Valentine Cookie Pops DIY Cookies on a Stick Tutorial
These Valentine cookie pops are the perfect treat to share with loved ones this season. Combining a thick, soft sugar cookie with a creamy, velvety vanilla buttercream frosting, these delightful pops are a fun and delicious way to celebrate the day of love.
The sugar cookie base is thick and buttery, giving it just the right amount of sweetness, while the smooth buttercream adds an extra layer of indulgence. No hard sugar cookies over here!
With their vibrant colors and charming design, these cookie pops are sure to make your Valentine’s Day extra sweet!
Follow along for both the recipe and tutorial! Let’s get started!
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How to Make Valentine Cookie Pops
Step One: Purchase the Supplies
For these homemade Valentine’s Day treats, you will need:
- Mini heart cookie cutter
- 6″ cookie sticks
- Treat bags – I find the 4″ wide cellophane bags to be perfect for cookie pops
- Disposable piping bags
- Wilton tips in size 5 and 44 (here is a link for Ateco 44 which also works)
- Three standard sized couplers
- Butter knife or palette knife
- Kitchen baking supplies: cookie sheet, rolling pin, mixing bowl, measuring cups/spoons, stand mixer
- Sugar cookie & buttercream frosting ingredients, see below
To make the sugar cookies and buttercream frosting, you will need a combined total of:
- 1 cup of salted butter
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 3 cups of all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the cookie dough
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg or 1/4 cup yogurt if egg free
- 2 tbsp. milk
- gel food dye (I used TruColor hot pink, golden yellow, and purple)
Once you have all of your supplies and ingredients, the next step will be to bake the sugar cookies.
Step Two: Bake the Sugar Cookies
Our next step is to bake the sugar cookies. You can do this as far in advance as three months before the party or two days before the party. It’s important to have the cookies frosted for 24 hours before you need to bag them. If you are using TruColor dyes, wait at least 48 hours before bagging.
To bake the sugar cookies, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, in a medium sized mixing bowl, combine three cups of flour with two teaspoons of baking powder.
When measuring flour, use the scoop and level method.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream one cup of cold salted butter with one cup of granulated sugar. Once creamed, add in one tablespoon of vanilla extract and one egg (or 1/4 cup yogurt if egg free). Mix until combined.
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients from the medium sized mixing bowl. You will know the dough is ready when it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Roll the dough onto a floured surface or a piece of parchment paper to 3/8″ thick. I love to use my Joseph Joseph rolling pin because I can set it to roll at exactly 3/8″ thick. If you don’t have an adjustable roller, aim for 3/8″ or even a half inch.
Cut out cookies using the mini cookie cutter and place onto a lined baking sheet. You can line with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Next, FREEZE THE COOKIES FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. You want the cookies to keep their cutout shape while you push the cookie sticks about 2/3 of the way into the cookies. If you break the cookies while pushing in the sticks, wait for the cookies to soften a bit and maneuver the dough around the stick.
Once your cookie sticks are in the cookies, place the baking sheet into the oven for about 10 minutes. The edges of the cookies will be slightly golden and the top will be slightly puffy and no longer appear wet.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before moving to step three, frosting the cookies.
If some of the cookies appear cracked but aren’t fully broken, don’t worry, the buttercream frosting will help secure everything together.
Step Three: Make the Buttercream Frosting & Frost the Valentine Cookie Pops
You will need one cup of room temperature unsalted butter so allow your butter to come to room temperature.
Once at room temperature, add the butter to the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium to high speed until light and fluffy, a few minutes.
Add in four cups of powdered sugar, one tablespoon of vanilla extract, and two tablespoons of milk. Cover the stand mixer with a paper towel to prevent a mess and mix on LOW speed until combined. Mixing any higher than low speed will incorporate air bubbles.
Add in the gel food dye. DO NOT USE LIQUID DYE. I repeat, do not use liquid dye. Liquid dye will not be strong enough for thick buttercream frosting.
Here is my favorite gel food dye brand. Here is my favorite artificial free brand (I use the powders).
Add the colored buttercream frosting to a piping bag with couplers.
Attach the tip #5 to one of the icing bags to outline and fill in the cookie. Then, use a knife, palette knife, or angled flat spatula to smooth the frosting.
Remove the tip #5 and replace it with the tip #44 to pipe a ruffle edge.
Repeat with each color of frosting, making sure to rinse and dry the tips between color changes.
Allow the cookie pops to sit out at room temperature for 24-48 hours before packaging them. This allows the buttercream frosting to form a crust on the outer layer of frosting, protecting the design in the bag.
These Valentine cookie pops are just so fun. They hold up really well and it’s a nice change of pace from the candy and small toys often given in Valentine’s Day school parties.
Valentine Cookie Pops with Vanilla Buttercream
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with a Paddle Attachment
- Rubber Spatula
- Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Cookie Sheet with Silicone Baking Mat
- Rolling Pin
- Disposable Piping Bag
- Angled Flat Spatula & Decorating Tip optional
- Mini heart cookie cutter
Ingredients
Soft Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling scoop & level method
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup cold salted butter cut into cubes
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar confectioner's sugar
- 1-3 tbsp. milk whole milk is best
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- gel food dye optional
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- While you will make the cookies first, you will want to set the unsalted butter out so that it comes to room temperature. The unsalted butter will be used when preparing the buttercream.
Soft Sugar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the flour and baking powder. Stir the ingredients to combine them.
- In the stand mixer, cream the salted butter and sugar together until all of the butter lumps are gone.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
- Slowly add the flour and baking powder mixture into the wet ingredients until the dough forms a ball. If the ball is very sticky, add another tablespoon of flour.
- Roll the dough onto a floured surface and use the mini heart cookie cutter to cut out the cookies.
- Place cookies onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for 10 minutes. Once slightly frozen, insert the cookie sticks about 2/3 of the way into each cookie. You will want to twist the stick into the cookie to get them in. If you accidentally crack the cookies, wait until they soften more then manipulate the dough so that it covers the stick.
- Place six cut out cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes or until the center of the cookies do not appear wet.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Add the room temperature unsalted butter to the stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until lighter in color.
- Add the powdered sugar to the mixer, along with the vanilla extract and one tablespoon of milk.
- Place a clean towel over the stand mixer and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides if needed.
- If the frosting is thicker than a creamy peanut butter consistency, add in 1-2 more tablespoons of milk.
- Use the rubber spatula to mix in the gel food dye if you want colored buttercream.
Decorating the Buttercream Cookies
- See in the post above for ideas on how to decorate these Valentine cookie pops.
Save This Valentine Cookie Pop Recipe For Later
If you love these cookies on a stick for Valentine’s Day, make sure to save this tutorial for later. Simply use any of the social sharing icons at the top of the page or pin the image below.
