Valentine's Treats

This past Christmas, I was planning to make tons of cookies for all of my family and friends, but it was right after my wedding and all of my baking supplies were at home from when I made my wedding cake. I decided to delay my bake-a-thon, and make Valentines packages for everyone.

The packages consist of:
Coconut White Fudge Truffles
Peanut Butter Hearts
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies
Kahlua Dark Chocolate Truffles
Strawberry Jam Thumbprints
Outrageous Brownies
Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti
Banana Spritz Hearts

Coconut White Chocolate Fudge Truffles

For these, I use the basic fudge recipe on Jet Puff marshmallow cream jars. I make the fudge according to the package, but substitute white chocolate for regular, and coconut extract for vanilla. I shape the fudge into balls, dip them in white chocolate, and roll in coconut. JJ calls them snowballs, they're delicious!

Peanut Butter Hearts

I made up the recipe for the filling based on cake filling/icing. They resemble a Reeses.

Peanut Butter Hearts

3 cups dark chocolate chips (recommended Ghirardelli)

4 tbsp. butter

1 cup peanut butter

½ cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup peanut butter chips

Heat a large glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Add chocolate chips and stir until just melted. While chocolate is melting, add butter, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla to a mixing bowl and mix until combined and smooth. Scoop into a piping bag with a small round tip (wilton #4). Pour melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle. Squeeze a light coating in the bottom of the mold, put in the freezer for 1 minute, remove and pipe peanut butter in the center of the heart. Squeeze chocolate to cover and fill the heart. Put back in the freezer for 3-5 minutes. Pop out of the mold and lay on wax paper. Repeat process until you’ve used up all the chocolate and peanut butter mixture.Melt peanut butter chips over double boiler and pour into another squeeze bottle. Drizzle over hearts, let hearts cool and harden, store in bags or food storage containers.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

Recipe found here

Banana Spritz Hearts

My mom makes banana spritz christmas trees with her cookie press and they're my favorite Christmas cookie. I couldn't have Valentines subbing for Christmas cookies without them, so I thought I'd make them hearts instead. I used a cookie press for these cookies, which can be quite a headache, but the key is to make sure the dough is cold, and the cookie sheet isn't hot.

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

I used Giada's recipe, found here, but I didn't use the pistachios. I also drizzled pink white chocolate over the biscotti, but didn't photograph the final product. (This photo is the biscotti after I cut the log, but before the second bake).

Strawberry Jam Thumbprints

The recipe I used can be found here. These are a classic cookie that was very popular this past Christmas. They were on the cover of Gourmet, and there were recipes in Bon Apetit, Cooking Light, and other cooking magazines I subscribe to. They looked so good I just had to make them.

Not photographed: Outrageous Brownies, recipe found here

Kahluah Dark Chocolate Truffles, recipe found here