A beautiful icebox Valentine’s Checkerboard Cookie that is simple to make. Buttery shortbread tinted with red food coloring and cut into a checkerboard pattern before baking. These checkerboard cookies are easy to customize by changing the color for a baby shower, 4th of July celebration, or any party where you want a festive cookie.
Ah Valentine’s Day – the day of love. I can hardly believe it’s upon us but it’s only 3 weeks until the husbands and boyfriends start scrambling for ideas on what to buy that special person in their lives. Jewelry, flowers, candy, cards and balloons will all be flying off the shelves and maybe the occasional kitchen appliance, in red of course.
I’m not too picky when it comes to holidays like this. We usually have dinner in and enjoy each others company, rather than feeling like we need to make a rezi at the best place in town. Of course, a surprise of flowers is always appreciated, but not expected. I guess my hubs is lucky in that respect.
Make something sweet for your honey this Valentine’s Day, like these super easy checkerboard refrigerator cookies. They are soft and incredibly addicting. As a matter of fact, they are calling for me now.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Granulated sugar
- Pure vanilla extract
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
- Red food coloring, such as AmeriColor Gel Paste
Valentine’s Checkerboard Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, 2 sticks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, sifted
- ¼ tsp red food coloring, such as AmeriColor Gel Food Coloring
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, scraping down sides of bowl.
- Turn dough out onto a clean work surface; it will be loose and crumbly. Knead dough until it begins to hold together, about 1 to 2 minutes. Divide dough in half. Add the food coloring to one of the halves and knead until fully incorporated.
- Divide each dough into 2, to make 4 balls of dough (2 of each color). Using your hands and a ruler, roll out one dough ball into a 11 inch rope and flatten each side with a bench scraper to make a long square shape. Repeat with remaining 3 balls of dough and alternate and stack to make a 4 square checkered dough, press gently to adhere them together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes, or freeze 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper. Slice each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on baking sheet. Bake until done, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven, and let cookies cool 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
these are really cute! I am so happy I found your blog. my husband and I are farmers. We live just south of you in Oregon. I love the Northwest! Your blog is amazing!
You know what Heather I never attempted a checkered cookie before though I always wished to. Yours came out gorgeous. What a treat for Valentine’s Day. Chances are if I bake them they would come out al warped! 🙂
You could totally do it Shulie. It’s easier than you think. 🙂
These are absolutley darling!
I love these! Simple but eye catching for sure!
thank you Katrina. The bad thing…they are little cookies, which ultimately means you grab several instead of one. Yep, they’re gone. 😉 Thanks for commenting darlin! xo
Such a fun and festive cookie! 🙂
Aren’t these the cutest things for Valentine’s Day!
Wow! These look amazing!
These are so adorable! I need to try this technique someday.
Such pretty cookies! Love them. I always prefer a plant that will last longer than a week – orchid please!!! 🙂
These are pretty darn perfect! I love the color combo. No doubt I will join the scrambling masses of men at the florist 😉