You Need To Make These Divine Valentine’s Sugar Cookies
Share the love this Valentine’s Day with perfectly soft sugar cookies topped with velvety cream cheese frosting! These cookies hold their shape beautifully, making them ideal for heart-shaped cutouts and festive decorating. Perfect for celebrations or gifting to someone special!

Every Valentine’s Day, my kitchen transforms into a haven of sweet memories as I bake these beloved sugar cookies with my family. The combination of buttery-soft cookies and silky cream cheese frosting has become our cherished tradition, bringing smiles and sticky fingers to everyone involved.
I love how these cookies create both delicious treats and precious moments, whether we’re carefully cutting out heart shapes or decorating them with pink and red sprinkles.
We love to bake, especially with friends and family, and have a full list of delicious cookie recipes in our arsenal! Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip and Chewy Almond Cookies are some of our favorite to make and gift.
What Are Sugar Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting?
These Valentine’s Day cookies are a delightful twist on classic sugar cookies, featuring a perfectly tender, buttery base topped with—and here’s the twist—silky cream cheese frosting.
The cookies maintain their shape beautifully during baking, making them ideal for heart-shaped cutouts and other romantic designs (think cupid, kisses, strawberries, roses…). The cream cheese frosting adds a tangy richness that gives them a unique take on traditional sugar cookies. They’re perfect as a sophisticated treat or a fun core memory for the kiddos.

Why Make These Sugar Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting?
These cookies are the perfect way to share love through baking this Valentine’s Day. The dough comes together easily with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry or cupboard, and the cream cheese frosting provides a professional-looking finish that’s actually simple to achieve! Plus, they’re great for gifting, sharing at parties, or creating those sweet memories with family.
If you’re not yet convinced, here are four more reasons why you should bake these cookies:
- They’re make-ahead friendly, meaning you can prepare the dough and frosting in advance.
- They’re a crowd pleaser because who doesn’t love fun Valentine’s Day-shaped cookies with frosting?!
- They’re super versatile since this recipe can be used for any holiday. Just change up the cookie-cutter shapes and frosting colors!


Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- Flour: If I want to make a gluten-free version, I like to use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Baking Flour, but any organic all-purpose flour will also work.
A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioner sugar, this sugar is a powdered version of cane sugar. If you don’t have any on hand, you can actually use a food processor to grind cane sugar into a powder. The texture may be a bit different if you don’t bring the granules to a powder, but the taste is just as great!
- Optional decorations: Plant-based food coloring, sprinkles, edible sequins, etc., can be used to decorate as you wish!
A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.

Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Variations
- Add a little zest: For a lemony twist, add 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to the dough.
- Get a little spicy: Add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dough for a warm, spiced cookie.
- Get a little nutty: Use almond extract instead of vanilla in the cream cheese frosting for a nutty flavor.
- Dip it: Half-dip frosted cookies in melted chocolate for extra decadence.
- Marble it: Swirl different colors of frosting for a marbled effect.
How to Freeze Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
Option 1: Freezing Sugar Cookie Dough with Cream Cheese Frosting
If you want to prep your sugar cookies ahead of time, freezing the dough is a great option! After mixing and chilling your dough, roll it into discs or balls, and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. When you’re ready to bake, just let the dough thaw in the fridge for a few hours, roll it out, and cut into shapes. Once baked and cooled, you can whip up the cream cheese frosting fresh and ice the cookies. This way, your cookies will taste as though they were made from scratch, with minimal prep time when you’re ready to serve!
Option 2: Freezing Baked Sugar Cookies (Un-Frosted)
For a quicker solution, you can bake your sugar cookies ahead of time and freeze them before frosting. Simply allow the cookies to cool completely, then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about 1-2 hours. After they’re frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag, layering them with parchment paper to prevent sticking. When you’re ready to frost, pull them out and let them thaw at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes, then top them with your cream cheese frosting. This method keeps your cookies fresh and makes frosting them a breeze!
Note on Freezing Iced Sugar Cookies:
Freezing sugar cookies that are already frosted with cream cheese icing isn’t recommended. The delicate frosting can become soft or lose its texture when frozen, leading to a less-than-ideal result. For best results, keep the icing fresh and frost the cookies after they’ve thawed!

Recipe FAQs
How Long Will Sugar Cookies Stay Fresh?
Unfrosted sugar cookies can stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Once you add the cream cheese frosting, it’s best to store them in the refrigerator and consume them within 3-4 days for the best quality (if they even last that long!).
What Happens if I Don’t Chill My Sugar Cookie Dough?
Skipping the chilling step can result in cookies that spread too much during baking, leading to flat and unidentifiable shapes. Chilling helps the butter solidify, ensuring your Valentine’s Day shapes don’t become amorphous blobs.
I hope you love this recipe!

Sugar Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
Create memorable Valentine's Day treats with these perfectly soft sugar cookies topped with silky cream cheese frosting—ideal for cutting into hearts and decorating with loved ones.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large organic egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 and 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamed and smooth—about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat on high until fully combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Turn the mixer down to low and add about half of the flour mixture, mixing until just barely combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment to about 1/4″ thickness. Stack the pieces (with paper) onto a baking sheet, cover lightly, and refrigerate for about an hour or up to 2 days. Chilling is important–don’t skip it! This makes the cookies easier to handle when cutting and transferring.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and cut into desired shapes. Transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing and decorating!
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the softened butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until fluffy.
- Turn the mixer down to low and add in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go! Keep mixing and scraping until all the powdered sugar is mixed into the butter.
- With the mixer on low, add in the vanilla extract. Whisk well until the frosting is light and fluffy–about 2-3 minutes!
- If you’re adding food coloring, pour the powder into a small bowl and add water to it. Whisk well. Turn the stand mixer on low, then slowly pour the food coloring into the icing mixture and mix for a few minutes until fully combined–scraping the sides as needed.
- Use a small spatula, piping bag or squeeze bottle to frost! Remember that if you are using piping bags or squeeze bottles, you will need to thin the frosting more. Top with desired toppings, and enjoy! These never last long around our home!
Notes
- For a lemony twist, add 1 Tablespoon of lemon zest and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to the dough.
- Add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dough for a warm, spiced cookie.
- Use almond extract instead of vanilla in the cream cheese frosting for a nutty flavor.
- Half-dip frosted cookies in melted chocolate for extra decadence.
- Swirl different colors of frosting for a marbled effect.
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