These Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies are thin, soft and chewyeggless chocolate chip cookies with a nice crunch from the heart sprinkles! They're super easy to make and only require 30 minutes of chill time! These heart cookies are the perfect sweet treats for Valentine's Day or even Mother's Day! If that wasn't enough, they're also gluten free, nut free and can easily be made vegan!
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer, beat the ½ cup room temperature butter or vegan baking stick and the 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar until soft and creamy. About 2 minutes.
Slowly beat in the cornstarch water, the ¼ cup milk and the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract until fully combined. It will appear chunky. That’s normal.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly beat in the gluten free flour mixture a little at a time until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and combine again.
First, fold in ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon chocolate chips using a spatula.Once combined, fold in 3 tablespoons of the Valentine's Day sprinkles.
The dough will be very sticky. Add it to a freezer safe bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap and pop the entire bowl of dough in the freezer for 30 min. When the dough is almost done chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
For the cookies, use a small cookie scoop or a teaspoon to scoop the dough, roll into tiny balls and place onto the parchment lined baking sheet. There should be 30 dough balls.The cookie dough will be quite sticky and may stick to your hands if they're warm. If this happens, rinse your hands and then shake off any excess water. You want them slightly wet but not dripping wet. This will help prevent the dough from sticking. You can also wash the cookie scoop half way through to get off any stuck on dough.
Flatten each dough ball into a thick disc versus a ball. Now use your pointer finger to make a dent at the top of the disc and shape the disc into a heart. It doesn't have to be perfect; we will reshape again once the cookies come out of the oven.
Combine the additional 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of sprinkles into a small bowl. Press one side of the heart shaped dough discs into the festive mixture and place back on the baking sheet.
Place heart dough discs about 3-4 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-10 minutes. Store extra heart dough discs in the freezer while the rest are baking. I bake no more than 12 at a time.
Immediately reshape the cookies when they come out of the oven by using a spatula to push them into a tighter heart shape and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack. If you don't do this, the cookies will break apart into a giant mess.If you prefer, you can use a heart shape cookie cutter to tighten up the heart shape after they come out of the oven.
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Notes
Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, a non dairy milk and vegan chocolate chips and sprinkles. All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1 ¾ cup packed cups of flour (294 grams) and 2 tablespoons of milk. Still chill the dough. Storing: Keep extra cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Warm in microwave a few seconds before serving if you want them warm and gooey. Be careful not to burn your mouth.Freezing: To freeze already baked cookies, place cookies (not stacked) on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer uncovered. Freeze for 10 minutes or until the cookies are completely frozen. Once frozen, you can store them stacked in a freezer safe airtight container or zip top bag in the freezer for up to 1 month. To defrost, take the container out and leave at room temperature until soft. Warm in microwave a few seconds before serving if you want them warm and gooey. Be careful not to burn your mouth.