Category Archives: Valentine’s Day

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread As with everything else in life, patience is a huge part of being a food blogger. For instance, I first made a version of these cookies for an order last April and knew immediately that I wanted to put them on the blog…but who eats shortbread in April?

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread I’m sure someone does, but most everybody I know reserves it for Christmas, so I waited. And then December came and went, and nary a shortbread made an appearance on this blog. I suppose I could have held out for the end of the year, but instead I’m making shortbread for Valentine’s Day and you should too.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread I mean, all shortbread is good—it’s basically a vehicle for eating copious amounts of butter and sugar in polite company. But this isn’t just any shortbread.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread This version is made with brown butter. It’s one of my very favorite ingredients (see here, here, and here), producing baked goods with a nutty aroma and incomparable depth of flavor.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread Brown butter is good in basically everything, but it really shines in these simple six-ingredient cookies. See those dark specks? Those are browned milk solids—tiny bits of flavor alllllll over the place, y’all!

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread And then, as if things could possibly get better, the baked shortbread are dipped in melted dark chocolate.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread Tender, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth brown butter shortbread dipped. in. chocolate.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread Oh my word.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread You could certainly leave the chocolate half plain, but I am not the sort of baker who leaves things plain. I used my fanciest chocolate sprinkles here (they’re called hagelslag—try ‘em on buttered toast). Coarse salt works too, if you didn’t run out over Christmas and then totally forget to replenish your stash for two months. I wouldn’t know anything about that though. Nope. Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread

There’s something luxurious about the name of this recipe, and they certainly look fancy, but I assure you that these Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread are as easy as they are delicious. I made them five times this week (and in multiple shapes!), so I know.

Another thing I know? If someone presented me with a batch of these, I’d definitely feel loved. Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread
makes about 36 2-inch cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Chocolate Dip:
8 ounces pure dark chocolate, chopped
chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) or coarse salt, for garnish (optional)

Brown the butter. Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Let butter melt. Butter will bubble and crackle as the water content evaporates. Swirl the pan frequently for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the color. When the solids are turning brown and the butter is nutty and fragrant, remove the pot from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a small bowl. Let it cool a bit before refrigerating until solid (a few hours or overnight). When you are ready to bake, soften the solid brown butter to room temperature

Place softened brown butter in a medium-large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat it until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add dark brown and confectioners sugars and mix until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and salt. With the mixer on low, beat in flour. Dough will be crumbly looking, but should hold together very well when pinched. Divide dough in two parts.

Working with one half at a time, sandwich dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll until 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to the freezer (on a baking sheet, if desired) for 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. It is okay to stack the sheets of dough in the freezer.

While the dough is freezing, place racks in the center positions. Preheat the oven to 300F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Remove one sheet of dough from the freezer. Peel on of the pieces of parchment off. Use a lightly floured 2-inch cookie cutter to cut cookies. Place them close together on prepared pans. Repeat with remaining dough. Scraps can be re-rolled, frozen, and cut.

Bake cookies for 21-23 minutes, or until no longer shiny. Let cool on the pans for 7 minutes. Use a thin spatula (not your fingers!) to remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave (30 second increments, stirring in between). Dip each cookie halfway and place on prepared pans. Scatter sprinkles or coarse salt over the top. Repeat with remaining cookies. Chocolate will set after a couple of hours at room temperature, or a few minutes in the freezer.

Shortbread will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares

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Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares Does anyone else think it’s weird that strawberries are considered Valentine’s Day-appropriate? I mean, I get that they’re an aphrodisiac and that their red color goes with the whole lovey-dovey puffy heart aesthetic of the holiday, but strawberries aren’t in season in February.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares Before I go any further: yes, I know that we live in a time where fresh strawberries are available year-round. I saw huge displays of them at Trader Joe’s yesterday. Available or not though, the fact remains that a mid-winter strawberry will never be as good as one you have in June. Period. End of story.

All that said, today I’m bringing you some Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares. They may not be seasonal, but they are pink, fabulous, easy, and totally perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares The strawberry flavor in these sweet squares comes from freeze dried strawberries. Their concentrated flavor, lack of moisture, year-round availability, and consistent quality make them perfect for all sorts of baked goods, especially cookies and bars. Here they’re pulverized in a food processor until they’re nothing but powder and then whipped into sugar cookie dough and a batch of fluffy buttercream.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares These squares must be baked to be believed—if you’re into strawberry desserts, this recipe is absolutely for you. The strawberry flavor is decidedly real, unlike anything you’ll find in a boxed mix.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares Oh, did I mention that there’s no food coloring in these bars? That happy pink color is all from the pulverized strawberries 🙂

Well, I suppose there is food coloring in the sprinkles, but they’re just so cute! Feel free to leave them off though if sprinkles aren’t your thing. Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares

(They are definitely my thing. They are basically my favorite thing.)

Make these Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares for someone you love ❤

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares
makes one 9-inch pan, about 9-16 bars

Cookie Layer:
1 1.2-ounce package freeze dried strawberries
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Frosting:
1 1.2-ounce package freeze dried strawberries
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5-6 tablespoons heavy cream
sprinkles, for decorating (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and grease lightly. Set aside.

