Chocolate Kiss Cookie

Ahh, the holiday that either people love or hate.  The dreaded/dreamed about "Valentine's Day"!  Are you a loather or a lover?  I love it.  No, my husband and I don't need a special holiday to express our love to each other (because I know that is a famous excuse) it is a day to do something extra special!  Anyone who doesn't like it will argue anything but, I am all about that mushy love stuff.  I get it often but I get a second helping on Valentine's day!

In case you wondered, the answer is yes.  I am that woman who tries to cook or bake everything in heart shapes or X's and O's, and writes a love note to use as a napkin ring.  Candles, and flowers, all of it.  In my defense, I am like that with most holidays, so no worries, that I am showing favoritism to this one.  Do it for your kids, for your parents, just show TONS of love on Valentine's day, don't make it so dang difficult!  This cookie for instance, adapted from the Hershey's website.  I just wanted a big cookie.  Some people don't like pies, or cakes, or cupcakes, and I think this same idea would be awesome for a birthday party if someone doesn't like cake.  It really is all about how you decorate it, or theme it.  I just wanted to share because I made it for my littles, and they loved it.  Also, I used a heart shaped pan I have.  It is about 11 inches at the widest part.  You can do it in a 9x13, or anything really, it will just make your baking time vary.  So I will give you the directions to get the particular cookie I made in the photo.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3 T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Red Wilton candy melts
Pink Wilton Candle melts
almond bark
15-20 Hershey's Kisses
Red sugar

Preheat your oven to 350.  Beat together, butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, milk and vanilla extract.  Beat until completely combined.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well, and pour into the peanut butter mixture, beat until just combined.  Lightly spray your baking pan.  Pour dough out into pan and use a spatula or fingers to press into place.  Bake for 10-15 minutes.  I hate to be vague but this depends completely on your baking pan size.  You want the cookie to remain soft, but be baked all the way through.

When you take it out, IMMEDIATELY place your kisses on the cookie,  However you want, randomly as I did or in a design, or a name?!?!  Or the word "LOVE" OH yes!  Let cool completely!  Melt your red and pink melts, about 4 or 5 of them will be enough of each color.  Add a few drops of vegetable oil to them if they aren't drizzling nicely enough.  Do one color at a time and your almond bark as well.  About 30 seconds in the micro for each color did it for me.  Then sprinkle with red sugar and waa-laa!  A special Valentine's Day treat for your husband, wife, gf, bf, kids, parents, or friends.  Just spread the love!

ENJOY!

3 Minute, 3 Ingredient Strawberry Mousse

You guys, I just love Valentine's Day.  I know YOU know, but in case someone new is reading I want them to know, that I love it too!  I am blessed with a marriage where I am married to my best friend!  He is such a teddy bear, AND my hottie!!  Love is a blessing, marriage is a gift, and truly have been blessed and gifted with both.   Anyhoodle, this recipe is easy, and can be made by even the most inexperienced cook.  3 minutes, no joke.  We will also be cooking IN on Valentine's day, because to me, nothing says I love you like filling the tummy of the one or ones you love most with his/her favorite things.  Food is love, we all know that!

This is kind of just a simple fake out mousse.  It is actually almost the same filling I make for my Mile High Banana Cream Pie recipe.  I just adjusted it a bit to be a bit more of the consistency and flavor I was looking for.  Obviously for my holiday dessert I wanted it pink.  I could not find instant strawberry or cherry pudding.  I wanted to keep it at 3 ingredients though so I I didn't want to use vanilla and have to color it and flavor it.  So, what I DID find was by Royal, and it is Greek Yogurt Pudding Mix.

I have never seen it before, but I found it, and I don't like yogurt for the record.  I mean, I won't TOUCH yogurt, but this tastes amazing and really just tastes like pudding flavor to me.  I did end up adding a couple of drops of food coloring, since it isn't really pink, but that is completely optional.  So is the course sugar sprinkled on top but, that crunch with the creaminess of the mousse, make perfection.  Just sayin...

So if you want vanilla or chocolate, or any other pudding flavor you can find, go for it.  That will be perfect too.  So technically 3 ingredients and shouldn't take more than 3 minutes, and you in fact, can eat it directly after preparing, no need to chill. 

I hope you enjoy this, and make it for your Valentine's day IN! xoxo

1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
1 3.4 ounce box of Greek Yogurt Pudding (or you can use any flavor, I just wanted strawberry)
food coloring IF needed

In a medium mixing bowl, add in heavy whipping cream. (or your stand mixer bowl) Whip until soft peaks form.  Add in pudding mix and continue to beat for 1 minutes.  Add in milk, and beat until combined.  Now you may find you want slightly more milk, but this is the perfect consistency to me of what mousse should be!  This makes about 4, 3/4 cup servings.  So heck, maybe we should just call this a "just for 2"!! No, put it in 4 ramekins or bowls (or one big bowl), our self esteem won't suffer so much if we eat 2 small helpings, perhaps, an hour apart or so.  Right?

