To make the cookies:

• Combine the dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and 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 the butter and sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add the liquid ingredients: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract and sour cream.
• Slowly add the drys: 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.
• Portion the dough: Divide the dough in half. If you want to use a kitchen scale, your dough portions should be about 22 oz each.
• Roll out the dough: This is my trick for making rolled-out cookies easier! Roll the dough BEFORE it’s chilled, so you don’t struggle with rolling out rock-hard dough. Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and roll out the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Place the rolled-out dough, still between the parchment sheets, on a baking sheet. Repeat with the second portion of dough, stacking it right on top of the first.
• Chill the dough: Chill the baking sheet with the rolled-out dough for 45 minutes, until the dough is firm. It can be left in the refrigerator for several days – if you are not going to be using it within a day, wrap the baking sheet in plastic wrap to keep the dough from drying out.
• Cut out the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use a 3-inch scalloped cookie cutter to cut hearts out of the chilled dough. Transfer the hearts to a parchment-covered baking sheet, then use a smaller scalloped cutter to cut hearts out of the center. Place the small hearts on a different baking sheet. It helps to keep the different shapes on separate sheets, since they might bake at different rates.
• Re-roll as needed: Combine the scraps and re-roll the dough to cut more cookies. You should get about 16-18 large heart cookies and a similar number of smaller ones. If at any time the dough becomes too soft and sticky to easily work with, refrigerate it briefly until it firms up again.
• Freeze the cookies: Put the sheets of cut-out cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape. This is optional, but helpful if your cookies are a more intricate shape.
• Bake the cookies: Bake the trays of cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just starting to take on color and they have lost the raw shine in the middle. 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 frosting:

• Beat the butter: Beat the butter with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until creamy and light in color. Don’t skip this step, it gives your frosting a smooth and creamy texture, and prevents it from being overly yellow.
• Add vanilla and salt: Turn the mixer to medium-low, add the vanilla and salt, and mix until incorporated.
• Add partial sugar and milk: With the mixer running on low, gradually add half of the powdered sugar. Once it’s mostly incorporated, add the milk and mix it in.
• Add remaining sugar: Add the second half of the sugar, and once it’s mostly mixed, stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix once more on medium speed until light and creamy.
• Adjust the texture: If the frosting is too stiff for your liking, you can add a little more milk a bit at a time, until you get a texture you like. If it is too soft, add a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar to adjust the texture. A stiffer texture is for these better, so the piped decorations hold their shape well.
• Color the frosting: Decide how many colors you want to have, and divide the frosting into that many separate bowls. Keep a piece of cling wrap pressed on top of any frosting you’re not working with, so it won’t crust over. Add gel food coloring to each bowl and mix well. See the Notes section below for tips on how to get vibrant colors.
• Storage: If you are not not using this frosting right away, store in an airtight container and press a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the frosting to avoid the frosting crusting. Store at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

  To use after storage, allow the frosting to come to room temperature, then mix it again before using to restore its creamy texture.

To decorate:

• Fill piping bags: Fit piping bags with small star tips (I used #15, 18, and 21, but any small star tip will work). Fill each bag with buttercream and snip off the tip so they’re ready to go.
• Pipe stars: Start with one color, and pipe 4 or 5 small stars or rosettes around a cookie, leaving space in between for other colors. Repeat with 2 more cookies. (This frosting crusts quickly, so if you’re adding sprinkles on top, you’ll only want to decorate about 3 cookies at a time, or else the sprinkles won’t stick.
• Add other colors: Use a different color and pipe a different size/shape around the cookie, spacing them out like you did before. Repeat with the rest of the frosting colors, until the cookie is covered with small stars and flowers. These cookies look best when you use a variety of tips, shapes, and sizes.
• Add sprinkles: As soon as the frosting is done, add your sprinkles on top. For large sprinkles, press them in gently to adhere them to the buttercream.
• Repeat: Repeat the process until all of your cookies are decorated.

