Swirled Heart Sugar Cookies

By srumbel

We can't celebrate Valentine's Day without some heart-shaped sugar cookies now can we? These cookies happen to be swirled with lots of love. Kids will love them! And I've included a cute way to package them up as a fun gift to your kids on Valentine's Day too.



I made these Swirled Heart Sugar cookies for Betty Crocker, where you can find all kinds of great Valentine cookie ideas, using their simple pouch cookie mixes.
from sweettreatsmore.com

Ingredients

• 1 Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Pouch Mix
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup butter, soft
• 1 egg
• red food coloring

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Beat sugar cookie mix, flour, butter, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined and there are no lumps in the dough.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. Place one portion of the dough back in the bowl and mix in a few drops of red food coloring (to desired color of pink or red).
Generously flour a large work space and roll each ball of dough into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 13 inches long and (doesn’t have to be perfect). Dough should be just less than 1/4
of an inch thick.
Using both hands gently lift one rectangle and place it on top of the other. Very lightly roll the dough with a rolling pin to make surface smooth (just give it one quick roll over the top, do not press down on it). Trim any edges to make even if needed.
Roll the dough length-wsie into a long log. Score the log in 1/4 inch segments then slice.
Gently shape each slice into what looks like a half-heart (almost tear drop shape). Take two half-heart pieces and press the centers together to form a heart, gently shaping and molding together.
Place hearts on baking sheets lined with parchment and bake for 7-10 minutes or until bottoms are slightly golden. Let cool for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Tips:
For an extra special touch, sprinkle the tops of cookies with red or pink Valentine sprinkles before baking.

To make hearts with red edges and white swirls, start with the red layer on the bottom and place the white piece of dough on top of it, then roll.

Wrap the log of dough with saran wrap and chill for 20-30 minutes if it is too soft and difficult to slice.

Makes 12-15 cookies