Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes Iced Heart Cookies Be the first to rate & review! By Martha Stewart Test Kitchen Martha Stewart Test Kitchen The recipes developed by our test kitchen team have undergone a rigorous process of development and testing, ensuring that every element is optimal, from ingredient amounts to method and cooking time. This process includes triple-testing recipes to ensure they meet our high standards. The many stellar cooks and food editors who have been part of our team include Sarah Carey, Lucinda Scala Quinn, Jennifer Aaronson, Shira Bocar, Anna Kovel, Greg Lofts, Riley Wofford, Lauren Tyrell, and Lindsay Leopold. Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 12, 2021 Rate Print Share Prep Time: 1 hr 45 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Yield: 2 dozen Show your love with these adorable sugar cookies! They're cut out in heart shapes and decorated with royal icing and edible luster dust. Ingredients Cookies: 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon kosher salt 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Royal Icing: ½ pound confectioners' sugar (2 spooned and leveled cups) 1 large egg white, or 2 ½ tablespoons meringue powder Gel food color (optional) Edible Luster Dust (optional) Directions Cookies: In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Divide dough in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Remove 1 disk of dough; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of floured parchment, dusting with flour as needed. Cut shapes with 2 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer to prepared baking sheets (if dough gets too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes). Reroll scraps and cut more shapes. Repeat with remaining disk of dough. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. (If bubbles form, tap baking sheet firmly against oven rack a few times during baking.) Let cool completely on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week. Royal Icing: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine confectioners' sugar and egg white on low speed. Add a scant 1/4 cup water, then increase speed to medium-high and mix until icing holds a ribbon-like trail on surface for 3 seconds when you raise paddle, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and mix 1 minute more to eliminate air bubbles. Divide icing and add food color, a drop at a time, until desired color is reached to one half. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days. Stir well before using. Decorating: Pour white icing into a bowl, hold a cookie face down, and gently dip it in, letting excess drip off and tapping gently to remove bubbles. Arrange iced cookies end to end. Let dry completely, then brush across each cookie diagonally with pink "paint." For gold specks, dot on edible luster dust mixed with a bit of lemon or other clear extract. CHELSEA CAVANAUGH Cook's Notes Cutting out Cookies: Rolling the dough between two sheets of floured parchment keeps it from sticking to the rolling pin. Dip the cutters in flour as well before each cut, and dust the spatula, too, before transferring the uncooked dough to the baking sheets.Royal Icing: If you want an icing with thinner consistency, which is usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. If you're decorating cookies for children, pregnant women, or anyone with a compromised immune system, use meringue powder instead of egg whites. Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, January/February 2017 Rate It Print