These buttery, lemon-scented Valentine cookies are a fun, festive way to spread the love. To embed a heart in each cookie, you’ll make heart-shaped cut-outs, stack them, and then wrap the “tower” in vanilla dough to form a neat cylinder. Cut the cylinder to reveal a red heart in every slice. Once you get the technique down, you can use different cutters to make slice-and-bake cookies for any occasion.
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To make the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment or working in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 to 5 minutes at medium speed, depending on the temperature of your butter.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the flour and mix on low until a crumbly dough forms.
On a clean work surface, bring the dough together into one mass. Divide the dough in half (about 350g, or 1 1/2 cups, each), then transfer one half to a medium bowl; return the other half to the mixer bowl and cover.
To make the red dough: In a very small microwave-safe bowl, stir together the packet of red food coloring and the vanilla. Microwave in 2-second intervals, stirring in between, until the food coloring is dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
Add 1 teaspoon of the red mixture (or all of it, for the boldest color) to the dough in the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until the color is evenly distributed and the dough has come together.
Transfer the red dough to a sheet of parchment. Fold the parchment over the dough and roll out or press the dough to a 1/4"-thick rectangle, about 10 1/2" x 7 1/2". (Using parchment helps to minimize any stains to your counter, rolling pin, or hands.)
Place the red dough in the refrigerator to firm up, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the red dough is chilling, knead the plain dough by hand until it comes together. Cover and set aside at room temperature.
Remove the chilled red dough from the refrigerator and use a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" heart cutter to cut out as many hearts as you can. Stack the cutouts, aligning them at the edges, and press to adhere, forming a tower of hearts. Gather and reroll the dough scraps, then cut out more hearts and stack them on the tower. Repeat until you have used all the dough, refrigerating the dough to firm up as needed. You should end up with a tower of hearts that is about 9" to 10" long. Carefully set the tower on its side, lightly cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
While the heart log is chilling, lightly flour your hands and divide the plain dough into 6 pieces (about 58g each). On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to roll each piece of plain dough into a cylinder that is 9" to 10" long, the same length as the heart tower.
Remove the chilled heart tower from the refrigerator, uncover, and attach the logs of plain dough to it, spacing them evenly and pressing gently to adhere.
Gently press and flatten the plain logs, smoothing them with your fingers, until they encase the heart tower.
Once the heart is fully encased, roll the log to make it as smooth and even as possible. To make a perfectly round log, place the log on a sheet of parchment, then fold the parchment away from you to encase the dough. Use your nondominant hand to press a straight object (a ruler or a bench knife works well) between the dough and the work surface, then use your dominant hand to gently tug the top piece of parchment away from you. This should pull the dough so that it butts up against the straight object and forms a very smooth, symmetrical log. (See this blog post, How to make round cookies, for a visual demonstration.)
Spread the sparkling sugar in a strip about 2" wide across a sheet of parchment or a baking sheet. Roll the log in the sugar to coat. Wrap the sugar-coated log in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Remove the log from the refrigerator, unwrap, and slice into 1/4"-thick rounds, placing the cookies 2" apart on the prepared baking sheets. Rotate the log about 90° (a quarter turn) every 3 to 4 slices to maintain a neat circular shape.
Bake one sheet of cookies for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. (Keep the other baking sheet at room temperature while the first one bakes.) Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Bake the second sheet of cookie dough.
Storage information: Store slice-and-bake Valentine cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days; freeze for longer storage.
If you prefer almond-flavored cookies, omit the lemon zest and add 1/2 teaspoon almond emulsion or extract instead.
Liquid or gel food coloring can also be used to color the dough. Just add it directly to the cookie dough, adjusting the quantity as needed.
This method of assembling the cookie log can be easily adapted for a variety of cutout shapes. For best results, be sure that the cutters are 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" in diameter.
Simple Cookie Glaze works well if you’d like to pipe any messages on the baked, cooled cookies.
