Learn how to make a sugar cookie bouquet for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion. Bake the cookies, decorate as you'd like, then put in a vase or box as a gift!
Give the gift of a fun Sugar Cookie Bouquet!
I am so excited to make a Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookie Bouquet with you! This would be such a special gift for someone you care about.
You can make these to give as Valentine's Day gifts to your special someones. Or you can help the kids in your life make them as a gift to give to their special someones. They may want to give some to Nana too of course, don’t forget that!
You will use the cookies like "flowers" and they can be placed in a vase or in a rose box. Each of the cookies will be placed on a wooden skewer which will act like "stems".
Cookie Bouquet Recipe
I’m starting out by making a batch of my mother's sugar cookie dough recipe.
My heart is warmed when I see my eight-year-old printing on this recipe card. Look how I spelled sugar... SUGER! Don't worry, I do know how to spell sugar now.
My mother’s handwriting is also on the card, correcting some mistakes. I actually found this card in her recipe box. I hope she wasn't using it because there are still some measurement mistakes on it! Ha.
I am attaching the recipe below, and I find that it’s very similar to most sugar cookie recipes. You may have one already that you like well. It's fine to go ahead and use it of course.
I will tell you that we will be rolling these out quite thick so you may need a double recipe.
Mixing up the sugar cookie dough
Get out all of your ingredients and supplies. I went ahead and measured out the ingredients to have things ready to make the video. But doing that helps make sure that you have everything you need before starting the recipe.
This recipe actually cuts the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda) into the butter like you do for a pie crust. You can see that in the video.
You use a pastry blender for this purpose. If you don't have a pastry blender you can use two knives or forks for this step.
Many other recipes ask you to cream butter and sugar together first. Those recipes are good too.
Note: I use real butter. This recipe makes vanilla sugar cookies. It is possible to exchange the vanilla for almond flavoring for almond sugar cookies.
Then you add the liquid ingredients (eggs, vanilla extract, milk) and sugar to the mixture and stir those together to make a thick dough.
Chill the dough
Make the dough into a couple round disc shapes, cover them with saran wrap, and then put them in the refrigerator to chill before rolling them out. They should chill for a couple hours. Some people recommend chilling overnight.
Note: You can freeze cookie dough if it is put in an air tight container. Then you can easily have fresh baked cookies quickly when needed.
Memories of making sugar cookies
My mother was amazing at rolling out sugar cookies. She made hers so thin and they always came out nicely, not breaking very often.
It felt like we iced hundreds of sugar cookies at Christmas time. I thought it was fun for about the first 10 or so. :-). We frosted them with a solid color, made a small piping edge, and then added little decorative sprinkles and such.
On these cookies, I’m going to do a very simple icing with very little decoration. I do plan to use some sprinkles...like, of course.
If you would like to follow along making these sugar cookies step by step there is a full length tutorial video on YouTube at this link: YouTube How to Make a Sugar Cookie Bouquet for Valentine's Day.
Rolling out the cookie dough
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees to be ready to bake cookies.
Sprinkle a clean flat surface with some flour and put the first cookie dough disc down on the flour. Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the disk as well.
Use a rolling pin to roll the first disc of cookie dough out to about a half inch thick. I rub the rolling pin with a bit of the flour so it doesn't stick to the dough.
Using heart cookie cutters
I have this set of Wilton heart cookie cutters that are in graduated sizes from large to small. I love the way they nest together. It's easy to make a variety of heart sizes of course.
Cut out some larger heart cookies (I didn't use the very largest sizes as I thought they would get too heavy). These will be the main cookies in the sugar cookie bouquet. You can cut other sizes as well for variety.
Use some of the dough that is left to cut out a few leaf shapes for the bouquet. This is just done with a knife, I didn't have a cookie cutter for this.
Place them on an un-greased cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.
Inserting the skewer "stems"
I'm going to experiment with a couple different ways to insert the bamboo skewers into these thicker cookies to test which way I prefer.
- First, I’m going to bake a couple cookies with the skewers inserted into them from the bottom, going into the center of each cookie
- Second, I’m going to try inserting the skewers when the cookies come out of the oven and are still warm.
Go ahead and stick the bamboo skewers up into the bottom of the cookies. Be careful to twist them gently and not distort the shape of the cookie as you do so.
Some people prefer a cookie stick instead of a bamboo skewer. I like the long skewer (about 12-inches long) because they can be cut to different lengths when making the bouquet.
Note: FYI. I liked the option of putting the skewer into the cookie before baking them the best. That is the way I will do this in the future.
Bake cookies
Go ahead and bake these cookies until golden Brown, about 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. We’re baking these at 350°.
Be careful not to overcook them. I really appreciate using an insulated cookie sheet for this purpose as it helps prevent overcooking or burning the cookies.
