Triple Heart Cookies

I wanted to make Valentine's Day cookies this year, but didn't feel like icing each one individually. So I thought this was a good idea for making cute hearts with a little less time and effort. I like the way they turned out. True they're not red or pink, but I think that makes them a little classier. They may not be the tux of Valentine's Day cookies, but they're at least the suit and tie (definitely not the t-shirt and sweats).

You'll  need:

- rolled sugar cookie dough (made with 3/4 cup more sugar than the original recipe)

- chocolate rolled cookie dough (see recipe below)
- heart cookie cutters (various sizes)

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHOCOLATE ROLLED COOKIES

Yield: about 3 dozen (depending on size)

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3 tablespoons chocolate liqueur (such as Godiva) or extra strong coffee*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

*can be made by dissolving 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso in 3 tablespoons warm water

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1.      Sift together (or gently stir with a whisk) the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2.      With an electric mixer cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fully incorporated and fluffy.

3.      Beat in egg, liqueur and extract.

4.      Add in flour/cocoa mixture about 1 cup at a time.  Blend until fully incorporated.  (If you are using a hand mixer you may need to add the last cup of flour by hand).

5.      Divide dough into 2 or 3 disks, wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator 1-2 hours.

6.      Once chilled, work with one ball of dough at a time, and roll onto a lightly floured surface.  I find it works best to place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough, and then roll on top of the parchment.  This prevents the dough from sticking to your rolling pin, and you also don’t need to add as much extra flour (as you would without the parchment).

7.      Heat oven to 350º F.

8.      Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet.

9.      Place the baking sheet in the freezer about 5 minutes (this helps the dough keep its shape when baked).

10.  Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes (depending on size).

11.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

barely adapted from glorioustreats.com

cutting hearts out of the rolled sugar cookie dough

Remember when you make it to increase the sugar
by about 3/4 cup (since these are not being iced,
they won't be sweet enough without the extra sugar).

cutting hearts out of the chocolate dough

hearts mixed

I recommend putting the baking sheet in the
fridge for about 15 minutes before baking
(so the cookies hold their shape better).

I baked these at 375º F. for about 8 minutes
(one recipe said 350º F. and the other
said 400º F., so I split the difference).

baked triple heart cookies

more triple heart cookies

triple heart cookie close up

I had some dough leftover, so I rolled them up
together, then sliced and baked into swirl cookies.

Check out these other Valentine's Day sweet treats:
Caramel-Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel
Chocolate-Zucchini Mini Cupcakes
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Beer Ice Cream with Pretzel Crunch

Naturally when I made pretzel crunch the other day, it was screaming out to be paired with beer ice cream. At least I could hear the screaming (it's hard above all that crunching, you really have to listen). And with the superbowl happening today, it didn't have to scream at me twice. I'm not a big beer drinker, but I do have a huge appreciation for booze with sweets. My only regret is that I didn't think of it sooner so you could be dishing this out to your friends tonight. Oh well, if it had to be one of us, I'm glad it's me.

 BEER ICE CREAM WITH PRETZEL CRUNCH

Makes about 1 ½ quarts

12 oz. beer*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons malted milk powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large yolks
2 cups heavy cream

2 to 3 cups pretzel crunch

*A malty beer that is 8–11% ABV is best (avoid overly hoppy beers since hops become bitter once cooked).

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1.      Pour beer into liquid measuring cup. Add 5 oz. beer to 8-inch skillet and bring to simmer over medium heat. Simmer until beer is reduced by half, about 10 minutes, lowering heat as necessary to avoid creating too much foam. Return reduced beer to measuring cup with remaining 7 oz. beer. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

2.      Place fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl. Prepare ice bath in large bowl.

3.      Whisk together sugar, malt powder, salt, and egg yolks in large saucepan until smooth. Whisk in cream and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture thickens to custardy consistency and registers 180º F., about 10 minutes (custard should coat back of spoon enough that dragging your finger through custard on spoon’s back leaves visible trail).

4.      Immediately pour mixture through strainer set over bowl, whisk in beer mixture, and set in ice bath. Whisk occasionally until custard reaches room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

5.      Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Mix in the pretzel crunch.

6.      Transfer to glass or plastic container, press plastic wrap or waxed paper against surface of ice cream, and cover with tight-fitting lid. Freeze until firm, at least 8 hours and preferably 24 hours. Ice cream will keep, frozen, up to 5 days.

adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook

I know nothing about beer...I picked this one because
the guy at the liquor store told me it was malty.

beer before reducing

reduced beer

adding reduced beer to beer with vanilla

sugar, malted milk powder, salt and yolks

mixed

cream whisked in

getting thick and custardy in the pan

strained; whisking over ice bath

adding the beer mixture

beer custard in the ice cream maker
(the next morning)

beer ice cream

adding pretzel crunch

beer ice cream with pretzel crunch

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Pretzel Crunch

Here's a nice treat for the pretzel lovers out there. It's crunchy and slightly salty, but also a touch sweet. And it's just a little different, so it's special enough to serve at your superbowl party. But take note, this recipe yields only 2 cups, so unless your superbowl party is actually just you sitting on your barcalounger, drinking beer and yelling at the tv, you might want to double or triple the recipe. 

MALTED PRETZEL CRUNCH

Makes about 2 cups

2 cups mini pretzels, salted

1/4 cup malt powder (I used malted milk powder)

2 tablespoons milk powder (I used instant nonfat dry milk)
1/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

7 tablespoons butter, melted

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1.      Heat oven to 275° F.

2.      Pour the pretzels in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, malt powder and sugars and toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the pretzels and creating small clusters.

3.      Spread the clusters on a parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed.

4.      Cool the pretzel crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep for 1 month.

slightly adapted from epicurious.com by Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar)

pretzels

slightly crushed pretzels

sugars, milk powder and malt powder added

mixing in the melted butter

mixed

before baking

baked

pretzel crunch close up

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