Make the cookie layer. Place freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and process until they are powder, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a medium-large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in sugar, followed by egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add strawberry powder, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined. Dough will be thick.

Press dough into prepared pan with a silicone spatula or lightly-oiled hands. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until no longer wet-looking. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cookie layer cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Make the frosting. Place freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and process until they are powder, about 30 seconds.

In a medium-large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, beat in confectioner’s sugar, strawberry powder, and salt. Mixture may be alarmingly crumbly—this is normal. Add vanilla and 5 tablespoons of heavy cream. Beat until very fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, mix in another tablespoon of heavy cream until the proper consistency is reached.

Remove foil from the cookie layer and place on a cutting board. Spread a thick layer of frosting over the cookie later. Top with sprinkles, if desired. Let sit at room temperature for minutes, or until frosting crusts a bit.

Use a large, sharp chef’s knife, slice into squares. Wipe knife clean between cuts.

Serve squares. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to five.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Squares

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars

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While I was in Texas this past December, I held a pop-up sale in my parents’ dining room. When I set the date and began to plan the thing, I had grand ideas about what I would have available. The list of ideas included grapefruit bars and pie and Texas-shaped ginger cookies, but when it came down to it, I threw all those ideas out the window and took it easy on myself. The preparation was still intense, but making drop cookies and bars was far simpler than what I had originally planned.

There were Peanut Butter Blossoms, Malted Whoppers Cookies, and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, but the first things to go were these Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars. Between their eye-catching color, classic chocolate-meets-vanilla flavor, and the swirls of cheesecake, their quick disappearance is easy to understand.

Making Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars may sound daunting to some, but they were actually the easiest recipe I made. I mean, there’s no softening of butter, no chilling of dough, no waiting for chocolate to harden. Nope. These bars are ridiculously easy to make, and come together in just a few minutes.

The red velvet base is a play off of my favorite blondie recipe. You’ll notice a few changes from the norm here, most noticeably that they’re bright red, but food coloring isn’t the only thing these bars have in common with their namesake cake: natural unsweetened cocoa is subbed for part of the usual all-purpose flour and a touch of vinegar gives the base that signature red velvet tang.

The batter comes together with just a whisk and a bowl, but you will need your mixer for the cheesecake. It’s the real star of the show here. I mean, red velvet is great and all, but I am all about that cheesecake layer. There’s nothing new here–cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla are beaten together before being swirled into the red velvet batter. Everything goes into the oven for about half an hour before taking a seemingly endless four hour chill. For all the ease of preparation here, there is a lot of patience required. I promise it’ll all be worth it once you bite into one of these bars.

Look at that! There’s almost as much cheesecake as there is red velvet! Make a batch this weekend, or use a heart cookie cutter and make them part of your Valentine’s Day ❤

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars
makes 24-32 bars

Cheesecake:
16 ounces (2 bricks) full-fat brick-style cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Red Velvet Base:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring

Place oven racks in the top and bottom positions. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with foil and grease with butter. Set aside.

Make cheesecake. In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla. Set aside.

Make the red velvet. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, whisking completely after each addition. Whisk in white vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring. Use a silicone spatula to fold in flour mixture. Reserve 2/3 cup of the batter before spreading the rest in the prepared pan.

Pour cheesecake mixture over the red velvet batter. Drop spoonfuls of the reserved red velvet over the top and swirl in with a small, thin knife. Tap full pan on the counter five times to release any air bubbles. Tightly cover the pan with foil. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove top foil and place pan on the bottom rack to bake for 15-20 more minutes. Bars are done when the cheesecake layer barely jiggles when the pan is jostled.

Allow bars to cool in the pan on a rack until they reach room temperature. Refrigerate for four hours, until cold. Place bars on a cutting board and remove foil. Use a large chef’s knife to slice them into bars (or a cookie cutter for fun shapes). Serve.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars

Brownie Truffles

Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts

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Nothing says love quite like doughnuts. When my sisters and I were little, my dad would very occasionally drive 45 seconds down the street to Dale’s Donuts #9 and have a dozen fresh doughnuts on the table before we ever got out of bed. He did it because he loved us…and maybe because he wanted a doughnut and knew we’d never stop complaining if we didn’t get some, too.

And doughnuts were pivotal in what remains one of the most important relationships in my life, the one with my little sister, Eliot (E3). We always loved each other, but like many siblings, we didn’t really get along for the first sixteen years or so. When I was a senior in high school, she was a freshman, so I drove us both to school everyday. And what did we do with our newfound freedom? Get doughnuts for breakfast, of course! Our little fifteen minute drives were spent chatting about the perfection that is John Cusack and eating chocolate sprinkle twists. We became best friends that year. I know the doughnuts weren’t the reason for it, but they sure didn’t hurt 😜

One of the only things I miss about Texas food (apart from Tex-Mex and great barbecue), is Dale’s Donuts #9. I’ve tried to find a good doughnut shop over the last eight years in NYC, but have been mostly unlucky. The Doughnut Plant is too flashy for me. I don’t need my doughnuts to be gourmet. I really love the 7th Avenue Donut Diner in Park Slope (get the Toasted Coconut Doughnut!), but it’s too far from home to be a viable option. There’s always Dunkin’ Donuts, but their doughnuts just aren’t great. They work in a pinch (and there have been many pinches), but they leave me underwhelmed. So what’s a woman to do? Make them at home!

