These heart shaped chocolate chip cookies have crispy edges, soft and gooey middles, and come together in one bowl without an electric mixer! They’re so easy to make and have the best texture. They’re the perfect cookies to bake for loved one(s), a crush, and/or for Valentine’s Day.
This giant heart shaped cookie and these toffee cookies are also the perfect to bake for your loved ones.
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🍪 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Texture: They have the ultimate, addictive chocolate chip cookie texture. Crispy edges and soft and chewy middles. With lots of gooey chocolate chips!
- Easy: This recipe uses melted butter which makes it so much easier to make. You can just use a wire whisk to bring the dough together - no electric mixer needed.
- Chocolate: They’re packed with mini chocolate chips and milk chocolate hearts for the best chocolate distribution and flavor.
- Heart shaped: The dough is shaped into hearts which makes for the cutest cookies ever.
Check out these small batch chocolate chip cookies if you're looking for less cookies to make. Although, these ones won't last long either.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Butter: Use a good quality unsalted butter for best results. Melt it in a saucepan or in the microwave. I don't recommend using salted butter because it has a higher water content.
- Egg: You need one large egg to bring it all together.
- Chocolate hearts + chips: I use a mix of semisweet mini chocolate chips and milk chocolate hearts to get lots of chocolate flavor without being overly sweet. Mini chocolate chips give the best chocolate distribution!
- All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
👩🍳 How to make heart shaped chocolate chip cookies
Step 1: Combine melted and cooled butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined.
Step 2: Add vanilla and egg. Whisk until thickened and lightened in color.
Step 3: Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Reserve a few tablespoons of milk chocolate hearts and chocolate chips, and add the rest into the bowl.
Step 4: Fold with a spatula just until you stop seeing dry streaks of flour. Don't overmix the cookie dough.
Step 5: Scoop the dough into 14 large balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Shape each ball into a flat heart with your fingers. Exaggerate each heart making them long and narrow - they will spread in the oven. Press reserved chocolate chips onto the tops.
Chill the shaped hearts in the fridge for 1 hour or in the freezer for 25 minutes. You can chill them for longer in the fridge (up to 48 hours).
Step 6: Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Arrange heart shaped cookies on parchment lined baking sheet with plenty of space between each cookie. They will spread a bit!
Bake for 7-9 minutes or just until the edges become golden brown and the middle is puffed. The middle will still be under baked - that’s what you want.
Expert Cookie Tips:
- Let the cookies cool on the baking pan for a minute before transferring onto a cooling rack. The cookies taste best slightly warm. You can gently reheat any leftovers!
- Chilling the cookie dough is essential in getting the perfect cookie texture and making sure they don't spread out too much.
✔️Make ahead and storage
The baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.
Make ahead: Make, scoop, and shape the cookie dough a day or two ahead and keep in the fridge.
Freeze cookie dough: Chill the shaped cookie dough on a parchment lined baking tray. Once they are firm, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Add a few more minutes to the cooking time and bake from frozen.
If you couldn't be bother to shape the hearts, check out this giant Valentine's heart cookie.
❔ How to get cookies with wrinkly tops
The key is to whisk the butter, sugar, and egg mixture until it becomes thick and starts to lighten in color. This takes about 45 seconds of whisking by hand. This helps emulsify the mixture and adds in tiny air bubbles.
❔ Why these are the easiest cookies to make
This cookie dough base is my go to every time. The melted butter makes perfectly crisp edges and a soft and gooey middle.
The perks of using melted butter and not softened butter is that you really don’t need a mixer! It combines easily and quickly with a wire whisk by hand.
These marshmallow cookies and lemon white chocolate cookies use the same method to give the best texture and look.
Freezing the cookie dough
Once you shape the cookie dough into hearts, refrigerate them for 30-60 minutes so they firm up. Then you can transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to three months.
Bake the cookies from frozen, just add 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
📖 Recipe FAQs
You sure can! Just skip shaping the cookies into hearts and bake round cookie dough balls.
Chill the shaped cookie dough on a parchment lined baking tray. Once they are firm, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Add a few more minutes to the cooking time and bake from frozen.
I recommend using this giant Valentine's heart shaped cookie recipe if you want to make a large version.
❤️ More related recipes
Check out even more Valentine's Day recipes here.
Did you make this recipe? I would love for you to rate this recipe and hear what you think in the comments below! Share your creation on Instagram and tag @flouringkitchen. Follow me on Pinterest to save and for more recipe ideas.
📖 Recipe
Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (300g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips or milk chocolate hearts
- ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined.1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Add vanilla and egg. Whisk until thickened and lightened in color.1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Sift flour and baking soda right into the same bowl. Reserve a few tablespoons of milk chocolate hearts and chocolate chips, and add the rest into the bowl. Fold with a spatula just until you stop seeing dry streaks of flour.2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ cup milk chocolate chips, ½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- Scoop the dough into 14 large balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Shape each ball into a flat heart with your fingers. Exaggerate each heart making them long and narrow - they will spread in the oven. Press reserved chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies.
- Chill the shaped hearts in the fridge for 1 hour or in the freezer for 25 minutes. You can chill them for longer in the fridge (up to 48 hours).
- Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Arrange heart shaped cookies on parchment lined baking sheet with plenty of space between each cookie. They will spread! Bake for 7-9 minutes or just until the edges become slightly golden. The middle will still be a touch underbaked - they will continue to bake as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking pan for a minute before transferring onto a cooling rack. The cookies taste best slightly warm. You can gently reheat any leftovers!
Tracy
Can you make them without butter?
Mary
Hi! You can try using plant based butter but I haven't tested any options other than regular butter. Try making a butter free cookie recipe (using a recipe meant for this) and shaping them into hearts using my instructions, and see how that goes!
Maryse
Delicious cookies and very easy to make. I added peanut butter and peanuts to my cookies. The melted butter was a great approach.
Mary
Thank you, so happy you loved them!
Kelli
Hi, I was wondering what kind of chocolate hearts did you use?
Mary
Hi, I found milk chocolate heart chips at the grocery store in Canada, but you can also top them with milk chocolate heart chocolates (like dove brand). They'll just be a bit bigger!
Roman
I loved this recipe. The texture of the cookies was great. Not too thin and not too thick and very soft middles. Loved that I didn't need an electric mixer.
Jenna
Do you have any recs for replacing egg? Aside from flax or bobs red mill egg replacer? Kid has egg allergy
Mary
Hi! You can try flax eggs for this recipe. I haven't tested the recipe with a flax egg but it should work! I've had people tell me this works with 1:1 gluten free flour but no one has made them eggless yet.