TO MAKE THE SUGAR COOKIES:

• Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside for now.
• Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add eggs and wet ingredients: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract and sour cream.
• Add 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.
• Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. If you want to use a kitchen scale, your dough portions should be about 22 oz each. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes. (If you refrigerate it longer, it will probably need to sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes after refrigeration so it’s not rock-hard when you’re trying to roll it out.)
• Roll out the dough: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
• Cut out the cookies: 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 large heart cookies. If at any time the dough becomes too soft and sticky to easily work with, refrigerate it briefly until it firms up again.
• Chill the cookies (optional): Put the sheets of cut-out cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape. This is optional, but helpful if your cookies are a more intricate shape.
• Bake and cool: 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. 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 with water: Combine the meringue powder and water in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium speed until foamy.
• Add powdered sugar: Stop the mixer and sift 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 the corn syrup and flavoring.
• Mix until thick: 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, or you may incorporate too many air bubbles and change the texture of your royal icing.
• 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. The ideal consistency is when you lift up a spoonful of icing and let it drip back into the bowl, it takes about 15 seconds for the trail of icing to fully disappear. 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.
• 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.

  Tip: Royal icing tends to darken a bit as it dries, so if you want pretty pastel colors, don’t add too much coloring. (You can also leave the icing white if you don't want to color it.)
• 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:

• Flood cookie tops with royal icing: Pipe a thin outline of icing around the edge of a cookie. Fill in (flood) 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 toothpick or scriber tool to smooth out any rough lines. Continue until all of the cookies have been iced.
• 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! Decorated cookies can be enjoyed the same day they are made.
• Storage and make-ahead information: If you plan to package or stack the cookies one on top of each other, you will need to let the cookies sit in a single layer, at room temperature, for at least 12 hours to be sure the royal icing dries fully and is hard.

  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.
• Freezer instructions: Decorated cookies can also be frozen for up to 6 months. For the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually 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.

To Make The Sugar Cookies

• Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside for now.
• Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add wet ingredients: Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the rose flower water and sour cream.
• Add 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.
• 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 to ensure everything is incorporated.
• 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. (If you refrigerate for too long and the dough seems very hard, let the discs sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes after refrigeration before attempting to roll them out.)
• Heat oven, roll dough: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick. 
• Cut and freeze cookies: 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. Put the sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape.
• Bake and cool: 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. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely before decorating.

To Make the Marshmallow Fondant

• Melt marshmallows and water: Combine the marshmallows and water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir well. If the marshmallows are not fully melted after this time, microwave again in short increments, and stir until it’s melted and smooth.
• Stir in powdered sugar: Add the powdered sugar and stir well. The mixture will be sticky and stiff, and it will seem as if there’s too much powdered sugar.
• Knead by hand: When you reach the point that stirring with a spatula becomes difficult, dump the contents of the bowl out onto your work surface, and knead it together by hand. As you knead, the fondant will gradually smooth out and incorporate more and more of the powdered sugar. (This is messy, so I recommend wearing food-safe gloves if you have them.)
• Adjust texture: If it is still too sticky once all of the powdered sugar is used, continue to add small amounts of sugar to the fondant until you get a smooth, pliable dough.
• Rest the fondant: Marshmallow fondant can be used right after it is made, but it tends to be very soft. It will be easier to work with if it’s been allowed to rest for a few hours, or even overnight.
• Store until ready to use: Wrap the fondant well in cling wrap, place it in an airtight container or zip-top bag to keep it from drying out, and store it at room temperature. Before use, knead it well on a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, until it is again smooth and pliable.

To Decorate

• Roll fondant: Dust your work surface and rolling pin lightly with powdered sugar, and roll the fondant out until it is very thin, less than 1/8-inch thick.
• Cut fondant: Use the same heart-shaped cookie cutter that you used before, and cut out the same number of hearts as you have cookies. (Or make an extra one or two in case of breakage!)
• Adhere fondant: Brush your cookies with a very thin layer of corn syrup, and press a fondant heart on top of each one, so that it adheres. Since this next part can be a bit messy, transfer the cookies to sheets of waxed paper or parchment to be painted.
• Prepare food coloring: Put a drop of pink color in a small bowl and a drop of purple color in a separate small bowl. Fill a third small bowl with water. Add a bit of water to the pink and purple bowl, and mix them up so you have diluted colors. Now it’s time to experiment!
• Paint the fondant: Use food-safe paintbrushes to decorate the fondant hearts. Try the following techniques:

  Full coverage – Try brushing them all over with a layer of light pink or purple, then going back and adding additional color to saturate certain areas.

