Heart Shaped Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I am in LOVE with these sandwich cookies, they are so adorable and easy to make, not to mention super delicious!! I had a blast piping the little hearts, and matching them and filling them, and of course eating them. These are perfect for Valentines day, a perfect family treat or in a decorative box for the one you love. I think this is one of my all time favorite recipes, I thought the cookies needed a little something extra, so I added semisweet mini chocolate chips, they were perfect. The cream cheese filling is so light and creamy, and the touch of semisweet chocolate chips are a great compliment to the very rich flavor, the cookies are very soft and cake-like, I love the light cocoa flavor of the cookie as well as the deep rich, red, color. They were also very easy to pipe into hearts, just trace little hearts onto parchment paper and pipe, or you can just leave them round, either way, still very cute!

Mix dry ingredients

Mix sugar and butter

Sugar heart

Mix until fluffy

Add the eggs, and vanilla

incorporate the dry/wet ingredients until will mixed

Add the food coloring

Mix until fully incorporated

Add dough to piping bag

Pipe onto parchment paper

Mix the butter, cream cheese until smooth, the the vanilla and  powdered sugar

until nice and smooth

And the chocolate chips

Turn half the cookies flat side up

Pipe filling onto flat side

Smushhhhhh, and eat :)

Ingredients: Makes about 16 cookies





For the cookies:

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 oz. red gel food coloring

For the filling:

2- 8 oz. cream cheese
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 F
Using a heart template, trace hearts onto cookie 2 cookie sheets fitted with parchment paper, set aside. 
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Beat in each egg until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, beat in about 1/4 of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk, beating each addition until just incorporated. Do not overbeat.  Blend in the food coloring.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag, cut about 1/2 inch or so, (mine was about a pinky finger width)  Pipe the dough onto the parchment paper just inside the trace using it as a guide. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the tops are set. Let cookies cool about 5 minutes,then transfer to a cooling rack.  Repeat with any remaining dough. Allow cookies to cool completely before filling.

To make the cream cheese filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract  Then on low speed gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Add the chocolate chips mixing on low until fully incorporated.

Match all cookies to size, turning half of them facing flat side up, transfer filling to a pastry bag cutting 1/4 off the tip, pipe the filling onto the flat side of each cookie leaving some room on the edges, sandwich the cookies, flat sides together and press down a little until the filling comes to the edges, serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 2 days. If they'll last that long. :)



Recipe adapted from Annies Eats

Chocolate Covered "Strawberries"

Ahhh Valentines day, Love is in the air. What better way to show the one you love then making them a sweet treat from the heart. I posted a recipe similar to these around Christmas. These cake balls are so good, they have a great strawberry flavor, and they are so very easy to make. You can even stick them on sticks for easier dipping and a prettier presentation, anyway you go about it these are sure to please.

Roll cake balls to desired size

Melt chocolate or candy coating

Roll cake ball around chocolate to coat

Remove with a fork, tap fork lightly on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate

Slide ball gently onto wax paper

Repeat

Sprinkle with candy hearts, sprinkles, contrasting chocolate, etc. Let harden.

Enjoy, repeat.

1 Box strawberry flavored cake mix
1 can strawberry frosting
2-3 packages chocolate bark or candy melts for colors.
Small bowls to melt candy
Sprinkles or candy to decorate


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Bake cake according to package directions. Let cool 25-30 mins.
Crumble cake into large bowl or stand mixer ( I used my mixer with the dough hook attachment)
Add about 3/4 of frosting can and stir until well incorporated, the frosting should completely blend with the cake.
Using a cookie scoop (or your hands) roll mixture into golf ball size (or smaller balls, to your liking) and place on cookie sheet fitted with wax paper.
Chill in the fridge for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or stick them in the freezer for 45 mins.
Melt your chocolate bark or candy melts(directions should be on package) in a bowl or 2 or 3 depending on how many colors you're using.
Drop a cake ball, one at a time and gently roll in chocolate, remove with a spoon or fork, tapping gently on the side of the bowl to smooth the coating on the cake ball.
Gently place cake ball on sheet of wax paper decorate with sprinkles and let firm. (should only take a few minutes)
If you would like to do a truffle/line design, take some of the bark or candy melts and place in a piping bag and microwave until melted in 30 second increments.
cut the tip off of the bag and pipe lines back and fourth (as shown in picture) and let harden.
The cake balls are ready to serve! Or you can refrigerate them for up to 3 days.

Creme Brulee

You may think Creme Brulee is a difficult dessert to make, but it is very simple, and creamy, and velvety, and delicious. The kitchen torch is also really fun to play with! I will definitely be making this again soon!

These are all the ingredients you need to make delicious creme brulee

Throw the vanilla bean and cream into a saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Once the cream is hot, remove from heat, and remove the vanilla bean and scrape out the beans or "caviar" and add the vanilla bean, and caviar back to the cream, let the cream sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

Add the egg yolks and whole egg to a mixing bowl

Beat on high for 2-4 minutes, until egg/sugar mixture turns thick and pale yellow

Mix, mix, mix

Perfect color

Remove the vanilla bean and discard

Pour the warm cream very slowly into the egg mixture

I just love this picture with all of the vanilla beans showing

Mix until incorporated

Place a sieve over a pouring bowl

Pour cream/egg/sugar mixture through sieve

Skim as much foam off the top, and eat it if you like, I did.

Place ramekins into shallow baking dish

Pour mixture into each ramekin, filling to top

If you have leftover mixture, you can freeze it for icecream!

Pour hot water very slowly and carefully

fill to about halfway up the sides of your ramekins, very carefully place them in the oven, and bake about 30 minutes

Once they come out of the oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool to room temp

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 3-4 hours

Once chilled, sprinkle with fine bakers sugar

Using a kitchen torch, move across in very quick short strokes, never staying in one place too long

Perfect!

Enjoy the velvety smooth creaminess!

Ingredients: Serves 4-6

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean split
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp bakers superfine sugar for topping


Directions:

Combine heavy cream, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan, bring to a simmer.
Remove from heat, remove vanilla bean, scrape the seeds and add back to milk mixture,
let steep 10 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar, mix on high 2-4 minutes, until pale yellow and thick. Slowly add the warm cream, mixing on medium until fully incorporated.

Pour the custard mixture into a pouring bowl through a fine mesh strainer or sieve, skim the foam.

Preheat your oven to 325 F
Place 4-6 ramekins into a shallow baking dish, pour mixture into ramekins, filling to the top.
Pour hot water into shallow baking dish, until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Very carefully, place in oven and bake 25-30 minutes or until just set. Do not let it get brown.

Once set, transfer ramekins to a cooling rack and cool until room temp.
Once at room temp, wrap ramekins with plastic wrap, and place in fridge for 3-4 hours.

Once the Creme is chilled, and set, sprinkle about 1/2 a tablespoon over custard, and torch in quick even strokes, until browned. Serve immediately. Bask in the Deliciousness!