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+ servings
three love bug cookies on a white platter
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Love Bug Cookies

These sweet adorable love bug cookies will leave everyone bitten and smitten! Sugar cookies are decorated with frosting and so cute!
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 24 Cookies
Calories 263kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups and Spoons
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Stand or hand mixer
  • Rollin pin
  • Cookie sheet
  • Sandwich bags
  • heart cookie cutter

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 2 egg yolks discard whites
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 16 oz. tub of vanilla frosting
  • Chocolate frosting recipe below
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
  • Pink or red food coloring
  • Candy eyes

Chocolate Frosting

  • 1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¾ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ tablespoon milk

Instructions

  • Prepare the heart sugar cookies: Add sugar and softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix on medium speed until combined.
  • Add egg yolks and vanilla to the bowl. Mix again until incorporated.
  • Add flour to the bowl. Start mixer on low speed and increase to medium speed, mixing until fully combined.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Lay a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle with flour and add half of the cookie dough, placing the remaining cookie dough in the fridge. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Add parchment paper on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to ¼” thickness.
  • Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut out cookies.
  • Use a metal spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to an ungreased baking sheet, leaving at least 1” in between cookies.
  • Place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 8-12 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Allow cookies to remain on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  • While cookies are cooling, prepare the chocolate frosting: Add butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted.
  • Add cocoa powder and stir until smooth.
  • Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and ½ tablespoon milk to the bowl. Stir until combined and smooth. Add an extra splash of milk to the frosting if it is too thick.
  • Transfer chocolate frosting to a sandwich bag and snip off a corner. Set aside.
  • Add food coloring to the vanilla frosting. Stir in additional food coloring until desired color is achieved. Transfer the frosting to a sandwich bag and snip off a corner.
  • Melt 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips in the microwave. Transfer melted chocolate to a sandwich bag. Snip off a very small corner of the bag and set aside.
  • Decorate the cookies, starting with the chocolate frosting. Pipe a circle of chocolate frosting onto the bottom of a heart shaped cookie. Use the colored vanilla frosting to pipe the ladybug wings. Create an outline around the remaining edges of the top of the heart all the way back down to the head. Fill in the wings with frosting.
  • Add two candy eyes to the chocolate frosted circle to create the ladybug face.
  • Use the melted chocolate to pipe two small antennae onto the cookie.
  • Place mini chocolate chips tip side down onto the wings to complete the ladybug valentine cookie.
  • Repeat this process until all cookies are decorated. Enjoy!

Notes

Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cookie | Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 289IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg