This Valentine’s Day I decided to continue trying out new holiday recipes. When thinking of Valentine’s Day, my two very first thoughts were of strawberries and sugar cookies, so of course, a combination of the two would be perfect. Luckily for me, I was able to find a recipe that was easy to make and delicious. Real strawberries are used rather than artificial flavors, a priority of mine when baking.

These soft and chewy strawberry cookies are easy to prepare and have a nice, even texture.  A sugar-coated crust adds the perfect finishing touch. A baking time of 10 minutes ensures your sugar cookie cravings will be satisfied quickly. Leftover batter can be rolled and saved for a future bake.

You will need:

1. 1 ½ cups white sugar
2. 1 cup softened butter
3. 1 egg
4. 3 tablespoons strawberry puree
5. 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7. ½ teaspoon baking powder
8. ½ teaspoon salt
9. ½ cup white sugar (separate, to coat cookies with)
10. 1 teaspoon of colored sugar (Optional)

How to make:

1. After preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, prepare a lined baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. To prepare the strawberry puree, wash and slice six large strawberries. Using a blender, puree until smooth. If you want to remove the seeds, pour the strawberry blend through a fine-mesh sieve using a spatula to press it through. Set aside for later use.
3. Beat 1 1/2 cups white sugar and butter together in a bowl using a handheld or tabletop mixer for about three minutes until the texture is creamy. Beat your egg, vanilla extract, and strawberry puree into the butter mixture.
4. Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt into the strawberry mixture with a spatula until completely incorporated. Be careful not to overmix, or the dough will be tough.
5. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of white sugar and colored sugar together in a shallow bowl. After rolling the dough into one inch balls, roll each ball in your sugar mixture. You can then place each ball about two inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Lightly press each dough ball down to flatten.
6. Bake cookies in the preheated oven for ten minutes. Allow about a minute or two to cool, and enjoy.

If you enjoyed this sugar cookie recipe, make sure to check out some other bakes by Junia Sonier on allrecipes.com. Want to make another yummy dessert? Check out my Chrismas Mug cake recipe. If you try it, make sure to let us know in the comments below. For more Feather photos, visit the Media page.

Slideshow images follow the steps of making the strawberry sugar cookie recipe.

Gallery • 10 Photos