XOXO: Valentine's Day Cookie Decorating Guide for a Fun Night In (Besties or Date Night)

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Roll)

Make cookies, put on something cozy, and turn decorating into the activity:

• Bake a batch (or grab our go-to dough recipe)
• Use stamps for instant “wow” detail
• Set up a tiny topping bar (chocolate + sprinkles + frosting)
• Trade cookies like tiny edible valentines

What This Post Is (and Isn’t)

This is a Valentine’s night-in idea you can actually pull off. Not a class. Not a competition. Just a fun, low-pressure cookie decorating hang that’s perfect for Galentine’s, date night, or “we’re staying in and making something cute” energy.

If you want the cookie base we use for stamping + cutters, it’s here: Our go-to cookie dough recipe: Best Cookie Dough Recipe for Cookie Cutters

And if you want the decorating vibe we love (simple options, no stress), this post is the blueprint: Easiest Galentine’s Day Cookies

The Valentine’s Cookie Night Plan (No Overthinking Required)

Step 1: Pick the vibe

Choose one:

• Bestie night: music + gossip + sprinkles
• Date night: candles + “taste testing” (highly recommended)
• Family night: chaos + extra sprinkles + more chaos

Step 2: Pick your cookie shapes

Hearts are classic, but anything works with Valentine colors. If you want easy mode, stamps make the cookies look decorated before you even touch frosting.

Browse stamps here: Cookie Stamps

Holiday sets (Valentine options): Holiday Cookie Cutters

Step 3: Make it a “decorate-your-own” bar

Put everything in little bowls. Suddenly it’s an experience.

What You’ll Need

Cookies

• Sugar cookies (ours or yours)
• Hearts / lips / XO shapes (or whatever makes you smile)

Decorating bar basics

• Melted chocolate (white + pink/red if you want)
• Frosting/icing (store-bought counts!)
• Sprinkles (the more dramatic, the better)

Optional “instant cute” upgrade

• Cookie stamps (pressed detail = you did something special without doing something hard)

8 Fun Decorating Ideas (Mix, Match, and Make It Yours)

1) “Stamped & Done”

Stamp the cookies, bake, and leave them as-is. This is minimalist Valentine’s. Very chic. Very “I meant to do that.”

Related tip post: How to Use Cookie Cutters and Stamps Together

2) “Outline the Stamp”

Take frosting and lightly trace just a few stamped lines (like an XO or a heart). It looks detailed, but you’re really just following the grooves like a coloring book.

3) “Half-Dip Chocolate”

Dip half the cookie in white chocolate and add sprinkles before it sets. It’s basically the cookie version of dressing up.

4) “Drizzle Party”

Drizzle pink or white chocolate across the top in messy lines. No two cookies look the same. That’s the charm.

5) “Frosting Swipe + Sprinkles”

One swipe of frosting. A sprinkle shower. Done. This is the most fun-per-minute method.

6) “Two-Tone Hearts”

Split the cookie visually:

• one side pink
• one side white
• add sprinkles right down the middle like a little cookie tuxedo seam

7) “Message Cookies”

Write tiny phrases with frosting:

• XOXO
• LOVE YOU
• BESTIE
• UR CUTE
• BE MINE

Or go custom name plaques if you want cookies that feel like gifts: Request a Custom Shape | Custom Cookie Cutters

8) “The Cookie Charcuterie Board”

This is our favorite party move:

• stack cookies in the middle
• surround with chocolates, strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels
• add little bowls of sprinkles + icing

It becomes a dessert board and the activity.

Make It a Game (Optional, but Highly Recommended)

Pick one:

• Decorate a cookie for each other (no peeking)
• Swap cookies and write a note with each one
• Taste-test and vote on: most romantic, most chaotic, most likely to be framed

Winner gets… another cookie.

A Simple “Shopping List” for Your Night In

If you want to keep it easy:

• 1–2 cookie shapes
• 1 stamp (optional but fun)
• 2 chocolates (white + one color)
• 2 sprinkle mixes
• 1 frosting tube

That’s plenty for a full night of cookies that look like you tried.

Valentine Cookie Night In: Setup in 5 Steps

1. Bake cookies
2. Set out toppings (chocolate + frosting + sprinkles)
3. Pick 2–3 decorating styles
4. Decorate + trade cookies
5. Eat the evidence

Tip: Stamped cookies look “finished” even before decorating.

In the End…

Besties or date night, this is really just an excuse to spend time together and make something sweet and tasty.

Your cookies don’t have to be perfect. They just have to exist. And ideally be covered in sprinkles.

If you want easy shapes, fun stamps, or a custom name plaque for your cookie crew:

• Cookie Stamps
• Holiday Cookie Cutters
• Request a Custom Shape

Up next on the holiday cookie calendar? Try our St. Patrick’s Day rum cookie dough – festive green cookies with a warm cinnamon-rum twist.