Are y’all ready for the easiest cookie recipe in the world? I don’t even know if you could call it a “recipe” because you don’t even use a recipe. It’s more like a cookie or baking hack. You can get beautifully iced sugar cookies with gorgeous designs and styles without the mess, cleanup and too much effort. Here is the secret to the easiest Valentine’s Day cookies ever!

Step ONE

Get all the ingredients:

• Premade sugar cookie dough

• Store-bought icing

• Sprinkles

• Food coloring (if you want to have more leeway with your designs and color options)

• Flour

Other things you’ll need:

• Cookie cutter

• Rolling pin

• Measuring cups

• Baking sheet

Step TWO

Prepare the cookies for baking.

Follow the instructions on the cookie dough package. That is what the flour is for. I also like to add some flour to my dough and the table, so my rolling pin doesn’t get stuck to it.

Cut out cookies with cookie cutters.

Place cut outs on baking sheet. Stick in oven for recommended time. Take out cookies. Allow cookies to dry before icing.

Step THREE

Decorate the cookies.

Take your store-bought icing and scoop it into a microwave safe bowl. Heat that bad boy up for 10 to 15 minutes (depends on the amount, your microwave, etc.) It should be runny but thick, like thick maple syrup. Ideally you would have a flat wide bowl to do this in, but if you’re like me and do not, I had to pour it in a plate that had a deeper center and high lip so the icing wouldn’t run off.

Here is where you can add some food coloring. I added one drop of red to my white icing and swirled a toothpick around it to “mix”. It doesn’t go on perfect, but it’s still pretty and marbled.

Place your cookie right on top of the icing and fully cover. Turn sideways really quickly and let the excess icing drip off.

Put cookie on a cooling rack or set aside to dry on a flat surface. Add sprinkles or food coloring gel as desired.

Step FOUR

Enjoy your beautiful, yummy cookies!!

What do y’all think? Do you think these cookies are super easy or what? I usually always shy away from making sugar cookies for any of the major holidays like Valentine’s Day and Christmas… I guess there are only two. I always thought they were a lot of work making them from scratch and then having to deal with icing them too. This is a way that I have found to still take part in that fun activity and yet don’t feel overwhelmed. We still get to have the tradition and they still taste amazing, but it’s so much less pressure on me with a grocery list, cleanup and multiple recipes (cookies & icing) and steps. Let me know if you’ve made cookies this way before, or are you a traditionalist and only make them from scratch. Happy Valentine’s Day!!