Strawberries, Moscato, and Cream Cake

WARNING: I have been playing with cake mixes again.  I know this will displease some of you and others will be ecstatic.  Either way, don't let this recipe out of your sight or mind until you make it!

Love is in the air!  I love Valentine's Day.  Not because I need a special day to express my love for my husband or anyone I love, but because I like having a special day to do it up even more than ever!  I know many who loathe Valentine's Day.  But who needs to be IN love, can't you celebrate the love of kids, family, friends, etc?  I love to spread the mushy love stuff around!!

That being said, this cake, besides being DE-lish, is perfect for celebrating Valentine's Day with your kids or families.  It will definitely feed more than 2, and it is perfect for the occasion!  I do everything heart shaped on Valentine's Day, you would think I would outgrow that stuff, but nope, never, EVER going to outgrow it! 

This cake looks beautiful, maybe even slightly complicated but it isn't at all, that is the great part.  You are really going to make someone think you worked like crazy, when you barely did much work at all!  I would not make this cake ahead.  I would make it the day of serving.  You want it all as fresh as possible.  I also did not sweeten my strawberries, with the condensed milk and sweetened whipped cream, it is sweet enough that teeny bit of tartness is delightful.

Give it a try, and be careful, I might keep playing with cake mixes!

Here is what you will need:
Strawberry Cake Mix
2 tbsp. red sprinkles
Pink Moscato Wine (I like Barefoot)
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

Preheat your oven to temperature recommended according the pan size you are using.  I used 2 heart shaped pans to make this layered effect, but you are more than welcome to use a plain 9x13, it will work out just as beautifully.  I promise!  Make sure whatever pans you use, spray with nonstick cooking spray well, and if using 2 shaped pans, line the bottom with parchment paper. 

Mix up you cake mix according to package directions EXCEPT when it calls for water, substitute that with the pink Moscato.  Add red sprinkles into your batter and mix.  

No this is NOT a sponsored post, I simply only will use Pillsbury for a strawberry cake mix!

Now pour into your pan(s) and bake for the recommended time.  Remove from the oven and let sit 10 minutes.  Using a large for, (I used a meat fork) poke holes all over the cake(s).  Now if you are doing one cake, pour the condensed milk over the top or divide, half over one cake and the other half over the other.  Let sit for 20 minutes. 

At this point place your cold heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer and whip until you achieve stiff peaks.  From here on out, it will depend on what kind of cake you are making as to what you will do next. 

For a 9x13, spread whipping cream on top of the cake, sprinkle around your sliced strawberries, cover and refrigerate until serving.

 

For a layered cake, place one cake on your cake plate of choice.  Top with 1/2 of whipped cream mixture.  Place second cake on top, cover the top with the rest of the whipped cream and top with strawberries. 
NOTE: You can use double the strawberries and add them to the first layer on top of the whipping cream as well. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy and feel the love in the air!

Easy Angel Food Cake with a Pink Moscato Icing!

You know what is coming up, don't you?  Of course you do, VALENTINE'S DAY!  As a single friend of mine calls it, "Singles Awareness Day"!  Regardless of if your Valentine is a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, son, daughter, whoever it is, just celebrate a day of loving the ones in your life!  Wait.......hold up.  Do NOT celebrate your love for your children with this cake. 

 

I was at the grocery store last week and popped over to the liquor section to pick up my husbands guilty pleasure, "MD 20/20", yeah, I know...keeping it classy.  Anyway, to make my trip even more full of class and hoity toityness, I eyed a 10.00 bottle of sparkling pink moscato.  My eye is always drawn to pink things, especially pink things I can consume. 

A week passes and I have still not popped the cork on this baby.  So Saturday, the Internet went down for 3 hours during the evening hours.  What better thing to do than have some drinks right?  It was sparkling, bubbly, sweet goodness!!  I decided it had to become something for Valentine's Day.  And this is how the cake was born.  I decided with Moscato in the icing, the cake had to be plain, but amazing.  I am lover of angel food and so it was.  I found my favorite angel food recipe, and made it.  I will share it with you.  This dessert is so easy and though I know everyone loves decadent beautiful desserts to feed your lovey dovey on VD  (wow, that was awkward)  sometimes there is only time for something quick.  What you don't use in the recipe you can drink so it serves double duty! 

