Add the flour, butter, cream, and cocoa to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until well combined.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. 

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375° F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Take half of the dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to ⅛” thickness cut out as many 1½” wide circles (or hearts) as you can. 

Working one at a time, gently place each cookie into the granulated sugar, flip it so the sugar adheres to both sides, and then place it on the parchment-lined baking sheets 2” apart. Use a fork to prick each cookie a few times. 

Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining dough. 

Bake the cookies for 9 minutes, or just until they are set but still soft. Allow them to cool completely on the pan. 

Place the butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. 

Add the peppermint extract and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Using a food-safe paint brush, paint 5 vertical stripes on the inside of your piping bag using the red food coloring. You want the stripes to be about ¼” thick and about ½” apart. Make sure to go all the way down to the piping tip at the bottom! This will help give a candy cane stripe to our buttercream. Feel free to use any piping tip that you like. 

Carefully transfer the buttercream to the piping bag, making sure not to smudge the food coloring too much. 

To assemble, pipe a small swirl of buttercream onto the bottom of one cookie and place another cookie on top. Repeat until all the cookies and buttercream have been used. 

Place the butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. 

Add the strawberry extract and ¼ teaspoon pink food coloring and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. If you want a brighter pink, continue adding food coloring until it’s your desired color. 

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with your choice of tip – a round or star tip are both great! 

To assemble, pipe a small dollop of buttercream onto the bottom of one cookie and place another cookie on top. Repeat until all the cookies and buttercream have been used.