1-Pulse 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, and ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt in a food processor until mixed.

2-Add 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, one at a time, pulsing until the dough turns crumbly.

3-Mix ¼ cup whole milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon gel food coloring (red); add this to the dough and pulse until it sticks together.

4-Knead the dough on a counter until it’s soft and smooth, then shape it into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

5-Roll the dough on a floured surface to just under ¼ inch thick, then cut out 3-inch round cookies. Use a 1 to 1 ½ inch heart cutter to remove centers from half of the cookies for the tops.

6-Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart, and re-roll any scraps as needed. Chill the cut cookies on the sheets in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

7-Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the solid bottom cookies for 12 minutes and the top cookies with cutouts for 8 minutes, until the bottoms look fully baked with no raw dough. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then move to a rack.

8-For the buttercream, beat ¾ cup softened unsalted butter until smooth. Add 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons meringue powder, ⅛ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste on low speed until combined.

9-Beat the mixture on medium speed for 4-5 minutes until it’s light and fluffy, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream only if needed to adjust consistency.

10-Assemble by filling a piping bag with a large star tip with the buttercream. Pipe a swirl onto the bottom cookies, leaving a ¼ inch border, then gently press a heart-cutout top cookie on each.