Bourbon vanilla extract is my favorite. However, feel free to use whatever vanilla extract you have on hand at home. You can also experiment and add other extracts in addition to or instead of vanilla. Try lemon or almond!
• Sour cream: Adding sour cream to the cookies makes them extra-soft and tender, and I love the very subtle tang it gives to them. Make sure your sour cream is at room temperature so everything blends together nicely.

FOR THE ROYAL ICING

• Meringue powder: This meringue powder by Wilton is great for making royal icing. It stays fresh for a long time, so it’s good to keep as a pantry staple. 
• Water
• Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar has hard lumps, be sure you sift it before using it in the icing.
• Light corn syrup: Just a touch of light corn syrup helps with the texture and glossiness of the royal icing. You can omit it if desired.
• Flavoring: The recipe calls for almond extract to flavor the icing, but you can substitute other flavors like lemon or clear vanilla extract according to preference.
• Gel food coloring: Depending on how you plan to decorate your cookies, you’ll need an assortment of gel food coloring. I use Americolor brand.

TO MAKE THE SUGAR COOKIES

1. Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the 19 oz (4 1/4 cups) flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder, and set aside for now.
2. Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 8 oz (1 cup) softened butter and 12.25 oz (1 3/4 cups) sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add eggs one at a time: Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add vanilla and sour cream: Then add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1oz (2 TBSP) sour cream.

5. Mix in dry ingredients: With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients gradually, and mix until they’re just about incorporated. Stop the mixer when only a few streaks of flour remain. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula, and finish mixing all the dough by hand.
6. Divide dough and refrigerate: Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes.

7. Prepare to bake: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Roll out dough: Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
9. Cut dough: Use a 4-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out your cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough to cut more cookies. You should get about 14 extra large heart cookies.
10. Freeze for 10 minutes: Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.

11. Bake: Bake the trays of cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and they have lost the raw shine in the middle.
12. Cool: Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove them to wire racks to cool completely before decorating them.

TO MAKE THE ROYAL ICING

1. Mix meringue powder and water: Combine 1.8 oz (6 TBSP) meringue powder and 6 floz (3/4 cup) water in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium speed until foamy.
2. Sift in powdered sugar, then add corn syrup and flavoring: Stop the mixer and sift 24 oz (6 cups) powdered sugar over the bowl. Beat on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add 2 tsp corn syrup and 1/2 tsp flavoring.

3. Mix until stiff: Turn the mixer speed back to medium-high and mix for 5 minutes, until the royal icing is shiny, stiff, bright white, and voluminous. Do not mix on the highest speed, and do not mix for more than 5 minutes.
4. Thin the icing: Right out of the mixer, this icing is too thick for smooth flooding, so you’ll want to thin it a bit. Start by adding a tablespoon of water to the mixing bowl, and stir until it’s incorporated. Continue to add water a bit at a time, testing regularly, until you achieve the right consistency. You’ll know you have it when you drizzle a spoonful of icing over the bowl and it takes about 15 seconds for the trail of icing to fully disappear.

5. Divide and color the icing: Decide how many icing colors you want, and divide the icing into that many bowls. Add a few drops of gel food coloring to each bowl of icing and stir by hand until the color is evenly distributed.
6. Fit and fill piping bags: Place each color in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I recommend a #2 tip).

TO DECORATE THE COOKIES

1. Outline the cookies: Draw a thin outline of royal icing around the outside of the cookies.
2. Flood cookie centers: Next, fill (aka “flood”) the center of the outlined cookies with royal icing. If you miss any spots, use the tip of the piping bag to nudge the icing into place, or use a scriber tool/toothpick to smooth out any rough lines.

3. Dry and decorate: Allow the cookies to dry at room temperature for at least 2 hours to set the icing. Once set, use a red edible marker to write cute sayings on them, just like real conversation hearts! (Alternately, you could use red royal icing in a piping bag with a #1 tip instead.)
4. Set completely: Decorated cookies can be enjoyed as soon as they are finished. However, if you plan to package or stack the cookies one on top of another, you will need to let the cookies sit in a single layer for at least 12 hours at room temperature to be sure the royal icing is completely hard and dry.

🍪 Storing Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

You can enjoy the cookies the same day they’re made as long as the royal icing set for at least 2 hours before topping them with a clever saying.

How long does royal icing take to harden?

It takes a minimum of 12 hours for royal icing to fully harden. So, if you plan to stack or package your cookies, you’ll need to let them dry completely, to prevent damaging or smearing the icing.

