Food and Recipes Recipes Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies 5.0 (1) Say how you really feel—and if you can't find the words, say it with a cookie. This Valentine's Day, we've ditched the standard "I Love You" and "Be Mine" messages for something with a bit more personality: we've taken classic conversation hearts and done them up in full Southern style. We've rounded up some of our favorite Southern ways to express our love and written them on these cute miniature cookies. This Valentine's Day, you can tell your loved one that he's "Hotter Than Texas" or a total "Darlin'." The set wouldn't be complete without one of our all-time favorite Southern sayings: "Bless Your Heart." This list will give you some inspiration for conversation heart maxims, but feel free to get creative and come up with your own signature sayings. While we'd never give up on the classic conversation heart candies, these cookies are just as sweet (and are less likely to give you a cavity). The simple, streamlined design makes these cookies perfect for any beginner decorators looking to try their hands at piping. Pair these conversation heart cookies with our Marbled Heart Cookies and you've got a dynamite, cute-as-can-be set to gift to teachers, neighbors, friends, or family. So this Valentine's Day, spread the love to your "Sweet Lil' Thang" with these conversation heart cookies. By Zoe Denenberg Zoe Denenberg As a professional baker, Zoe Denenberg has spent the past two years traveling across the country—from Alabama to Hawai'i—working in farm-focused pastry kitchens. She has written about food, travel, and culture for Southern Living since 2019. See more of Zoe's work at https://zoedenenberg.wixsite.com/portfolio and follow her on Instagram. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on February 13, 2020 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Zoe Denenberg; Prop Styling: Grant Gaar Ingredients Easy Sugar Cookies Royal Icing Heart-shaped cookie cutter 7 tipless piping bags Pink, red, and purple food coloring Directions Make Easy Sugar Cookies, cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter. Make piping-consistency Royal Icing. Load a piping bag with piping-consistency white icing; snip the tip of the piping bag to create a very small opening, approx. 1/8 inch. In 3 separate small bowls, mix a pink icing, a red icing, and a purple icing. Load each icing into its own piping bag; snip the tips to create small openings, approx. 1/8 inch. Add water a tablespoon at a time to remaining bowls of icing until reaching flood consistency; load each flood-consistency icing into its own piping bag, snipping the tips to create small openings, approx. 1/4 inch. Outline the perimeter of cookie with piping-consistency icing; flood with the flood-consistency icing of the same color. Let dry for 2-3 hours. Using white piping-consistency icing, pipe your chosen message onto the cookie. Pipe small hearts around the border of the cookie, if desired. Let dry for 1-2 hours. Print