These pretty and slightly tangy Valentine Heart Blossoms are a fun spin on classic blossom cookies. Unlike their peanut butter blossom cousins, these are cream cheese sugar cookies rolled in colored sugar or sprinkles for a festive holiday touch.
Whether you’re looking for a fun Galentine’s Day recipe or Valentine’s Day cookie, these Valentine heart blossoms are a tasty and fun choice. They make a perfect Valentine’s Day cookie for an office cookie exchange or a kid’s school party. This recipe is also kid-friendly and can be fun for the family to decide on various ways to decorate the cookies.
I love making festive blossom cookies since I have fond memories of making blossoms with my grandmother while growing up. This recipe is based on my Easter cream cheese blossom cookies, with a festive spin for Valentine’s Day instead. You can use any combination of red or pink sanding sugar or Valentine-themed sprinkles. Top the blossoms with heart-shaped chocolates or Kisses. I used the limited time Hershey’s milk chocolate Meltaway Kisses here.
If you’re looking for other fun options for Valentine’s Day, my white chocolate strawberry cupcakes are a huge hit as well. You could also make my Christmas themed red velvet hot cocoa blossoms and replace the marshmallow and Kisses there with chocolate hearts instead.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients for Valentine Heart Blossoms
These easy Valentine’s Day cookies come together with almost all pantry staple items. The most you may have to go buy would be cream cheese, sprinkles, and chocolates.
Flour – All-purpose flour for the structure is fine to use here.
Leavener – Use baking powder for the rising agent. These cookies don’t have a big rise in the oven, nor do they spread too much. Baking powder gives them just a bit of oomph.
Butter – Use unsalted butter at room temperature here for flavor.
Cream Cheese – Use full fat, brick-style cream cheese at room temperature. Mixed with the butter, the cream cheese adds a nice tangy flavor and added moisture.
Extracts – Use both vanilla and almond extract for the cookies. If you can’t use almond extract, omit, and replace with more vanilla. I’ve made these cookies without almond though, and the flavor is definitely enhanced with the almond extract addition.
Egg – Use one egg at room temperature to add moisture to the cookie dough.
Sugar & Sprinkles – Before baking, roll the cookies in either colored sanding sugar or holiday sprinkles. If you’re not familiar with sanding sugar, it’s typically sold in baking aisles near the sprinkles. Sanding sugar is basically a coarser sugar crystal that doesn’t easily melt in the heat of the oven.
Chocolates – Starting in January and through the Valentine’s season, you can get heart-shaped chocolate candies. Both Hershey and Dove typically sell them in every grocery chain. You can also use various Hershey Kisses such as the milk chocolate Meltaway Kisses I used here in combination with the hearts.
🔪 How to Make Cream Cheese Blossoms
These Valentine heart blossom cookies come together easily and quickly. The only time-consuming part is the hands-off time while chilling the dough and allowing the cookies to cool while the chocolate sets.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until combined, about a minute or two. Add the sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes longer.
Add the egg and both extracts and mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated and no visible streaks of egg remain, about a minute.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 2-3 increments and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Chill the dough in the fridge for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a half-sheet baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Prepare a small bowl, or several small bowls, with various colored sanding sugars and/or sprinkles. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough out and roll into a ball, then roll in one of your sanding sugars or sprinkles and place on the baking rack. The cookies don’t spread much while they bake, so you should be able to fit about 16 on a baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup and press down slightly on each cookie, this will help them cook evenly and keep their shape.
Cook for 10-12 minutes (mine usually took right at 11mins) and remove from the oven. Immediately push the chocolates into the tops and let them cool on the sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for about an hour so that the chocolate can fully set before serving or storing.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
No, once baked, cookies made with cream cheese can be stored at room temperature. Cream cheese frosting, however, should be refrigerated.
Adding cream cheese (or sour cream) to cookies gives the batter more moisture without adding a lot of extra liquid that can make cookie dough too soft. In addition, it adds tenderness to the texture and a slight tang to the flavor.
Sanding sugar has a larger and coarser crystal structure than regular, granulated sugar. This makes it ideal for decorating things like cookies because their structure keeps it from dissolving in the heat of the oven. Look for colored options in the grocery store where they sell sprinkles instead of the sugar section.
🍽 Recommend Equipment
These are easy Valentine’s Day sugar cookies to make, and you don’t need any special equipment to make them. If you don’t have a stand or hand mixer, you could even make them by hand with a sturdy whisk. With that said, I’d like to give a shout out to just the two following items I recommend for an easier time with these and other cookies.
Silicone Baking Mat – I’m a huge proponent of these Silpat silicone baking mats. They’re washable and reusable, so if you do a lot of baking, you’ll save a lot on parchment paper. They also work great and let the heat through evenly on the bottom.
Cookie Scoop – A good quality cookie scoop makes baking cookies a breeze. While you can eyeball how much you need, using a small cookie scoop here keeps things consistent in size. Other than trying to be a perfectionist, consistency in size also means that cookies will bake up evenly.
❄️ Storing and Freezing
Once baked and cooled, these Valentine heart blossom cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. Their flavor and texture are best within the first 3-4 days. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
If making ahead of time, you can chill the cookie dough for 2-3 days before baking. Alternatively, you can freeze unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar or sprinkles) for up to 3 months as well. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or let stand at room temperature for at least 30-45 minutes before baking as normal. They may need a few extra minutes in the oven, depending on how frozen they were and how long they sit out before baking.
📋 Recipe
Valentine Heart Blossoms
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Blossoms:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Decorating:
- ½ cup sanding sugar, see note
- 36 chocolate hearts, or Kisses
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, mix ¾ cup unsalted butter and 4-ounces cream cheese together on medium speed until combined, about a minute or two. Add 1 cup granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes longer.
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, and 1 large egg and mix on medium-low speed until fully incorporated and no visible streaks of egg remain, about a minute.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 2-3 increments and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Chill the dough in the fridge for about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a half-sheet baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Prepare a small bowl, or several small bowls, with various colored sanding sugars and/or sprinkles. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough out and roll into a ball, then roll in one of your sanding sugars or sprinkles and place on the baking rack. The cookies don’t spread much while they bake, so you should be able to fit about 16 on a baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup and press down slightly on each cookie, this will help them cook evenly and keep their shape.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes (mine usually took right at 11mins) and remove from the oven. Immediately push the chocolates into the tops and let them cool on the sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for about an hour so that the chocolate can fully set before serving or storing.
Equipment Used
Notes
- Sanding Sugar – You’ll need roughly ½ cup of sanding sugar total, depending on how many colors you use and if you make some with sprinkles as well. Darker colors turn out best, but you should be able to find red and pink sanding sugar where your store sells sprinkles as well. Check holiday sections for Valentine’s themed sprinkles and heart-shaped chocolate candies.
Comments
No Comments