Let the cookies sit in a single layer, at room temperature, for at least 12 hours to be sure the royal icing is fully dry. If you are in a humid climate, you may need to give them up to 24 hours to fully harden. I find having an oscillating fan pointing at the cookies can speed up the drying process and help them dry more evenly.  

Storing Sugar Cookies at Room Temperature

Once set, the cookies can be stacked and stored in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper or parchment. Store the cookies at room temperature for up to two weeks – do not refrigerate them, as the humidity can cause the icing to soften and dissolve. 

Freezing Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Decorated and fully set cookies can also be frozen for up to 6 months. The defrosting process can make the icing bleed or become sticky, so for the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually (for instance, in sealed plastic bags) and then placing them in a plastic container in the freezer.

Let them defrost at room temperature while still in the plastic container – this can help cut down on colors bleeding or other moisture issues. You may still see some changes in the icing, so if you are planning on freezing cookies for an important event, do a test run first to see how they hold up for you. 

The real star of the show, of course, is the watercolor fondant layer on top. It’s decorated with a pink and purple watercolor pattern that’s accented with sparkles of edible gold leaf (optional but fabulous!).

I love fondant-topped cookies (like these Ombre Brown Butter Heart Cookies!) because that very thin layer of fondant gives the cookies nice texture, subtle sweetness, and locks in moisture, keeping the cookies softer for longer.

Ready to make some stunning rosewater cookies? Keep reading!

Ingredients

These gorgeous watercolor cookies are a lot of fun to make and will be delicious if you use the correct ingredients. Consider these ingredient tips as you gather everything you’ll need. Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

For the Sugar Cookies

• All-purpose flour: To prevent dry, dense cookies make sure to measure your flour correctly. Use a food scale if you have one, or use the spoon and level method.
• Baking powder
• Granulated sugar: For sweetening the cookies. Use a food scale to measure the sugar for accuracy as well.
• Unsalted butter and salt: I like to use unsalted butter and add salt separately. If you only have salted butter, leave out the additional salt. To prevent lumpy dough and overmixing, use room temperature butter. It will blend so much easier!
• Eggs: Make sure to use large eggs and not medium or extra large. Let them sit on the counter to come to room temperature before mixing them into the dough.
• Rose flower water: Also known as rose water. Gives the cookies a delicate floral flavor that’s not overpowering. Rose flower water is usually available in the middle eastern section of well-stocked supermarkets, or online. If you don’t want any rose flavor, you can replace the rose water with 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond, or lemon extract.
• Sour cream: Adds flavor and soft texture to the sugar cookies. I recommend using room temperature sour cream so that it blends more easily into the dough.
• Rose petals: Surprisingly, dried edible rose petals don’t add a lot of rose flavor to the cookies, but the pretty flecks of color really add to their romantic aesthetic. I don’t often see rose petals in stores, so I purchase them online. They are an optional ingredient, and leaving them out of the dough won’t negatively effect the taste of the cookies.
  

For the Marshmallow Fondant

Homemade marshmallow fondant is very easy to make and actually cheaper than store-bought fondant. However, feel free to substitute store-bought for homemade if desired.

• Mini marshmallows: Use mini marshmallows, they melt more evenly.
• Water
• Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar has hard lumps, be sure you sift it before using it in the fondant.

For the Decorations

• Light corn syrup: A touch of corn syrup helps the fondant stick to the top of the cookies.
• Gel food coloring: I used Americolor soft pink and regal purple. Feel free to experiment with other colors if desired.
• Edible gold leaf: If you’re trying to create over-the-top cookies, adding a touch of edible gold leaf is the way to go! lt doesn’t add any flavor to the cookies, but does give them that extra wow-factor. It’s optional, but if you decide to use it, I recommend buying “transfer sheets” as opposed to “loose sheets”. Transfer sheets are much easier to use and portion, so none of the gold goes to waste. Keep in mind that gold leaf lasts forever and can be used years into the future! Need more help? Here are some instructions for working with gold leaf, if you’re new to the process.

To Make the Sugar Cookies

1. Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together 19 oz (4 1/4 cups) flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 8 oz (1 cup) butter and 12.25 oz (1 3/4 cups) sugar. Mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add wet ingredients: Add both large eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Then mix in the rose flower water and sour cream.

4. Add dry ingredients: With the mixer running on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until just almost incorporated – only a few streaks of flour should be visible.
5. Add rose petals: Pour rose petals into the mixing bowl and use a spatula to fold them into the dough. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, ensuring everything is incorporated.