  Partial coverage – You can also just paint parts of the hearts with streaks of light color. Give the cookies bright patches of color by dipping the paintbrush in straight food coloring and touching the fondant anywhere you want a pop of color. Allow some of the white fondant to show through by dabbing a paper towel to remove some of the color.

  Speckle – Finally, you can flick some color onto the hearts to give it a speckled, painterly appearance.

  Experiment with vodka – If you want to further experiment, try mixing some food coloring with vodka and use the same painting techniques—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.

  Just play around and have fun!
• Dry fondant: After you paint the hearts, the tops will be quite wet, so let them sit at room temperature for several hours until the fondant has dried. The drying time will depend on how much you painted, and what material you used – water takes longer to dry, while vodka evaporates quickly.
• Add gold leaf, optional: If you REALLY want to take these over the top, you can add a touch of edible gold, as in the pictures. To do this, let the wet fondant dry, then take a transfer sheet of edible gold leaf and position it over a cookie, with the gold side facing down.
• Transfer the gold leaf: Gently rub the back of the paper in a few different places to transfer the gold leaf onto the cookie. Use a dry food-safe brush to press any loose bits of gold back onto the cookie. It looks best if used sparingly, with random pops of gold scattered atop the cookies.
• Dry completely: Once dry, the cookies can be stacked and stored in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper or parchment.
• Storage: Store the cookies at room temperature for up to a week – do not refrigerate them, as the humidity can cause the fondant to soften and bleed. Decorated cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. For the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually 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.

To Make the Sugar Cookies

• Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside for now.
• Cream butter and sugar: In the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and mix everything together on medium speed until fluffy and well-mixed, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add eggs and wet ingredients: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract and sour cream.
• Add 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.
• Chill the dough: Divide the dough in half and press each into a thin disc, wrapping well with plastic wrap. If you want to use a kitchen scale, your dough portions should be about 22 oz each. Refrigerate until firmer but not hard, about 30 minutes. (If you refrigerate it longer, it will probably need to sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes after refrigeration so it’s not rock-hard when you’re trying to roll it out.)
• Roll out the dough: When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place a disc of dough between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out until it is 1/4-inch thick.
• Cut out the cookies: 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. If at any time the dough becomes too soft and sticky to easily work with, refrigerate it briefly until it firms up again.
• Chill the cookies (optional): Put the sheets of cut-out cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking to help the cookies hold their shape. This is optional, but helpful if your cookies are a more intricate shape.
• Bake the cookies: 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. 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 with water: Combine the meringue powder and water in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix them together on medium speed until foamy.
• Add powdered sugar: Stop the mixer and sift 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 the corn syrup and flavoring.
• Mix until thick: 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, or you may incorporate too many air bubbles and change the texture of your royal icing.
• Divide the icing: Separate out half of the icing to leave plain white, and press a piece of cling wrap on top right away so that it doesn’t form a crust.
• Color the icing: 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. Be aware that royal icing tends to darken a bit as it dries, so if you want pretty pastel colors, keep that in mind and don’t add too much coloring.
• Save out some stiff icing: The frosting consistency right out of the mixer is fairly stiff, but for most of the designs, you’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 for now. (Remember to press cling wrap directly on top of the royal icing every time!)
• Add water to thin it out: For all of the other designs, we’ll 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. Add water a little bit at a time to each color until you achieve this consistency.
• Put in piping bags: Place each color in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (I recommend a #2 tip).

To Decorate the Cookies

• Work in small batches: Most of the designs require piping colors onto wet frosting. I recommend working in small batches and flooding 2-3 cookies at a time with white frosting, then piping the designs on, then doing another small batch, to avoid having the royal icing dry out before the cookies are fully decorated.
• To flood the cookies: fit a piping bag with a small round tip (I recommend a #2 tip) and fill it with white frosting. Draw a thin outline with the royal icing around the outside of a few cookies. Next, fill the center of the cookie with royal icing. If you miss any spots, use the tip of the piping bag to nudge the icing into place, or use a toothpick to smooth out any rough lines. This is your blank canvas for making all the Valentine’s Day designs! Make sure to work quickly to decorate the cookies after they have been flooded.
  