When the cookies come out of the oven I inserted skewers into the ones that didn't already have skewers baked into the cookie.
Just gently poke and twist the skewer up into the center of the cookie at least half of the way through. None of my cookies broke.
Note: Although this worked, the cookies tended to spin on the skewers. So I am glad I tried it but prefer baking the skewer into the cookie as noted above.
Roll out more cookies
Use a rolling pin to roll the second cookie dough disc out to about a quarter inch thick.
We’re going to use our heart-shaped cookie cutters and cut out a variety of hearts.
On some of the larger cookies cut out small hearts in the center of the cookie, so that the counter will show through. I call these peek-a-boo hearts.
We’re going to use these cookies to stack on top the thicker cookies using frosting to hold them in place. So a variety of sizes is good.
Carefully place the cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet about 2-inches apart.
Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes.
Frosting the sugar cookies
After the cookies are cooled the real fun begins!!
I would love to make a buttercream recipe for icing, which is my favorite, but it just stays too soft. So I will compromise and just add a little bit of butter to a simple powdered sugar frosting recipe. The recipe is found below.
That reminds me of Julia Childs because she says everything’s better with a little butter! I tend to agree with her.
Divide the frosting into a couple small bowls and add food coloring to tint to the colors you want. I chose pink and white frosting.
I think that many people use a royal icing recipe to decorate their sugar cookies. That frosting tends to dry hard, shiny, smooth, and not get damaged when packaged up. But it also takes more practice and some special equipment. That's why I do the simple option mentioned above.
I’m planning on having a half dozen larger Valentine’s Day cookies for my Bouquet. So I want to have six larger cookies on skewers for this.
Here are a few ways I frosted the cookies.
- Frost larger heart cookie in pink. Place white frosted peek-a-boo heart cookie on top making sure it is well attached. Use sprinkles over the top.
- Frost larger heart cookie in white. Place pink frosted small hearts on top making sure they are attached. Sprinkle pink sugar over the top.
- Frost larger heart cookie in white. Place pink frosted medium heart cookie on top. Sprinkle pink sugar on white frosting of large cookie.
- Frost larger heart cookie in pink. Place white frosted small hearts on top making sure they are attached. Use sprinkles on the small hearts.
- Any combo you can think of...have fun!!
Let the frosted cookies set for awhile to let the frosting firm up.
Covering the Sugar Cookies
I was planning on giving the cookies right away so I went straight on to the making the bouquet.
But if you can't deliver your bouquet gift right away you may consider covering them so they don't dry out as quickly.
If you want your cookies to be covered so they don't dry out for a couple days before you can give the gift, here is an idea.
Cut squares of plastic wrap. Place the plastic over the heart cookie, gather the wrap around the skewer, and secure it with a Ribbon in a pretty tie.
This can be a nice finishing touch to your cookies. The heart cookie could also be given individually, like a single rose, if it is wrapped this way.
Arrange your Sugar Cookie Bouquet
A rose box bouquet
What I wanted to try first was placing the flowers in a rose box surrounded by tissue paper.
I purchased a clear plastic rose box from the local florist. She didn't have the long white box option that I had in mind, but that's OK.
Place tissue paper inside the box and lay the cookies on the tissue paper, including a leaf stem or two as well. Clip some of the skewers so they are shorter and fit into the bottom part of the box. I clipped with a wire cutter pliers.
Wrap the tissue paper over the top, close up the box and you are ready to give them away!!
A vase bouquet
A second option is to arrange the flowers in a vase. This is what a person thinks of as a traditional "bouquet".
Set out the vase and place some tissue paper inside or some of the decorative marbles in the base to hold the stems.
Arrange the flowers and leaves in the vase as you would like them, clipping a few of the skewer "stems" as needed for a variety of heights.
Your Sugar Cookie Bouquet is ready to deliver! Its sure to bring a smile.
Other container options
Other containers you might consider are a mason jar, or a basket. Use some of the glass beads or a foam block in the bottom to hold the skewers upright.
The perfect cookie bouquet for special days!
With all the various shapes of cookie cutters, you could make a sugar cookie bouquet as a unique gift for any special occasion. Just make the cookies in the shapes appropriate for your event and make in the same way we did these heart cookies (cookie flowers, shamrocks, airplanes, etc.).
I was thinking about special occasions like Mother's Day, a new baby, birthday gift, graduation, a thank you gift, or an anniversary.
Some people prefer a cookie stick instead of a bamboo skewer. I like long skewers (about 12" long) because they can be cut to different lengths when making the bouquet.
If you want your cookies to be covered so they don't dry out for a couple days before you can give the gift, cover them in plastic wrap! Place a plastic wrap square over the heart cookie, gather the wrap around the skewer, and secure it with a ribbon in a pretty tie.