8. Cut and freeze cookies: Use a 3-inch heart cutter to cut out your cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough until you have cut about 24 large heart cookies. Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.
9. Bake and cool: Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and the center is no longer raw. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

To Make the Marshmallow Fondant

1. Melt marshmallows and water: Combine 8 oz (4 cups) mini marshmallows and 2 tablespoons water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir well. Continue microwaving and stirring in short increments until the marshmallows are fully melted and smooth.
2. Stir in powdered sugar: Add 16 oz (4 cups) powdered sugar and stir well. The mixture will be sticky and stiff, and it might seem as if there’s too much powdered sugar. 

3. Knead by hand: When stirring with a spatula becomes difficult, dump the fondant out onto your work surface, and knead it by hand until it easily incorporates the powdered sugar and becomes smooth.
4. Troubleshoot: If the fondant is still too sticky after mixing in all of the powdered sugar, continue adding small amounts of sugar to the fondant until it becomes smooth and pliable.
5. Rest the fondant: Marshmallow Fondant can be used right after it is made, but it’s easier to work with if it’s been allowed to rest and firm up for a few hours, or overnight. 

To Decorate

1. Roll fondant: Dust your work surface and rolling pin lightly with powdered sugar. Roll the fondant out very thin (less than 1/8-inch thick).
2. Cut fondant: Use the same heart-shaped cookie cutter that you used for the cookies, and cut out enough hearts to cover all the baked cookies. (I like to make a couple extras in case of breakage!)

3. Adhere fondant: Brush cookies with a very thin layer of corn syrup, and press a fondant heart on top of each one, so that they stick. 
4. Prepare food coloring: Put a drop of pink gel color in a small bowl and a drop of purple gel color in a separate small bowl. Fill a third small bowl with water. Dilute each color with a little bit of water and mix well.

5. Paint the fondant: Use food-safe paintbrushes to decorate the fondant hearts. Experiment with different styles: you can paint the entire heart with a wash of color, or just give them a few bold streaks of paint. Or, you can flick some color onto the hearts to give it a speckled appearance. TIP: I found that water was best for thin washes of color, but vodka was great for blending the colors and having them bleed out a little bit. Try mixing some food coloring with vodka and play around with it!

6. Dry fondant: After painting the hearts, the tops will be quite wet, so let them sit at room temperature until the fondant has dried.

7. Add gold leaf, optional: If you REALLY want to take these cookies over the top, add a touch of edible gold leaf. Once the fondant is dry, position a transfer sheet of edible gold leaf over a cookie (gold side facing the cookie).
8. Press onto cookies: Gently rub the back of the paper in a few different places to transfer the gold. Use a dry brush to press any loose bits of gold back onto the cookie. It looks best when used sparingly, with random pops of gold scattered atop the cookies.

💗 Royal Icing Valentine’s Day Cookies

Spread some love by baking these cute heart-shaped sugar cookies, perfect for Valentine’s Day celebrations or any special occasion!

These Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies start with a classic roll-out sugar cookie, lightly flavored with vanilla (or almond, or lemon…baker’s choice!) and baked until golden around the edges but still soft in the middle.

They’re tasty on their own, but since they are so simple, they’re the perfect blank slate for playing around and experimenting with different royal icing decorating techniques.

If you’re a royal icing newbie, never fear! Making and using royal icing is REALLY not as scary as it might seem, and I have a ton of step-by-step photos and tips to take you through it. I’m sharing four different decorating styles, ranging from super simple to moderately skilled, so you can pick and choose your favorites to recreate.

And if you’re looking for a royal icing alternative, you can try topping them with fondant like in my Watercolor Rose Sugar Cookie recipe.

🧾 What You’ll Need

Ingredients

Great cookies start with great ingredients. Here are my top ingredient tips to help you get started. You can find full ingredient amounts in the recipe card below. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

For the Sugar Cookies

• Flour: “Regular” flour, aka all-purpose flour, is what we’re using to give these cookies their structure. I highly recommend weighing the flour (and all of your ingredients!) for a more accurate result, but you can also spoon it into the measuring cup and gently level it off.
• Baking powder: Just a little to help the cookies rise ever so slightly.
• Sugar: Use granulated sugar to give the cookies a touch of sweetness.
• Unsalted butter and salt: I like to use unsalted butter and control the amount of added salt precisely. However, if you only have salted butter, feel free to use it and omit the additional salt. The butter will blend into the cookie dough better (preventing lumps) if you bring it to room temperature first.
• Eggs: Make sure to use large, room temperature eggs (not medium or extra large).
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla is the classic sugar cookie flavor and Nielsen-Massey Bourbon vanilla extract is my favorite. However, feel free to use whatever vanilla extract you have on hand at home. You can also experiment and add other extracts in addition to or instead of vanilla. Try lemon or almond!
• Sour cream: Adding full-fat sour cream to the cookies makes them extra-soft and tender, and I love the very subtle tang it gives to them. Make sure your sour cream is at room temperature so everything blends together nicely.

