Rich and chocolatey Valentine Cookies with pink, red, and white M&M’s and chocolate chips. These small fudgey cookies make the perfect festive treat!
Best Valentine Cookies
I’ve been making these chocolate crinkle cookies for years, and they’re absolutely the best! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to make the holiday special for my kids, so I decided to whip up a batch.
But then I had an idea: what if I skipped the powdered sugar coating and pressed some Valentine’s-themed M&M’s inside and on top instead? The result? The same delicious, fudgy cookies that I, and my readers, love—now with a fun Valentine’s twist!
These are truly the best cookies and the perfect way to show someone just how much you love them!
Let’s Talk Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder is key in these chocolate cookies.
Use Dutch-process cocoa powder, not regular cocoa powder, as it adds more moisture and flavor. Regular cocoa powder can make the cookies dry and bland. Here’s the exact cocoa powder I use, plus a quick guide to the differences between cocoa powders.
How To Make Valentine Cookies
- Preheat: Make sure your oven is fully preheated for even baking.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Use Dutch-process cocoa powder for richer flavor.
- Cream butter and sugar: Room-temp butter mixes better and gives cookies a softer texture. Add eggs and vanilla.
- Combine wet and dry: Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies soft and fudgy.
- Chill: Chilling the dough helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Dough balls: Roll dough into balls and bake for 10-12 mins.
Baking Tips For Valentine Cookies
- Once the dough has chilled, scoop out dough balls using a 1-tbsp measure to keep them even in size. This helps them bake evenly.
- If the dough warms up, chill the balls on the pan for 10 mins before baking to prevent spreading.
- Press a few chocolate chips or M&M’s on top. This adds a fun touch and makes sure each bite has chocolate!
Quick Tip
The best way to get fudgy cookies? Under-bake them. 7-8 mins is perfect. Once the top isn’t glossy, remove them and let them firm up on the sheet pan.
Storage
Freezing And Storing Valentine Cookies
Valentine Cookies last about 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temp.
For longer storage, freeze the dough balls and bake them straight from frozen, adding a few extra mins to the bake time.
More Valentine’s Fun:
- Easy Valentine’s Gifts with free printables
- Easy Valentine’s Gifts Part 2 with free printables
- Four Easy Valentine’s Day Treats
- The Best Crème Brûlée
- Nutella Crepes with a recipe from France
Valentine Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream at room temperature
- 1 small drop almond extract optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder see note 1
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips see note 2
- 1/2 cup Valentine's M&M's plus some extra for topping the cookies
Instructions
- WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, cream the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (the mixture should resemble peanut butter). Beat in egg, sour cream, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
- DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl combine the flour, unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add in chocolate chips and Valentine's M&M's. Stir to combine.
- COMBINE: Combine wet and dry and mix until just combined, being careful to not over-mix. Cover the dough and chill for at least 30 minutes and preferably 1 hour.
- ROLL BALLS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large tray with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to measure exact cookie dough balls (each ball should be 1 tablespoon of dough; you should get around 45 cookies). Place on a prepared sheet pan; no more than 9 cookies per pan. Place the pan of cookies in the fridge for another 10 minutes.
- BAKE: Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until set (just until the top is no longer glossy; this is around 8 minutes for me). Be careful to not over-bake. A soft, very slightly underbaked cookie is the best for a delicious fudgy texture! Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them stand on cookie sheet for 5-7 minutes. If desired, press a few additional M&M's and/or chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies (makes them pretty). Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- STORAGE: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Cookies are best enjoyed within 2 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were so delicious!
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks Taylor! 🙂
These are the bomb! My grandson loved them.I’m making a batch for work too(if they make it that far!) Love all your recipes!
So happy to hear that!! Thanks so much Karen 🙂 <3
I am a 71 year old lady and I LOVE PINK. Everyone I am around long knows it too. HA!! Can’t halt. The color just makes me feel good.
My husband would love these chocolate cookies.
Haha! 🙂 It’s just a good color 🙂 Thanks so much Charlotte! <3
I love the color anything close to red, it’s just a cheery color (like you said) You are in my prayers! 🙂