• To make swirled heart cookies: pipe dots of color along the outer edge of the cookie, spacing them about ½-inch apart. The dots should sink into the wet white icing fairly quickly. Take a toothpick 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. You can also pipe randomly placed dots all over the cookie, and drag a toothpick through the dots individually to make hearts.
  
• To make zigzag cookies: pipe lines of alternating colors horizontally across the white icing. Take a toothpick and drag it through the lines vertically. 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. Continue this pattern until you’ve created lines across the whole cookie.
  
• To make elegant rose cookies: these look best when made with two different shades of the same color, like pale pink and dark pink. Start with the pale pink and pipe several blobs on top of the cookie—refer to the picture tutorial to get a general idea of the shape. Take the darker pink color and pipe a line across the center of the blob. Finally, add a dot of white in the center. 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. Add a few dots of green around the edges, and pull the dots of green out with a toothpick so they look like leaves.
  
• To pipe stiff rosettes on cookies: the rosettes can be piped onto plain white cookies, or cookies that have been decorated with dots, stripes, or whatever else you like. Let the base cookies sit and dry for at least an hour before adding the rosettes on top. Place stiff consistency frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Start in the center and pipe a small swirl outward in a rosette shape. You can do just 1 flower or several bunched together. Decorate the edges with small leaves piped with stiff green frosting, if desired.
  
• Storage and make-ahead information: let the royal icing set for at least 2 hours, then you can serve and enjoy your decorated cookies! If you want to stack the cookies on top of each other, you will need to 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 and hard.
• 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.
• Decorated cookies can also be frozen for up to 6 months. For the best results, I recommend packaging the cookies individually 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.

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, and set aside temporarily.
• Combine the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Turn the mixer to low, add the egg and peppermint extract, and mix until well-incorporated.
• With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the flour and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Stop the mixer, and finish scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The dough should be soft and supple but not sticky.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. If you have a kitchen scale, each portion should be approximately 10 ounces.
• Leave one portion uncolored, and use gel food coloring to color the other two portions red and pink. You can stir the food coloring in by hand, knead it in like bread dough, or mix it in using the mixer. (If you use the mixer, keep a close eye on the dough and run it for a short time so the dough doesn’t get overmixed and tough.)
• Form each color into a disc and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, until firm.
• Roll each color out between two sheets of parchment into a long rectangle, approximately 6 x 13” long. Try to avoid adding additional flour at this step, or else the cookies might be tough. If the dough starts to feel too soft to work with at any point in the rolling/stacking process, chill it again in the refrigerator until you can work with it easily.
• Stack the dough rectangles on top of each other in this order: pink, white, then red on top. Roll the dough up into a long, tight spiral.
• To roll the edges in sprinkles, brush the outside of the dough log with a very thin layer of corn syrup – you just want enough to make the sprinkles stick. Scatter the sprinkles on a baking sheet, and roll the log around the sprinkles, pressing it into the sprinkles so they adhere and it is completely covered. You can also skip this step and leave the edges plain.
• Wrap the dough log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, or until firm.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and cover 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Use a large, sharp chef’s knife to slice the log into rounds a little under ½” thick. (You can do thinner, ¼” rounds for a larger yield.) Place them on the baking sheets with a few inches between each cookie.
• Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, until they have spread and puffed, and no longer have a raw shine in the center. They will continue to cook for a few minutes after they’re out of the oven, so don’t wait until they feel firm in the center or they will be overcooked. The perfect pinwheel cookie is crunchy around the edges and soft and tender on the inside!
• Once cool, remove from the baking sheets and enjoy! Pinwheel cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and should be enjoyed within 4-5 days for maximum freshness. Unbaked cookies can be frozen, well-wrapped, for up to 3 months.

• Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F (120 C), and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
• Unwrap the candy canes. It's okay if some of them break during this process, because they can be fused back together—just place the broken pieces next to each other as if they had not broken. Arrange the candy canes on the baking sheet in pairs, with 2 candy canes facing each other like a heart shape. I recommend doing these in batches and baking about 4 hearts at a time.
• Bake the candy canes in the 250 F oven for 5-8 minutes, checking them every few minutes. They will gradually soften as they heat up, and the trick is to soften them enough so that you can bend and shape them, but not to let them get so warm that they start to melt and get misshapen. The exact time will vary depending on your canes and your oven, so keep a close eye on them.
• Remove the trays from the oven. Work carefully, because the canes will be warm, and gently form them into a heart shape. Firmly press the points of the heart together, where the two candy canes join, to fuse them together. Set it aside to cool as you move on to another warm candy cane.
• If at any point the candy canes get too cool and become too difficult to shape, return the tray to the oven to soften for a few additional minutes. Once all of the hearts are formed, let them cool completely at room temperature before proceeding. (Do not attempt to speed up the cooling process in the refrigerator. The condensation from the fridge will make the canes sticky.)
• Melt both types of chocolate or coating in separate microwave-safe bowls, heating them in short bursts and stirring frequently to prevent overheating.
• To make single-flavor peppermint bark, spoon white or dark chocolate into the center of a candy cane heart and smooth it into an even layer. Top the bark with a generous sprinkle of candy cane pieces while the chocolate is still wet.
• To make swirled bark, fill a heart with one color of chocolate. Drizzle another color across the top, then drag a toothpick through the chocolates to create a swirled pattern, and top the swirls with crushed candy canes. Repeat until all of the hearts are filled.
• Place the trays in the refrigerator for no more than 10 minutes to set the chocolate completely. Once set, they can be served immediately.
• If making the hearts in advance or for gift giving, store them at room temperature in an airtight container or individual bags to prevent exposure to excess humidity. If the candy canes are exposed to moisture/humidity (like the refrigerator), they will become soft and sticky; do not attempt to store them in the fridge. If you live in a humid area, you can also place food safe silica packs in the storage container to help keep the candy dry. If properly stored, the hearts will keep for up to a month.

To Make the Crusts:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray eight 5-inch tart shells with nonstick cooking spray, and set them on a baking sheet.
• Place the shortbread cookies in a food processor, and process until they’re fine crumbs.
• Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl, and put the pistachios in the processor. Process the nuts until they’re finely ground, and combine them with the shortbread crumbs. Whisk briefly to mix everything.
• Pour the melted butter on the crumbs and stir everything together with a fork, until the crumbs have the texture of wet sand. They should not be soggy, but should hold together when pressed between your fingers.
• Divide the crumbs between the tart shells, pressing them into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides.
• Bake the tray of tart shells at 350 F for 10 minutes, until they’re slightly puffed and the surface looks dry. They won’t take on too much color while baking. Let them cool completely while you make the filling.

To Make the Filling:

• Combine the white chocolate chips,1/2 cup of cream, rose water (if using), and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, then whisk well. If some unmelted chocolate remains, microwave in brief intervals, and whisk until melted and smooth.
• Add 1 drop of pink gel food coloring, and whisk well. Let the mixture cool until it is no longer warm to the touch, about 10 minutes. Whisk occasionally as it cools.
• While you wait for the white chocolate to cool, place the freeze-dried strawberries in the food processor and process until they’re a fine powder.
• Whip the remaining 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream to medium peaks—it should have the texture of shaving cream at the end.
• Whisk the strawberry powder into the melted and cooled white chocolate. It will be quite thick at this point! Fold in the whipped cream in 3 batches, using a light hand so the cream doesn’t deflate. Fill the tart shells with the cream, and spread it to the edges.

To Decorate:

• You’ll need about 6-8 strawberries per tart, depending on their size. Slice the tops off the strawberries, and with the berry sitting on the sliced end, cut off a sliver from one side so that when you turn it on its side, it can rest flat.
• With the berry on its side, cut it into paper-thin slices—the thinner, the better! Keep the slices together in a berry shape. When it is all sliced, fan out the slices along the knife blade so they’re all touching and can be transferred in a single row.
• Use the knife to transfer the row of berries to the tart, and arrange them along the outside edge. Repeat with the remaining berries, overlapping them around each other in a spiral pattern until the tart’s surface is covered. Repeat until all of the tarts have strawberry “roses” on top.
• Combine the strawberry jelly and water in a small bowl, and heat for 10 seconds, then whisk well. If the jelly still has lumps, continue heating in small bursts just until it can be whisked into a smooth glaze. Gently paint the tops of the tarts with the glaze to give the berries a nice shine and prevent them from looking wilted. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
• The strawberries do transfer their moisture to the tarts over time, so they’re best enjoyed within a few hours of assembly.