Ella Fitzgerald famously sings, “My romance, doesn’t need a thing but you”, but what Valentine wouldn’t appreciate a little something sweet and homemade? Plus, Valentine’s Day treats need not be exclusively for your sweetie. In the past, I have brought something homemade to the office or to family members to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It can be a nice surprise on a day that sometimes fails to live up to hyped expectations.
One of my favorite goodies for February 14 is sweetheart cookies. Sometimes I have made whoopie pies (traditional or red velvet), particularly for the office. This year I decided to make something special for my hubby. He loves the almond spritz cookies that his Mom makes every year over the holidays. She makes them festive for Christmas by baking them in the shape of trees and coloring them green. My hubby can never get enough of them.
If you haven’t ever made Spritz, they typically require a cookie press but may be formed with a pastry bag. The dough is very simple to make and the press makes uniformly shaped cookies without the effort of rolling and cutting dough. For these Valentine cookies, I made them heart shaped and colored them pink. With a sprinkle of red sugar to decorate, they make a classic-looking Valentine treat. These cookies are so easy that you could make a couple batches pretty quickly, and so good that you might find yourself looking for holidays to celebrate with them.
Almond Valentine Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- red food coloring
- red decorating sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Beat in egg and almond extract.
- Gradually blend in dry ingredients.
- Tint to desired color with food coloring.
- Following directions for the cookie press, form cookies on cookie sheets. (These cookies will not spread much and can be placed fairly close together.)
- Decorate tops of cookies with colored sugar if using.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes or until just set. (These taste better if slightly underdone.)
Recipe Notes
Garnish with Lemon has tips on how to make Spritz Cookies without a cookie press by using a pastry bag.
What’s in the Oven Besides Almond Valentine Spritz Cookies
Check out some other delicious cookie recipes on our Cookies Pinterest board. If you are looking for something a little different, my raspberry coconut squares are a sweet way to make your Valentine feel special. And while you’re baking, crank the volume with our playlist of non-traditional love songs.
