Valentine's Day Cookie Recipes: 4 Easy Ways To Bake Treats For Your Sweetheart (Or Yourself)

There's no better way to celebrate your sweetheart than with a sweet treat. But you shouldn't break the bank trying to buy fruit arrangements or cookie bouquets. Just make them yourself.

If you have a little time on Tuesday, you can bake a unique valentine with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Your effort will do more than provide you with a delicious dessert for you to sample after your date — it will show your special someone you truly care.

Or, of course, you can always just eat all the dough yourself. We won't judge.

In either case, here are four cookie recipes to try for Valentine's Day:

Vanilla Shortbread Hearts from Woman's Day

Use an electric mixer to combine one cup of butter with 3/4 cup powdered sugar, then add two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Separately, mix together two cups of flour with a teaspoon of salt. Then pour the flour mixture into the powdered sugar mixture until just blended. Roll out and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Using two sizes of heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut out cookies and their centers. Refrigerate until firm, then cook for about 13 minutes at 300 degrees. Dust with powdered sugar and cool. Finally, spread jam on the bigger cookies to create small sandwiches.

Conversation Heart Cookies from Martha Stewart

Buy or make sugar cookies (from two cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a stick of butter, a cup of sugar, one egg and one teaspoon of vanilla). Roll out the dough and cut into heart shapes, then make a batch of royal icing (from two pounds of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup and two tablespoons of meringue powder and a cup of water).

Separate the icing into bowls and use gel food coloring to get them vibrant. Using a pastry bag, pipe an outline around each heart cookie and then fill it in with icing. Let dry, then stamp out cute messages to your valentine (like B MINE or BFF).

Red Velvet Cookies from Taste of Home

In one bowl, beat together one cup of shortening, one cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, three egg yolks and two teaspoons of red food coloring. Set aside. In another bowl, stir together four cups of flour, three tablespoons of cocoa, three teaspoons of baking powder and one teaspoon of salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet one, intermittently beating in a cup of buttermilk.

Beat the egg whites until they make peaks and fold into the dough. Add chocolate chips to your liking, then bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool while you make frosting (from 1 1/2 cups butter, 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt and three tablespoons of milk). Spread and serve.

Super-Sweet Cookie Cups with Strawberry Cream by Pillsbury

Grab premade dough from the store and form into cookie cups using a mini muffin tin. Bake for 11 minutes and let the cookies cool. In a bowl, mix together one container of frozen whipped topping (think Cool Whip) with one box of strawberry gelatin.

Pipe the whipped mixture into the cookie cups and drizzle chocolate sauce on top. Decorate with sprinkles and candy and impress your Valentine's Day date with your cooking prowess.