For the Royal Icing

• Meringue powder: This meringue powder by Wilton is great for making royal icing. It stays fresh for a long time, so it’s good to keep as a pantry staple.
• Water: To help get the right consistency for the icing.
• Powdered sugar: For sweetness and thickening.
• Light corn syrup: Just a touch of light corn syrup helps with the texture and glossiness of the royal icing. You can omit it if desired.
• Flavoring: The recipe calls for almond extract to flavor the icing, but you can substitute other flavors like lemon or clear vanilla extract according to preference.
• Gel food coloring: Depending on how you plan to decorate your cookies, you’ll need an assortment of gel food coloring, like green, red, and pink, or whatever other colors you’d like. I use Americolor brand.

📸 Step-by-Step Tutorial: How to Make Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Here’s a photo tutorial showing how to make these cookies, from dough to decoration. You can easily print these instructions by going to the recipe card above.

To Make the Sugar Cookies

• Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the 19 oz (4 1/4 cups) flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking powder, and set aside for now.
• Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 8 oz (1 cup) softened butter and 12.25 oz (1 3/4 cups) sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.

• Add eggs one at a time: Add 2 large eggs (one at a time), beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla and sour cream: Then add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1oz (2 TBSP) sour cream.

• Mix in dry ingredients: With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients gradually, and mix until they’re just about incorporated. Stop the mixer when only a few streaks of flour remain. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula, and finish mixing all the dough by hand.
• Divide dough and refrigerate: Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes.

• Prepare to bake: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Roll out dough: Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
• Cut dough: Use a 3-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out your cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough to cut more cookies. You should get about 24 large heart cookies.
• Freeze for 10 minutes: Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.

• Bake: Bake the trays of cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and they have lost the raw shine in the middle.
• Cool: Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove them to wire racks to cool completely before decorating them.

To Make the Royal Icing

• Mix meringue powder and water: Combine 1.8 oz (6 TBSP) meringue powder and 6 floz (3/4 cup) water in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium speed until foamy.
• Sift in powdered sugar, then add corn syrup and flavoring: Stop the mixer and sift 24 oz (6 cups) powdered sugar over the bowl. Beat on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add 2 tsp corn syrup and 1/2 tsp flavoring.

• Mix until stiff: Turn the mixer speed back to medium-high and mix for 5 minutes, until the royal icing is shiny, stiff, bright white, and voluminous. Do not mix on the highest speed, and do not mix for more than 5 minutes.
• Divide and color remaining icing: Separate out half of the icing to leave plain white. Decide how many icing colors you want, and divide the remaining icing into that many bowls. Add a few drops of gel food coloring to each bowl of icing and stir by hand until the color is evenly distributed.

• Reserve thick icing for piped roses, if desired: The frosting consistency right out of the mixer is fairly stiff, but for most of the designs, we’ll want a thinner consistency. The only thing that will require a thicker consistency is piping stiff rosettes onto decorated cookies. If you want to make this design, separate out a portion of stiff frosting in the color(s) of your choice, and store it in an airtight container.
• Thin the icing with water: For all of the other designs, thin the frosting colors out by adding a small spoonful of water at a time, and stirring slowly until it’s incorporated. You have the right consistency when you lift up a spoonful of icing, let it drip back into the bowl, and it takes about 15 seconds for the trail of icing to fully disappear in the bowl.
• Fit and fill piping bags: Place each color in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I recommend a #2 tip).

To Decorate the Cookies

For the best results, work in small batches of 2-3 cookies at a time, to avoid having the royal icing dry out before the cookies are fully decorated.

• Outline a few cookies: The first step in all of these designs is flooding your cookie with a white royal icing base. Draw a thin outline with the white royal icing around the outside of a few cookies.
• Flood a few cookies: Next fill the center of the outlined cookies with royal icing. If you miss any spots, use a toothpick or a scriber tool to smooth out any rough lines.
• Choose a design: Make sure to work quickly to decorate the cookies after they have been flooded. Details for swirled hearts, zigzags, elegant roses and small rosettes follow below.

