I have never really celebrated Valentine’s Day….believe it or not.  I never thought that I was the type of girl that would get worked up over flowers and chocolates and all things red and pink.  I do have fond memories of my dad giving me and my sisters (and my mom, of course) boxes of chocolate candies and cards.  It was a special holiday for me as a little girl.  But not really as a grown-up.  And, as silly as that may sound, my warm fuzzies on Valentine’s Day comes from the excitement I had as a little girl and feeling like a total Daddy’s girl on that day.  I’m excited because this year will be the first year that I am semi-celebrating…with someone very nice.

So, even if I don’t go all out and get all mushy wushy on V-day, I have always had a love for sugary, bite-sized holiday treats associated with the day.  Especially those treats that involve a little dose of chocolate…and some form of pink or red decor.

I had some extra red candy melts that I hadn’t used over the holidays, so I figured this was a great opportunity to use them up.  And, what’s better than making some cake truffles?  I know I’ve done this before, but the little heart cookie cutter in my baking box was calling my name. I figured this was an easy and festive way to celebrate this year.

Looking for some other V-day treats?  Here are some of my favorite other ideas:

Sugar Cookie Bars with Buttercream Frosting

Red Velvet Cake Cookies

Chocolate Hazelnut Tartlets

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Pink Velvet Cake Truffles

Sugar Cookies

Cherry Almond Brownie Bites

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes (cupcake base recipe is vegan)

Valentine Cake Truffles

Servings:  About 24 cake truffles (I had lots of leftover cake because I used such a small cookie cutter. Feel free to use more candy melts if you want to make more.)

Ingredients

For the cake:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs

1 and 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the frosting:

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup raspberry preserves**Use whatever you have on hand. Cherry would be awesome!

For the candy coating:

Two 12-ounce bags red candy melts (I use Wilton brand)

Instructions

1. For the cake:  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Generously butter a 9×13-inch cake pan with butter.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt; set aside.

4.  In a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the chocolate chips and butter and melt, stirring frequently, until smooth. Let cool slightly.

5. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla.

6. Very slowly and carefully, whisk the melted chocolate into the egg mixture until smooth.

7. In a 2-cup measuring cup (the liquid will bubble up), combine the buttermilk and the baking soda.

8.  Whisk the buttermilk/baking soda into the chocolate mixture until  combined.

9.  Next, whisk the buttermilk/chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients, whisking until smooth and no lumps remain.

10. Evenly pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Let cool at least 1 hour.

11. For the frosting: In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients, mixing until smooth.  Set aside.

12.  For assembly: In a large bowl, break apart the sheet cake using a large spoon and mixing until it is completely in crumbs.

13.  Add the frosting, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing with a large spoon until a thick paste forms.  **You may not use all of the frosting.

14. At this point, I find it helpful to chill the “cake dough” for at least an hour, so that it firms up a bit.

15. Once the cake dough is firm, transfer it to a clean and flat surface, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an even 3/4-inch thick layer.

16. Using your desired cookie cutter (I used a small, 1.5-inch heart shape), carefully cut out your desired shapes, rerolling and recutting the dough out as necessary and place them on a cookie sheet.

17. Let the cake bites chill in the fridge until you are ready to dip them.

18. In a large heatproof bowl over a bowl of simmering water, melt the candy melts until smooth.  (I am quickly learning that it is best to do this in batches to keep your candy coating smooth and avoid it from seizing.)

19.  Very carefully, dip each cake bite into the candy melt, and slowly coat it thoroughly.  (*I like using a small spoon for this.)

20. Place each dipped cake bite onto a cookie sheet, decorate with sprinkles, and chill until ready to serve.

Sources:  Chocolate sheet cake from Cooks Illustrated.  Frosting adapted from Life’s Ambrosia.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday.  And today I’ll most likely be watching with misty eyes…not because of the teams playing, but because I’m proud of my home town for throwing down and hosting one of the best Super Bowl parties to date.  My brother-in-law’s limousine company is booked solid to drive party-goers (and hopefully some celebrities around)-even having to borrow vehicles from family members.  Local artists and graphic designers are featured in the downtown designs.  My radio host friend is interviewing celebrities left and right on the red carpets of all the velvet-roped parties.  Friends back home are posting on Facebook which random celebrities they ran into downtown in “Super Bowl Village” during the past few days.  Oh, Indianapolis.  I love you and miss you to pieces.   Even though I’m over a thousand miles away now, you’ve made this Midwestern girl proud.

Instead of a new post today, I figured I could give a quick recap of some easy to make and quick appetizers in case you still want to whip something up before 6:29pm tonight.  Is it still ok for me to say, “Go Colts?”

Cajun Kale Chips

Guinness and Cheddar Dip

Cheese and Vegetable Quinoa Bites

Layered Taco Dip

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms

Crunchy Peanut Butter Truffles

Soft Pretzel Bites

Caprese Skewers

Mini Mac and Cheese Pies

Baked Camembert with Honey and Thyme

Coconut Oil Popcorn

Tzatziki

Crunchy Baked Onion Rings

French Onion Soup Crostini

Savory Spinach Bites

Chocolate-Dipped Football Scotcheroos

Fried Bocconcini

St. Elmo’s (Almost) Cocktail Sauce

The other day I was getting ready to head over to my friend Jill’s house to watch a movie.  She’s a huge fan of cookies and red velvet, so I figured I should whip something up before I headed over (to eat cookies).  Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, I wanted to try my hand at something a little festive and appropriate for the holiday.  These little guys fit the bill.  I took them over, still warm from the oven, and they were quickly and repeatedly snacked on.  Nothing beats good red velvet, right?

So, before you make this recipe, there are a few things you should know.  Some things that I may have had a few issues with.  But the end result turned out so good that I had to share them with you.

The cookie dough is VERY thick, so if you don’t happen to have an electric or (preferably) standing mixer, I would give these a pass.  The dough would probably be way too tough to combine by hand.  As far as the red food coloring goes, I used the standard Wilton red food coloring gel….but I had to use an awful lot of it (almost the entire larger vial) to get the cookies to turn a red shade.  Perhaps a liquid food coloring would work better with this recipe in the future (it might also help with the thickness of the cookie dough, too.)  When you are ready to bake them, flatten them down a little with your fingers or the back of a spoon-they are very cake-like and won’t flatten out like regular (less delicious) cookies.

The fact that Jill continues to talk about how delicious these cookies over a week later says a lot.  That’s music to my ears.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

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

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the food coloring gel or liquid until you reach the desired color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.**I had to add  more food coloring gel at this point because the addition of the cocoa powder really changed the color.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

7. Using a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough into mounds about two inches apart from one another.  Lightly flatten each cookie dough mound with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

8. Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy.

Source: Barely adapted from How Sweet It Is.