You might think I’m insane, but trust me, making your own doughnuts is worth it, if only to say “Hey! I made these doughnuts!” to everyone you meet. The doughnuts I’ve been making lately are cake doughnuts, so they take 90 minutes start-to-finish, instead of the 3+ hours that the yeast-raised variety can take. Yes, you can have shop-quality doughnuts on your table in less than two hours!

And oh, are they ever good. These cake doughnuts are made with cream cheese, which keeps them extra soft. Sour cream is traditional, but cream cheese is just…cream cheese! It makes these doughnuts so light (something difficult to achieve with fried dough), but still rich enough to taste like the real deal. The dough also has a few tablespoons of softened butter and two eggs plus a yolk, just to keep everything really moist and fluffy.

These doughnuts are made with a combination of flour and cornstarch. As I’ve mentioned so many times, cornstarch lightens flour in cakes and cookies, and it does the same thing here. I made one batch with all all-purpose flour, and they were fine, but too dry and crumbly for me to want to make them again. The cornstarch is the “secret” ingredient in this recipe 😊 Also, add a dash of nutmeg. It’s traditional in doughnuts, and adds a little depth without being front-and-center. And of course, since these are cake doughnuts, they are leavened with baking powder instead of yeast, which makes them come together fairly quickly and easily.

Once your dough is made, let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. The rest allows for the dry ingredients to become fully saturated and for the proteins in the flour to develop properly. Once half an hour is up, flour a surface and roll out the dough, then use graduated cookie cutters (or a doughnut cutter, if you have one) to cut out doughnuts. I used a set of circles (the larger being 2 inches), and also some cute hearts for Valentine’s Day 💗

Fry the doughnuts in batches of three or four. These cook in 350F oil, and only take 1-2 minutes per side. Once they start to puff and turn golden, they need to be flipped. They will darken a bit more as they cool.

Once your doughnuts are cooked, whisk up the glaze. Confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, and hot tap water ensure that it will set just like the glazes at your favorite doughnut shop! If you are wary of corn syrup, I recommend Lyle’s Golden Syrup as a substitute. Just whisk all the ingredients until smooth. If you want a pink glaze, add a couple of drops of liquid red food coloring. Dip each doughnut individually with your finger or chopsticks before setting it back on the rack to set. If you want to add sprinkles, do it immediately after dipping. The glaze will set after 20 minutes, and then…breakfast time!

This recipe is long and detailed, but trust me when I say that you can make shop-quality doughnuts at home! Soft and cakey with crispy edges, they’re totally irresistible.

So, this Valentine’s Day (or any day!), invite some of your nearest and dearest for coffee and Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts. Have them bring the coffee–you’re frying homemade doughnuts. You’ve done enough.

It’s a great way to let people know you love them 💗🍩

Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts
glaze barely adapted from Handle the Heat
makes about 21 2-inch doughnuts and doughnut holes

Doughnuts:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
vegetable or canola oil, for frying

Glaze:
1 pound confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons light corn syrup*
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5-6 tablespoons hot tap water
2-3 drops liquid food coloring, if desired
sprinkles, if desired

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and butter together for two minutes, until very light and fluffy. Beat in sugar. Add eggs and egg yolk and beat the mixture for five minutes until the volume is increased, and the mixture is thick, frothy, and light yellow.* Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in two installments, stopping frequently to scrape the bowl. Gather dough into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap, leaving it to rest in the mixing bowl for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set two cooling racks over wax paper.

On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Use a doughnut cutter or graduated cookie cutters to cut doughnuts. Re-roll as necessary. Lay cut doughnuts and doughnut holes on prepared baking sheet.

Pour vegetable oil in a large heavy pot, until it is about 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat oil until it reaches 350F. Add cut doughnuts in batches of three or four. Let fry until golden, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove cooked doughnuts to prepared racks. Continue frying until all doughnuts have been cooked.

Make the glaze. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together confectioner’s sugar and salt. Add corn syrup, vanilla, hot water, and optional food coloring, and continue whisking until smooth. Dip doughnuts one at a time before placing back on the cooling racks. Add sprinkles immediately after dipping, if desired. Let glaze set for twenty minutes before enjoying. Doughnuts are best eaten the day they are made.

Notes:

1. Lyle’s Golden Syrup may be substituted.
2. Mixture may have a few small lumps.

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Category Archives: Valentine’s Day

Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Shortbread

Red Velvet Cheesecake Bars

Brownie Truffles

Glazed Cream Cheese Cake Doughnuts