Valentine's Day Frost-Your-Own-Cookie Bar

Heart-shaped sugar cookies on a tray next to pink sprinkles and white frosting in separate bowls

Created by: Amy Christie, this heart of mine

Sugar cookies are delicious, there is no doubt. A sugar cookie bar is a great reason to gather with family and friends and enjoy something sweet this Valentine’s Day. Whether you eat all the finished products or give them away, just enjoy and have fun! 

Things You'll Need: 

  • Heart-shaped cookie cutters
  • Frosting
  • Sprinkles
  • Small bowls
  • Knives or decorating bags and tips
  • Baking sheets and trays
  • Paper plates and clear wrap, small bags or treat boxes
  • Optional: ribbons, stickers, bows, tags

Cookies: 

For a cookie bar, the cookies are the obvious star. Sugar cookies are a traditional and delicious choice for Valentine’s Day, but consider thinking outside the box. Chocolate chip, chocolate or even gingerbread work as well, especially for other holidays. As for shapes, hearts are applicable for Valentine’s day, or go with circles or squares (or dinosaurs and bears for a kids’ theme). Work to have all the cookies baked and cooled before the gathering to reduce stress and prevent the frosting from melting off the hot cookies.

Frosting: 

The frosting options are endless: store-bought or homemade, vanilla or deep, dark chocolate. Choose a few of your favorite options (in various colors) to keep the workload down and avoid overwhelming your guests. A good rule of thumb is one to two choices for a small group, two to four choices for a larger gathering.

Sprinkles: 

Sprinkles are the glitter of the edible world. For little hands, whole bottles work best. For older children and adults, consider putting the sprinkles in small bowls for more accessibility.

Work station: 

The workstation should include cookies, frosting, sprinkles, knives, decorating bags and tips. Place the baked cookies on plates in the center of the table along with bowls of frosting and the sprinkles. Putting items in the center allows more people access from all sides. If using decorating bags and tips, depending on the size of the gathering, consider preparing more than one bag of frosting per color to keep the decorating going.

Collect cookie sheets and trays in a stack and have them ready to fill with the finished cookies. Use them to transport the cookies from the work station to the packing station.

Packing station: 

In a separate area, lay out packing options like paper plates and clear wrap, treat bags or boxes, ribbons, stickers and tags. Putting them in a different area prevents congestion and messy packages.