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Learn how to make sugar cookies that look just like Conversation Hearts, in this Conversation Hearts Tutorial.

Table of Contents

Heart-shaped sugar cookies are decorated in bright colors to look like the candy, Conversation Hearts. It’s the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day.

These Conversation Heart inspired sugar cookies are perfect for snacks, treats on Valentine’s Day, giving as a gift, handing out at your child’s school, and parties.

Everyone will love biting into these fun sugar cookies.

You will learn how to troubleshoot royal icing problems so you can create the perfectly decorated sugar cookie.

This tutorial will provide step-by-step directions for how to frost sugar cookies to look exactly like conversation hearts.

In less than an hour, you’ll have soft, chewy, brightly colored conversation heart sugar cookies ready to enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES

Heart-shaped sugar cookies are decorated as conversation hearts for a fun snack the whole family will enjoy!

Are you ready to get started?

You’ll find the specific ingredient amounts and detailed instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of this post.

KITCHEN TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

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Measuring Spoons – I LOVE my set of these
Cooling Rack
Wilton Edible markers
Food Piping Bags
Scissors
Toothpick or skewer

This fun Conversation Heart Cookie recipe uses easy to find ingredients to create a delicious snack your family will love.

I recommend purchasing already made royal icing since the homemade versions can be inconsistent.

All you need is:

plain heart-shaped sugar cookies
royal icing
variety of gel food colors

Take your pre-made royal icing and in separate bowls, color it as many colors as you would like, we chose pink, orange, green, blue, and yellow.

To achieve a pastel color, you will need to add white gel food coloring to the base color.

Fill each of the piping bags with their respective colors and seal off the open end.

Cut the tip slightly and test how the icing flows out of the bag.

Remember to cut a small hole in the tip first, then gradually make it larger. If you cut too much off at once, you will have to create a new bag.

Once you have a flow of icing that does not hurt your hands and is easily managed, outline the cookie with icing.

With a little more pressure add icing to the center of the cookie.

Use a toothpick or skewer to move the icing around on the cookie.

Once you are done icing the base of the cookie, the drying time can take anywhere from 2-6 hours, depending on your weather.

If you live in a moisture-rich area, allow for a longer drying time. If it is raining, allow for an extended drying period.

After the icing has dried, Use the Pink Wilton Food Writers to write your love notes onto the cookies.

The pink is the closest to mimicking the actual Conversation Heart cookies, but any color writer will work.

Edible food markers will dry out faster than a regular marker so please keep the tops on when not in use.

In less than an hour, you’ll have a colorful Conversation Heart sugar cookie that’s sure to become a new favorite!

If you’ve never decorated sugar cookies, don’t worry! Below are some common questions and helpful tips.

Hopefully, this will answer any questions you may have.

If not, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll answer the best I can.

HOW LONG DOES IT REALLY TAKE TO MAKE CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES?

This Conversation Heart Cookie recipe takes approximately 6 hours and 50 minutes. TOTAL.

This includes:

About 5 minutes of prep time
Close to 10 minutes to color the royal icing multiple colors and pour into piping bags
Around 20 minutes to ice the cookies with the base color
6 hours potentially to completely dry the icing
15 minutes to write love notes on the cookies

HOW DO I STORE CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES?

You can store Conversation Heart Cookies in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks or in your freezer for up to 3 months.

Simply unthaw frozen cookies on a plate at room temperature.

CAN I MAKE CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes, you can easily make Conversation Heart Cookies the day before serving. Simply store in an airtight container in a cool place.

You can also store the cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months and unthaw the cookies on a plate at room temperature.

You’ll have cute decorated heart cookies ready for the family.

WHAT GOES WELL WITH CONVERSATION HEART COOKIES?

Conversation Heart Cookies go well with a wide variety of snacks and drinks. These recipes would be great to serve together.

Some of my personal favorites include:

GEL FOOD COLORING VS LIQUID FOOD COLORING?

Water based or liquid food coloring will change the consistency of your icing when working with them.

As an industry standard when working on decorated cookies, gel or powder colors are preferred.

To get a pastel color for your sugar cookie, you will need to dye the icing a base color, for example green, then add white gel food coloring to lighten it up to get the pastel color of green.

HOW DO I AVOID MY ROYAL ICING DRYING HARD?

Royal icing dries hard when uncovered. During the non-mixing moments and coloring you should keep a wet paper towel over the royal icing until it is inside of the piping bag.

Royal Icing should not be too stiff, nor too loose.

Make sure you follow the directions on the royal icing mix and do an icing consistency test:

To test your royal icing:

Slide the spoon down the center of the bowl, touching the bottom.

Count how long it takes the line to disappear from the icing.

You want it to take 13-15 seconds. If the icing closes immediately your icing is too loose and will run off the cookie.

If the icing is too loose, add more of the stiff royal icing or add SIFTED powdered sugar to thicken it up.

