Valentine’s Day Recipes

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

February 2, 2010

Maitreyee Mittal, Staff Reporter  

Filed under Special Features

Surprise your loved one(s) with some great desserts with these easy to follow recipes!

Valentine Message Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup milk

3 tsp. vanilla extract, divided in half

1 cup chopped nuts

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips/ Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

Vanilla frosting

Red food coloring

Candy sprinkles/ other decorative candies or sugars

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over sides of pan. Grease bottom and sides of foiled-lined pan.

2. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, eggs, milk and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; blend well. Stir in nuts. Spread batter in prepared pan.

3. Bake 40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Just before brownies are done, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Immediately spread over hot brownie. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate just until fudge layer is set.

4. Using heart-shaped cookie cutters, cut out brownie hearts. Place the brownies on wax paper so that the fudge side is on top.

5. Prepare and tint frosting to desired colors. Pipe messages or decorations onto fudge. Garnish with sugar and small candies as desired.

Recipe taken from hersheys.com

Valentine Chocolate Cookie Pops

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 tbsp. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa/ Hershey’s Cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

12 wooden popsicle sticks

White and pink frostings

Decorator’s sugars and colored sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Beat butter, sugar, water and vanilla in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Add egg; beat well.

2. Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating on low speed just until blended. (If necessary, refrigerate dough until firm enough to handle.)

3. Roll 1/4 cup dough into ball; place on ungreased cookie sheet, 3 cookies per sheet. (Cookies spread while baking.) Insert wooden popsicle stick about three quarters of the way into side of each ball. Flatten slightly.

4. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until outside edges are firm and center is set. Cool several minutes on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

5. Decorate tops of cookies with white and pink frostings to make hearts or Valentine messages. Sprinkle with decorator’s sugars or sprinkles, if desired. Makes about 12 cookies.

Recipe taken from hersheys.com

Heart Shaped Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate and Raspberries

Ingredients:

Shortbread-

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Filling-

¼ to ½ cup raspberry jam

2 ounces white chocolate grated

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and salt. Set aside in a separate bowl.

2. Cream the butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add sugar and vanilla extract and mix for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the flour mixture

4. Flatten the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until ¼ inch thick. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

8. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cookies are slightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

9. Coat the top of half of the cookies with the powdered sugar.

10. On the other half of the cookies, spread ¼ to ½ tsp. of jam. Sprinkle with grated white chocolate.

11. Place the sugared cookie on top of the jam to make a sandwich.

Recipe taken from the Joy Of Baking.

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Tags: chocolate cookie pops, message brownies, recipes, shortbread cookies, valentine's day