Just in time for Valentine's Day, add a special touch of fun to your home with these adorable little ladybug cookies!
Keep reading to learn how to make them quickly and easily.
Celebrate Valentine's Day with colorful and cute homemade ladybug Valentine cookies!
Not only are they easy and fun to make, but they also make a great gift for the special person in your life.
Gather the Necessary Ingredients.
Cookie Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 egg yolks (discard whites)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups 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 (you could also sub the food coloring and vanilla frosting for red candy melts)
- Candy eyes
- Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
- 1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon milk
How to make Love Bug Valentine Ladybug Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make your Valentine ladybug cookies you will first want to prepare the heart sugar cookies.
Add sugar and softened butter to a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to mix on medium speed until combined and looks fluffy and light.
Add your egg yolks and vanilla to the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds.
In a separate bowl, whisk your salt in with your flour. Start the mixer on low speed and gradually add in your flour increasing to medium speed, mixing until fully combined.
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 a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
Use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving at least 1” in between cookies.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 8-12 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown.
Allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the chocolate frosting.
Add butter to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted.
Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth.
Add the 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 the chocolate frosting to a sandwich bag and snip off a corner. Set aside.
Add the red food coloring to the vanilla frosting. Stir in additional food coloring until the desired color is achieved.
Transfer the frosting to a sandwich bag, snip off a corner 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 to create the ladybug's head.
Use the red vanilla frosting to pipe the ladybug wings.
Add two candy eyes to the chocolate frosted circle to create the ladybug face.
Place mini chocolate chips tip side down onto the wings.
Melt 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips in the microwave and transfer the melted chocolate to a sandwich bag.
Snip off a very small corner of the bag and pipe two small antennae onto the cookie to complete the ladybug valentine cookie
Repeat this process until all cookies are decorated. Enjoy!
Favorite Cookie Making Supplies
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Want to print or save these Ladybug Cookies recipe?
Valentine Ladybug Cookies
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 see additional ingredients
- 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
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make your Valentine ladybug cookies you will first want to prepare the heart sugar cookies.
- Add sugar and softened butter to a large mixing bowl and use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to mix on medium speed until combined and looks fluffy and light.
- Add your egg yolks and vanilla to the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk your salt in with your flour. Start the mixer on low speed and gradually add in your flour increasing to medium speed, mixing until fully combined.
- 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 a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies.
- Use a spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to an ungreased baking sheet, leaving at least 1” in between cookies.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 8-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to remain on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the chocolate frosting.
- Add butter to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted.
- Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth.
- Add the 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 the chocolate frosting to a sandwich bag and snip off a corner. Set aside.
- Add the red food coloring to the vanilla frosting. Stir in additional food coloring until the desired color is achieved.
- Transfer the frosting to a sandwich bag, snip off a corner, 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 red vanilla frosting to pipe the ladybug wings.
- Add two candy eyes to the chocolate-frosted circle to create the ladybug face.
- Place mini chocolate chips tip-side down onto the wings.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips in the microwave and transfer the melted chocolate to a sandwich bag.
- Snip off a very small corner of the bag and pipe two small antennae onto the cookie to complete the ladybug valentine cookie
- Repeat this process until all cookies are decorated.
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