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

_______________________________________________________________________

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
.

Caramel-Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel

I'm just going to say it, I think Valentine's Day is bullshit. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of love and expressing your feelings. I just don't believe you have to do it on February 14th. If you ask me, it's forced and meaningless. If I'm not feeling the love the rest of the year, don't jam it down my throat on V-Day. But that doesn't mean you can't make some luscious homemade candy for your loved ones. Or heart shaped cookies or cupcakes or chocolate molton lava cake. Because let's face it, food is love. I know it's wrong and I should see a shrink, but it's true. At least for those of us who have big passion for food (I can't really relate to people who don't, although I envy them when my pants don't fit).

CARAMEL-CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WITH FLEUR DE SEL

Makes about 32

20 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (divided)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

2/3 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1.      Place 8 oz. of the chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth. Remove chocolate from over water.

2.      Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

3.      Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

4.      Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Place remaining 12 oz. chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115° F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

from Bon Appétit, January 2004

melting the chocolate (I used Callebaut)

Do I need to say use good chocolate? Because obviously,
the better the chocolate, the better your truffles will be.

sugar and water

brushing the side of the pan

caramelized

adding the cream

The caramelized sugar will most likely seize up on you
and be lumpy. Just keep stirring and it will melt into
the cream and become smooth.

adding fleur de sel to the melted chococlate

mixing in the caramel mixture

caramel-chocolate mixed

I let mine chill overnight and it was rock solid, so I took it
out of the fridge for a while before I started rolling my truffles.

chocolate ball

That was the first one. By the time I was finished, both
my hands were completely covered in chocolate (along
with the table, phone, camera and most of the kitchen).

rolling in cocoa

covered in cocoa

And if you just don't have it in you to melt
more chocolate and dip, you can stop right here.

But I melted...

...and dipped

...and sprinkled

It was worth it.

.

Chocolate-Zucchini Mini Cupcakes

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Here's my idea of some good, clean fun...sneaking zucchini into the Valentine's Day cupcakes I made for my daughter's school party (when you have kids, fun isn't what it used to be). Between holidays and the kids' birthdays, it seems like there's a party every week. So I get a little frustrated with the amount of sweets that are consumed at school (don't even get me started on school lunches in general, I'll get way too worked up). 

So adding zucchini makes me feel better (even if the mini cupcakes are so small that each kid probably gets only 1/2 teaspoon). It also amuses me to know it's in there (and know they don't know it). But the zucchini isn't there purely for my own entertainment, it also helps keep the cupcakes moist.

CHOCOLATE-ZUCCHINI MINI CUPCAKES

WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

(Yield: approx. 60)

Cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)

6 oz. mini semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.      Preheat oven to 325° F.  Line 60 mini muffin tin cups with liners.

2.      Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl; set aside.

3.      Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

4.      Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour batter into cupcake liners, about 3/4 full.

5.      Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Cool completely in pan before frosting.

6.      Beat the cream cheese and butter using with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugar and vanilla extract. Can be made a day ahead (cover and chill; bring to room temperature before using).  Spread or pipe frosting onto cupcakes. 

adapted from Bon Appétit, November 1995

mixing in the secret ingredient (shh)

When a batter is thick enough (like this one), I like to use a ziploc bag
to pipe it into the cupcake liners (just snip off one of the corners).

filling the cups

cupcakes baked (don't worry about the stray zucchini
peaking out, the frosting will cover that right up.

packed and ready for the kids (tee hee hee)

As you can see, I kind of took the easy way out and used colorful sprinkles. I just didn't have time this weekend to get much more detailed than that. But since I didn't have a blog last year, here are the Valentine cookies I made last February (using the same sugar cookie & icing recipe I used for my Christmas cookies).

I decorated these.

The ones on the left were decorated by my daughter
Maddie (then 4 1/2). Not bad, I actually think
they show promise (then again, I am her Mom).

A word to all you single people out there who feel crappy on Valentine's Day because the whole world is talking about how in love they are and making you feel like something is wrong with you because you're not paired up. I would just like to say that I view Valentine's Day as another opportunity to make cookies or cupcakes, but aside from that, I think being told when to express your love is basically B.S. A Hallmark holiday if ever there was one. Married or single, I've always felt that way. Just thought I'd put it out there. So don't let the greeting card companies win and have a happy day (in spite of the over sized bouquet the woman next to you at work just had delivered to her desk).