Introduction

These Marbled Valentine Sugar Cookies combine classic buttery flavor with a beautiful swirl of pink and white dough, perfect for celebrating the season of love. Soft, sweet, and visually stunning, they’re as fun to make as they are to eat.

The image shows heart-shaped cookies with a smooth surface, featuring a two-layer color pattern that blends light beige with bright pink in a marbled style. The cookies are thick with a soft, matte texture. They are stacked, with one cookie fully visible in the front and others slightly overlapping behind it, all on a white marbled texture. The pink color covers the lower half while beige covers the upper half, with the colors swirling gently together. Photo taken with an iphone --ar 4:5 --v 7

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
Gel food coloring (dark pink)

Instructions

Step 1: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Mix in the egg and vanilla extract, then add salt and baking powder. Scrape the bowl as needed to combine evenly.
Step 3: Gradually add the flour, mixing until the dough is fully combined and no streaks remain.
Step 4: Divide the dough in half, transferring one half to a clean bowl and setting it aside.
Step 5: Add a small amount of dark pink gel food coloring to the remaining dough and beat until the color is fully incorporated and streak-free.
Step 6: Pinch off golf ball-sized portions from both doughs and roll into balls. Arrange alternating colored balls on your work surface.
Step 7: Gently knead all the dough balls together until you see swirls of color, being careful not to overmix.
Step 8: Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes.
Step 9: Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Step 10: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
Step 11: Freeze the cut cookies for 15 minutes before baking.
Step 12: Gather the dough scraps, press together, rewrap, and keep chilled until ready to roll out again.
Step 13: Bake cookies at 350°F for 12 minutes.
Step 14: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips & Variations

Use gel food coloring for vibrant colors without altering dough consistency.
Chilling the dough well helps maintain the cookie shapes during baking.
Try different colors for a festive twist beyond Valentine’s Day.
If you want extra sweetness, lightly sprinkle sugar on top before baking.

Storage

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. For longer storage, freeze the baked cookies in a sealed container for up to three months. To reheat, let cookies come to room temperature or warm gently in a low oven.

How to Serve

A stack of ten heart-shaped cookies is placed at the center, each cookie showing a marbled pattern with light pink and white swirls evenly spread across the surface, creating a soft texture. The cookies have smooth edges and a slightly grainy look typical of baked dough. Surrounding the central stack, more cookies with the same color and pattern are scattered flat on a white marbled surface, their shapes uniform and smooth. The photo is taken close-up, focusing on the detailed colors and layers of the cookie stack, with a shallow depth of field that softly blurs the background cookies. photo taken with an iphone --ar 4:5 --v 7

Serve this delicious recipe with your favorite sides.

FAQs

Can I use regular liquid food coloring instead of gel?

Gel food coloring is recommended because it provides bright colors without changing the dough’s texture. Using liquid color may make the dough too wet.

How do I prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking?

Chilling the dough before baking and freezing the cut cookies for 15 minutes helps the dough hold its shape and prevents excessive spreading in the oven.