The powdered or icing sugar must be sifted to minimize the risk of clumps in the icing coming out of the piping bags.

HOW DO I FILL MY PIPING BAGS WITH ROYAL ICING EASILY AND QUICKLY?

You can easily fill your piping bags with royal icing easily and quickly by using a tall cup.

Start by placing the piping bag inside of the cup, making sure you flatten the tip of the bag downward on the cup.

Scoop or pour the icing into the bag making sure not to get icing on the overhang of the piping bag on the outside of the cup.

Lift the side of the cup straight up, press out any air and tie the bags in a knot, with bag ties, or seal them with a rubber band or something similar, to keep the icing from coming out the incorrect end of the bag.

To get your royal icing to dry puffy instead of flat on your sugar cookie, you need to place newly flooded cookies on a baking sheet to dry.

HOW CAN I SPEED UP THE DRYING PROCESS OF ROYAL ICING?

To speed up the drying process of royal icing, simply place the cookies in front of a fan to speed up the drying process.

You can also use a dehydrator.

Turn the dehydrator on the lowest temperature setting and place the cookies inside the dehydrator for 30 mins, then in front of a fan for an additional 2-3 hours.

Icing will be hard to the touch when cookies are ready for the next step.

This simple Conversation Heart Cookie recipe not only tastes great, but it’s also incredibly versatile.

Try turning these into sandwich cookies and using cream cheese icing between the two layers.

I recommend trying this cream cheese icing. YUM!

Yield: 20 Cookies

CONVERSATION HEART COOKIE

Learn how to make sugar cookies that look just like Conversation Hearts, in this Conversation Hearts Tutorial. Heart-shaped sugar cookies are decorated in bright colors to look like the candy, Conversation Hearts. It’s the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day.

Prep Time 6 hours 50 minutes

Total Time 6 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

20 plain heart-shaped sugar cookies
royal icing
variety of gel food colors

Instructions

Color royal icing as many colors as you would like, we chose pink, orange, green, blue, and yellow. Remember to lighten up the color to a pastel, you will need to add white gel food coloring.
Fill each of the piping bags with their respective colors and seal off the open end.
Cut the tip slightly and test how the icing flows out of the bag. Remember to cut a small hole in the tip first, then gradually make it larger. If you cut too much off at once, you will have to create a new bag. Once you have a flow of icing that does not hurt your hands and is easily managed, outline the cookie with icing.
With a little more pressure add icing to the center of the cookie. Use a toothpick or skewer to move the icing around on the cookie.

Tip: You want the icing to be puffy and not flat on the cookie.

Place newly flooded cookies on a baking sheet to dry.

Tip: Place the cookies in front of a fan to speed up the drying process.

Tip: If you own a dehydrator, place it on the lowest temperature setting and place the cookies inside the dehydrator for 30 mins, then in front of a fan for an additional 2-3 hours.

Icing will be hard to the touch when cookies are ready for the next step. The drying time can take anywhere from 2-6 hours, depending on your weather. If you live in a moisture-rich area, allow for a longer drying time. If it is raining, allow for an extended drying period.

After the icing has dried:

Use the Pink Wilton Food Writers to write your love notes onto the cookies. The pink is the closest to mimicking the actual Conversation Heart cookies, but any color writer will work. Edible food markers will dry out faster than a regular marker so please keep the tops on when not in use.

Notes

Things to note before starting:

To get a pastel color you will have to dye the icing the base color, then add white to lighten it up.

Gel Vs Liquid Food Coloring:

Water-based or liquid food coloring will change the consistency of your icing when working with them.

As an industry standard when working on decorated cookies, gel or powder colors are preferred.

Royal Icing Guidelines:

Royal icing dries hard when uncovered. During the non-mixing moments and coloring, you should keep a wet paper towel over the royal icing until it is inside of the piping bag.

Royal Icing should not be too stiff, nor too loose.

Make sure you follow the directions on the royal icing mix and do an icing consistency test:

To test your royal icing:

Slide the spoon down the center of the bowl, touching the bottom. Count how long it takes the line to disappear from the icing. You want it to take 13-15 seconds. If the icing closes immediately your icing is too loose and will run off the cookie.

If the icing is too loose, add more of the stiff royal icing or add SIFTED powdered sugar to thicken it up.

The powdered or icing sugar must be sifted to minimize the risk of clumps in the icing coming out of the piping bags.

How to easily and quickly fill your piping bags:

Using a tall cup, place the piping bag inside of the cup, making sure you flatten the tip of the bag downward on the cup.

Scoop or pour the icing into the bag making sure not to get icing on the overhang of the piping bag on the outside of the cup.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

WHAT’S NEXT

I hope you enjoy this heart cookie recipe as much as my family does!

If you get a chance to try it, let us know! Leave us a comment below, or share it with a picture on Instagram or Facebook! Don’t forget to tag us @kelly_reci_ and use the hashtag #Kellysthoughtsonthings so we can see what amazing meals you are cooking up!