These soft and fluffy vegan conversation heart sugar cookies are the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day and a special way to communicate a message to your partner, friend, or anybody you choose. 

True story. My birthday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. When I was an itty bitty bright-eyed toddler, I believed the whole world decorated with hearts, candy, and the color pink to celebrate my birth. I guess I was a bit optimistic. My parents didn’t tell me otherwise for years. 

Now I know the truth and that Valentine’s Day isn’t just about me. 😉

I also know that it’s about love and sweet treats and candy hearts. I can’t think of anything that screams Valentine’s Day quite like candy hearts, so that’s why I decided to make a recipe for conversation heart sugar cookies. 

Why You'll Love This Recipe

  • These cookies are fluffy and soft
  • You can use this recipe to make any shape cookies for any time of year
  • They’re customizable, so you can say whatever you’ve been wanting to say (like the “Nice Ass” cookie I made for my husband)
  • Do you have to cool the dough before baking? Yes! Don’t skip this step! This helps to make sure the cookies don’t spread out and bake flat. 
  • What messages can I put on my hearts? You’re going to want to stick to shorter messages unless you’re a cookie lettering pro with a steady hand. Short and simple wins here. Some ideas: “Marry me?”, “Sexy AF”, “XOXO”, or “Love U!” You can keep your messages as sweet or as spicy as you would like. 

More Recipes You'll Love

Need more recipes for Valentine’s Day? Try one of these.

Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Course Dessert
Keyword cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 6 tbsp aquafaba
  • 2 tbsp ground flax meal
  • 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup vegan butter room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract

Royal Icing

  • 1/4 cup aquafaba
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
  • 4 cups confectioner's sugar
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • gel food coloring

Instructions

Cookies

  • Combine the 6 tbsp of aquafaba with the ground flax in a small bowl. Stir and set aside for at least five minutes to create a binder.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk.
  • In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream your butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer for this step.
  • Add half of the aquafaba mixture, stir, and add the remainder, mixing until combined.
  • Add your extracts and mix until they are incorporated.
  • Gradually, add the flour mixture into your wet ingredients and mix on low until a rollable dough forms.
  • Lightly dust two sheets of parchment paper with flour and divide your dough into two equal size portions. Put each portion on a sheet of the parchment paper and evenly roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick*. If the dough becomes too stickly, lightly flour it and your rolling pan.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F and line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Remove your cookie dough from the fridge and use cookie cutters to cut your desired shape. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Smaller cookies will take less baking time and larger will take more. If you are doing different sized cookies, place them on different sheets so you can remove the smaller ones before they get burnt and the larger ones can cook as long as they need.
  • If you have dough scraps that you want to reroll and use, you can. Just form them back together and chill them for at least 15 minutes in the fridge so that they can firm back up and don't spread or lose their shape during baking.
  • Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Royal Icing

  • Use a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer to beat the aquafaba and cream of tarter on medium-high for 5-8 minutes or until stiff peaks begin to form.
  • Add the confectioner's sugar 1 cup at a time and mix until incorporated.
  • Lastly, add the lemon juice and mix until incorporated. For a thicker icing (for borders and edges), add more sugar. For a thinner icing, add just a tiny bit of water until you reach the consistency you desire.
  • Color icing with gel food coloring if desired and decorate cooled cookies however your heart wishes. The icing hardens over time.

Notes

I use a rolling pin with thickness rings similar to this one to make sure my dough is even. It's a life saver when uniformity is important. 

As always, I love to see you guys take these recipes and make them your own. If you use this recipe as is or use it for inspiration, I’d love to see your creation. Tag me @holefoodbakery and/or use the hashtag #holefoodbakery so I don’t miss it. 

Categories: Desserts

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