Cut your cookie dough in your desired shape (I used hearts), then insert a skewer. Bake, decorate, and use the cookies like "flowers" for a bouquet. They can be placed in a vase or in a rose box for a special gift!
More Valentine's Day ideas
If you would like more fun ideas for Valentine's Day, check out these posts:
- Plantable Seed Paper Valentine's
- Valentine's Day Candy Bar Card
- Sweet Valentine's Day Wreath
- Find the full list here...
Enjoy!
If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.
Come join the fun at https://welcometonanas.com
Supplies for a Sugar Cookie Bouquet
- A recipe of sugar cookie dough (ingredient list found in recipe below)
- Rolling pin
- Heart cookie cutters (or cutters in the shape you choose for other occasions)
- Bamboo skewers- 12 inch
- A recipe of frosting (ingredient list found in recipe below)
- Food coloring
- Frosting spreader (optional- can use a knife)
- Sprinkles (optional), pink sparkling sugar (optional)
- Plastic wrap (optional)
- Ribbon (optional)- gift wrapping ribbon would work too
- Long stem flower box (could buy from a florist) OR
- Flower vase- can pick up in a thrift store
- Tissue paper (if using the long stem flower box)
Sugar Cookie Bouquet Recipe for Valentine's Day
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Heart Cookie Cutters
- Long stem flower box (could buy from a florist) OR
- Flower vase- can pick up in a thrift store
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 Tablespoons milk
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- milk-add by the Tablespoon, just enough to make creamy
- Food coloring
- Bamboo skewers- 12 inch
- Sprinkles (optional), pink sparkling sugar (optional)
Instructions
Mix up and bake the cookie dough
- Cut butter into the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda)
- Beat two eggs, add sugar, vanilla, milk and add to first mixture.
- Make dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees to be ready to bake cookies.Sprinkle a clean flat surface with some flour and put the first cookie dough disc down on the flour. Sprinkle a little flour over the top of the disk as well.Use a rolling pin to roll the first disc of cookie dough out to about a half inch thick. I rub the rolling pin with a bit of the flour so it doesn't stick to the dough.
- I have this set of Wilton heart cookie cutters that are in graduated sizes from large to small. I love the way they nest together. It's easy to make a variety of heart sizes of course. Cut out some larger heart cookies (I didn't use the very largest sizes as I thought they would get too heavy). These will be the main cookies in the sugar cookie bouquet. You can cut other sizes as well for variety.Use some of the dough that is left to cut out a few leaf shapes for the bouquet. This is just done with a knife, I didn't have a cookie cutter for this.Place them on an un-greased cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.
- Stick the bamboo skewers up into the bottom of the cookies. Be careful to twist them gently and not distort the shape of the cookie as you do so.
- Go ahead and bake these cookies until golden Brown, about 10-12 minutes depending on your oven. We’re baking these at 350°.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the second cookie dough disc out to about a quarter inch thick.We’re going to use our heart-shaped cookie cutters and cut out a variety of hearts. On some of the larger cookies cut out small hearts in the center of the cookie, so that the counter will show through. I call these peek-a-boo hearts.We’re going to use these cookies to stack on top the thicker cookies using frosting to hold them in place. So a variety of sizes is good.Carefully place the cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet about 2-inches apart.Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes. Let them cool.
Mix up the icing and ice the cookies
- Melt the butter in a small bowl and add into the powdered sugar. Only add enough milk to make the frosting creamy. Divide the frosting into a couple small bowls and add food coloring to tint to the colors you want. I chose pink and white frosting. This was enough frosting to decorate 6 cookies for the bouquet.
- Frost a thicker cookie. Frost the thinner cookies and attach to the thicker cookie as decorations. Add sprinkles or decorator sugar.
Arrange the cookie bouquet
- What I wanted to try first was placing the flowers in a rose box surrounded by tissue paper. I purchased a clear plastic rose box from the local florist. She didn't have the long white box option that I had in mind, but that's OK.Place tissue paper inside the box and lay the cookies on the tissue paper, including a leaf stem or two as well. Clip some of the skewers so they are shorter and fit into the bottom part of the box. I clipped with a wire cutter pliers.Wrap the tissue paper over the top, close up the box and you are ready to give them away!!
- OR...A second option is to arrange the flowers in a vase. This is what a person thinks of as a traditional "bouquet". Set out the vase and place some tissue paper inside or some of the decorative marbles in the base to hold the stems. Arrange the flowers and leaves in the vase as you would like them, clipping a few of the skewer "stems" as needed for a variety of heights. Your Sugar Cookie Bouquet is ready to deliver! Its sure to bring a smile.
Shelly says
This makes a cool gift!