My darling, adorable, and cutie patootie husband loved this.  I would change only ONE thing.  I actually thought about not posting this because there was something I would do different next time but then decided it was good to post something I would change.  It happens to everyone and the change is cosmetic mostly anyway.  I would add fancy dollops of whipped cream on the top with a strawberry in each one.  So if you make this, and you do that on top, take a photo and post it on my face book page so I can see!!!

Here is the angel food cake recipe I have been using for years, it is easy and SO delish, it is from cooks.com!

You will need:
1 1/2 cups egg whites (this was 12 large eggs for me.  SAVE your yolks for something else!)
1 1/4 sifted cake flour (I always use plain AP flour)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cream of tarter
2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In your stand mixer bowl or large bowl (if using a hand mixer) separate eggs, whites into your bowl and let stand at room temp for 15 minutes.

Sift flour with 3/4 cup sugar, sift 3 times and set aside.

Beat egg whites on medium speed with salt and cream of tartar.  Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 3 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat at high speed until eggs for soft peaks.  Turn up the speed and add in vanilla.

Add in flour mixture 1/4 at a time, mixing on low for 3 seconds after each addition or until mixture is completely blended.

Using a rubber scraper, gently push better into an ungreased 10" tube pan.  Cut through the batter twice with a knife to level center and remove any air pockets. 

Bake on the lower rack of your oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean of wet batter.

Invert pan over a bottle to cool.  Let cool completely, about 2 hours.  After it is cool, flip the cake pan back over and run a knife carefully around the edges to free it from the pan.  Invert unto a plate, you might need to reach in and help it, but it will come out!

Pink Moscato Drizzle:
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp sparkling moscato
pink food coloring (optional)

Using a whisk or electric hand mixer combine until smooth.  Carefully pour around the top of the cake until it begins to drip down the sides!  Let stand for 15-30 minutes before serving!

Remember, I said, if I did it again I would pipe dollop's of whipped cream with a strawberry in the middle, so there was one in the middle of each cut piece!

Enjoy and make sure you love the moscato you are using, because you definitely taste it!  Delish!

Your "moscato lovin" chefwannabe

Sweet Valentine's Treat - Raspberry Palmiers

Have you been shopping today?  Do you have a special something picked out for that special someone?  I do, I do!  Remember, if money is an issue, just write a love letter, if money is NOT an issue, write a love letter! Write one to a friend, a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend.  Even though this holiday is traditionally one for lovers, who says it has to be?  I can't think of a better day than a special day specifically for showing your love to someone else.  I think it is marvelous!  Add a few candles to your dinner table, run someone a bubble bath, those things don't cost money and frankly, I would adore both!

The weather was so drab here today I had to something to cheer it up a little!  A chefwannabe reader, Ann, requested  raspberry CHOCOLATE palmiers, however, I sort of forgot about the chocolate part and I am kind of glad I did.  Sorry Ann!  These are SO good and so sweetly colored for Valentine's day!  These are also known as elephant ears.  They are made from puff pastry, and no, I did not, and for the record never will make my own puff pastry.  Puff pastry, for those unfamiliar,  is dough that is layered with melted butter, layer after layer, which makes the dough so flaky and "puff" when it is baked (because of the steam).

Now, please use parchment paper.  Even if you have a silpat just use parchment!  This is so easy, 3 ingredients in this recipe.  Thank you Pepperidge Farms for making this so easy!  (shouts out in my best "SKYYNNAARRDDDD" voice)

Here is all you need!!

1 box of puff pastry, you will only need 1 of the sheets (take it out 30 min before using or put in the fridge over night to thaw)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup raspberry jam  or any jam! (more if you want but it will just squeeze out and go to waste)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.   Place parchment paper on your counter, sprinkle it with sugar and unfold puff pastry and lay it on top.  If it tears at the seam, no biggie, it is a very easy fix.  Using a rolling pin, roll over it a few times to smooth it and to push the sugar underneath it into the dough.   Slide the parchment with dough on it unto a cookie sheet.

 

Sprinkle more sugar on top and then spread jam over entire sheet of puff pastry.

Needed one more roll so they were on top of each other!  Get it?

Fold each side in until they meet in the middle and then fold on top of the other.  Refrigerate 15-30 minutes, remove and slice into approx 1/2 inch slices, lay flat on the parchment and bake 15 minutes.  Let cool and then enjoy!

before baking, I know, I am messy!

If you like caramelized sugar, and raspberry filling you will be in heaven.  They are a little crunchy from the caramelization and flaky from the puff pastry.  They even look like fancy hearts!  They are sometimes called "French Hearts".  I hope you enjoy this sweet little dessert!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Your "french pastry chef" wannabe

Chris

P.S.  The spellchecker kept wanting to change "caramelization" to "cannibalism" wth?  Freaky dudes.