Simple & Sweet
14 Valentine’s Day Cookies You Can Totally Make With Your Kids
Even if they’re more like “helpers” than helpers.
by Katie McPherson
Holiday baking: great. Watching the kids and keeping them safe, happy, and healthy: got it covered. Doing both at the same time, though, can be very difficult. Which is why these Valentine’s Day cookie recipes are perfect if you need easy treats to make for the holiday, ones where you don’t have to stress over the measurements too much or go behind your youngest and fix the sprinkles. Nope, these recipes (maybe with just an exception or two, depending on how little your children are) are simple enough that you can take all the breaks you need to wipe up a broken egg, wash tiny hands, and reposition little butts on the counter so they can reach to stir the bowl. You’ll enjoy making them together, chatting about Valentine’s Day fun, and squirreling a few out of the pantry after bedtime, too.
Some of these Valentine’s Day cookie recipes require pretty minimal effort — like the red velvet or strawberry cake mix cookies — which makes them perfect for the toddler mom scrambling to grab ingredients while her kid leans precariously to one side of the kitchen helper tower. Others, like the strawberry chocolate checkerboard cookies, would be a super fun, more in-depth recipe to follow for parents with older kids who are into baking. So, scroll through and see which Valentine’s Day cookies speak to you.
1
Strawberry Kiss Cookies
So pink and happy and festive — the dough for these strawberry kiss cookies is actually a boxed Funfetti sugar cookie mix. Top them with strawberry Hershey kisses and some holiday sprinkles, and voilà.
2
Peanut Butter Heart Cookie Cups
This is not the place to debate which Reese’s holiday-shaped peanut butter cups are superior (*cough* it’s the eggs), but these cookie cups make a real case for the hearts. This dough is made from scratch but isn’t the least bit complicated. Just remember to toss your peanut butter cups in the fridge before you press them into the cookies — it’ll help them hold their shape.
3
Frosted Double Strawberry Sugar Cookies
‘Tis the season of pink strawberry cookies, and this recipe from Half-Baked Harvest really delivers. The cookies themselves are flavored with both freeze-dried strawberries and jam, and so is the cream cheese frosting.
4
Chocolate Heart Cut-Out Cookies
Want to make some classic cut-outs you can frost and decorate with the fam? A Classic Twist’s recipe ought to do quite nicely then. Just be sure to set aside time to chill the dough in the fridge.
5
Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars
If you want a big batch of cookies without the muss and fuss of rolling them into balls or cutting out shapes, you’ll love this cookie bar recipe. Plus, the cookies themselves are a fan-favorite chocolate chip, which you can guarantee will go over well with kids.
6
Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
Cooks With Soul’s red velvet cookies are so pretty for a holiday dedicated to love. Literally all you need to make them are a box of cake mix, baking powder, two eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, some chocolate chips, and about 20 minutes.
7
Pink & White Marbled Valentine’s Day Cookies
These marbled cookies are slightly more involved with all the dying, rolling, marbling, and cutting of the dough (which is perfect if you’re baking with big kids who love to be in the kitchen). The classic sugar cookie flavor will definitely not disappoint.
8
Valentine’s Day Cookie Cups
Soft buttery sugar cookies with an extra special kiss inside? Adorable, and oh so easy, as it turns out. This recipe works just as well with homemade dough or store-bought sugar cookie dough, so you can choose just how to you want to go about getting to the finished product.
9
Chocolate Strawberry Checkerboard Cookies
These cookies aren’t necessarily difficult, but they are time consuming to construct and you will need to measure a bit, so keep that in mind. The end result is a stack of these seriously cute checkerboard cookies, which are the perfect mix of flavors to taste like a chocolate-covered strawberry.
10
Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
If you love a soft, chewy cookie with lots of texture to it, you’ll really enjoy Make It Dairy-Free’s strawberry shortcake cookies. The dough itself is strawberry, and has loads of white chocolate chips, strawberry pieces, and golden Oreos folded in.
11
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Not everyone wants their cookies to be bright red or pink, and that’s OK. These subtler strawberry chocolate chip cookies from A Cookie Named Desire’s recipe archive are a really nice balance of fruity and chocolatey without being overly sweet.
12
Lemon Rose Shortbread Cookies
If your kids like cutting out shapes and spending some time decorating, they’ll enjoy making Half-Baked Harvest’s lemon rose shortbread cookies. The icing is homemade but quick to whip together, and they taste a little more elevated than other holiday cookies might.
13
Strawberry & White Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
If red velvet isn’t your thing, slide on down the baking aisle and grab a box of strawberry cake mix instead to use for Mom On Timeout’s recipe. You could top them with frosting and sprinkles, Valentine’s M&Ms (as seen here), or whatever your heart desires, really.
14
Vegan, Gluten-Free Tahini & Pomegranate Cookies
If you want something all-natural, you’ll like Love & Lemons’ tahini cookies recipe, which is topped with fresh pomegranate for some festive color. They also only take around 25 minutes from start to finish.
So, which pink and red cookies will you be baking between now and February 14?
