Behold, the week before Valentine’s Day and you still have no plans. No dinner reservations, no romantic notions in the works, no gifts bought, no nothing. I suggest you stop procrastinating and entertain the idea of making cookies. If made with love and a little bit of extra rolling-out elbow grease, then all expectations of rose petal baths will be forgotten.
You will make these cookies because they are cute, but you will eat them because they are freaking amazing. The Professor has declared them his most favoritist cookies of all time. He says they remind him of the enormous pink sugar cookies sold in Mexican bakeries…but with a slight hint of coconut and a major hint of almond.
The idea is to color half of the dough, roll it out and stack it up on the other half to make pretty colored hearts. You can alternate which color is on top and once you have cut out one batch the dough easily separates back into it’s colors so re-rolling is a snap.
If the whole coloring, rolling, stacking, cutting thing has you turned off you can leave out the food coloring, gather the dough into a log-shape and slice off cookies into rounds (in which case you will have a lot more cookies to share).
You could make mini ones which would be adorable as classroom valentines or make a giant one to cap off a Valentine’s themed family dinner. Whatever you do, homemade cookies are best shared; that, my friend, is love.
Other Valentine’s Day treats that make fabulous gifts:
- Toasted Coconut Rum Raisin Rice Krispie Treats
- Candied Orange Peel
- Fig and Hazelnut Candy
- Mega Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies
Still in need of some made-from-the-heart Valentines ideas? Some of my fellow food blogger friends and I have been working away to bring you some fantastic recipes, like………
Savory:
Beet and Merlot Risotto from Heather Cristo
Miso Glazed Black Cod from Closet Cooking
Fresh Lobster with Potatoes and Corn from Bev Cooks
Sweet:
Death by Chocolate from What’s Gaby Cooking
Mini Strawberry Heart Hand Pies from Table for Two
Crispy Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Picky Palate
Valentine Breakfast with Heart Pancake Art from A Spicy Perspective
Very Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies from Marla Meridith
Berry Heart Parfaits from Weelicious
Toasted Coconut Buttermilk Waffles from Country Cleaver
No Bake Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes with Chocolate Ganache from Baked by Rachel
Almond Sugar Hearts {Dairy Free)
If you don't have almond meal, you can pulse 1/3 cup whole almonds in the food processor until finely ground (stop before it becomes a paste).
If you are not using food coloring you can just divide the dough in half, roll, and cut (no stacking required).
The time it takes the cookies to bake will depend on the size of the cutter. Mine was about 4-inches across, making for very big cookies which took longer to bake. If your cutter is smaller, check them after 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup almond meal (or 1/3 cup whole almonds, ground)
- red food coloring, optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F and arrange rack in the middle. Combine coconut oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low cream the oil and sugar together. Once combined, increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add eggs and almond extract and beat until combined. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and almond meal and continue mixing for a full minute to work the coconut oil into the flour.
- Remove half of dough, form into a ball and set aside on a clean counter. Add 10 drops of food coloring for a light pink color (or more if desired) to remaining dough in mixer and mix food coloring into dough until evenly combined.
- To make the rolling a little easier, divide the colored dough in half and form into a ball. Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter and place the ball of colored dough on top. Roll the dough on top of the parchment paper, into a 1/4-inch thick circle and set aside.
- Place another sheet of parchment paper on the counter and divide the non-colored dough in half. Place one half of the non-colored dough on top of the parchment paper and roll into a 1/4-inch thick circle. Carefully place the two circles on top of each other and cut with a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place the hearts about an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Any scraps that are left over can be separated and re-rolled.
- Continue rolling and cutting with the remaining dough, re-rolling until all the dough has been cut. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until firm on the edges but still soft in the middle.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0g
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These are so pretty, Kate! Love that crackly top!
Thank you so much Nicole! Hope you have a romantic Valentine’s Day!
You’re right, cookies are always a go-to. And your recipe looks simple but delicious. You have me try it …
Thanks Cecilia!! Hope you like them as much as we do!
These look so good Kate- I love the flavor of almond so much.
I’ll inhale anything almond, Heather–you know me. 🙂
These are so cute! What a fun and festive idea!
Thank you so much Rachel!
Absolutely adorable!!
Thanks so much Megan! I can’t wait to make those nutella stuffed cookies from your blog!!
Those look adorable! My last name actually means ‘Almond’ in German, so I always try to use it whenever I can!
Me too Andrea!! I’m on team almond all the way!
These are adorable! You got me – anything cute and I’ll run to the kitchen and bake them up! Love the dual colours, it’s a nice touch. 🙂
Thanks so much Amanda! I rarely do anything cute, so I kind of surprised myself with this one. 🙂