Swirled Heart Cookies

Hearts are probably the easiest design to do, but that doesn’t mean they’re plain or boring! I LOVE a simple border of hearts all along the edge of the cookie–it just looks so classy and elegant. Here’s how you do it:

• Pipe dots of icing around the edge: Take a freshly flooded sugar cookie and pipe dots of color along the outer edge of the icing. The dots should sink into the wet white icing fairly quickly.

• Drag a toothpick through the dots: Take a toothpick or scriber tool and, starting at the top center of the heart, drag it through the line of colored dots. The dragging motion will create an elongated heart shape in each dot.

Zig-zag Designs

Making zig-zag designs is almost as easy as the hearts!

• Pipe alternating lines of color: First, pipe lines of alternating colors horizontally across the white icing.

• Drag a toothpick downward through the lines: Take a toothpick and drag it through the lines vertically.
• Next drag upwards: Once at the bottom of the cookie, move the toothpick over a little bit (about 1/8”) and drag it upwards, creating a zig-zag in the opposite direction.
• Repeat: Continue this pattern until you’ve created lines across the whole cookie.

Elegant Rose Cookies

This elegant rose technique is one of my favorites! It’s a design I first saw on SweetAmbs, and she gets all the credit for introducing me to this cool and easy abstract flower design. The roses will have an impressionistic look, but once you add a few leaves around the edges, everyone will know what they are.

• Pick two shades of icing from the same color: These roses look best when made with two different shades of the same color, like pale pink and dark pink or light blue and dark blue.
• Pipe a few dots of the lighter icing: Start with the lighter color of icing and pipe several blobs on top of the cookie—refer to the picture tutorial to get a general idea of the shape.
• Pipe a line of the darker icing: Take the darker icing color and pipe a line across the center of the blob.
• Pipe a dot of white: Finally, add a dot of white in the center.

• Swirl the colors together: Now for the fun part! Take a toothpick and start swirling the colors together. It should only take a few swirls before they start to look like abstract roses.
• Make leaves: Add a few dots of green around the edges, and pull the dots of green out with a toothpick so they look like leaves.

Small Rosettes

Finally, you can use a stiff-consistency icing to pipe easy rosettes and leaves on top of your (hardened) decorated cookies, to give them a more 3D look. I liked doing this on both plain white and cookies that have been decorated with dots, stripes, zig-zags, etc. Both versions turn out beautifully.

• Allow decorated cookies to set: Let the base cookies sit and dry for at least an hour before adding the stiff rosettes on top.
• Use stiff consistency icing: Place stiff consistency frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small star tip.
• Make a rosette swirl: Start a swirl of icing moving from the center outward to make a rosette shape. You can do just 1 flower or several bunched together.
• Add stars and leaves: Intersperse small stars piped between the rosettes. Finish by adding small leaves around the edges of the flower cluster.

🍪 Storing Royal Icing Sugar Cookies

You can enjoy the cookies the same day they’re made – just let the royal icing set for at least 2 hours, then serve and enjoy!

How long does royal icing take to harden?

If you won’t be eating the cookies right away, you’ll want to store them without damaging the decorations. To stack or package the cookies, the royal icing needs to be completely dry and hard throughout, otherwise the icing will get smeared or smashed.

Let the cookies sit in a single layer, at room temperature, for at least 12 hours to be sure the royal icing is fully dry. If you are in a humid climate, you may need to give them up to 24 hours to fully harden. I find having an oscillating fan pointing at the cookies can speed up the drying process and help them dry more evenly.  

Storing Sugar Cookies at Room Temperature

Once set, the cookies can be stacked and stored in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper or parchment. Store the cookies at room temperature for up to two weeks – do not refrigerate them, as the humidity can cause the icing to soften and dissolve. 

Freezing Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Decorated cookies can also be frozen for up to 6 months. The defrosting process can make the icing bleed or become sticky, so for the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually (for instance, in sealed plastic bags) and then placing them in a plastic container in the freezer.

Let them defrost at room temperature while still in the plastic container – this can help cut down on colors bleeding or other moisture issues. You may still see some changes in the icing, so if you are planning on freezing cookies for an important event, do a test run first to see how they hold up for you. 

💡 Sugar Cookie and Royal Icing FAQs

Whether you are an old pro or just getting started with royal icing, take a look at these helpful tips to avoid common mistakes.