Valentine’s Day usually comes and goes for me. Restaurants are always crowded and it has always been just as fun to me to stay at home and cook something really good for dinner.
This year I’m on a guilt trip. You know those moms who always come up with cutest ideas for Valentine’s “happys” for their kids to take to school and exchange? Well, I’m not one of those. As a matter of fact, I usually remember to get Valentine’s cards for the kids at about 9:00 the night before the party and end up getting the last package and the nearest discount pharmacy that I can find. I wonder what the other moms think when their kid comes home with a cheap card from JoJo or Phillip? I hope it’s not too bad. I actually do some things well, but this is not one of them.
I’m not going to be humiliated this year. I’ve spent all morning searching for the perfect cards and gifts JoJo to exchange. (Phillip is too old, finally, this year to participate in this nonsense.) So, in true high-tech mom style, I’ve searched my favorite food sites – bon appetite, Food Network, and Martha Stewart, to find the best of the best.
Here it is: This is the winning Valentine’s Day gift my JoJo’s friends at school.
Here’s how we’re going to make it. It’s called Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for parchment
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
Cream Filling
Directions
Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together butter, sugar, and egg. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and stir until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; roll out each half between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment to 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to baking sheets, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cut out 1-, 1 1/2-, and 2-inch heart shapes, making sure you have even numbers in each size for a total of thirty-four 1-inch, thirty-four 1 1/2-inch, and twenty-eight 2-inch cookies, rerolling scraps once. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes.
Bake until firm and fragrant, about 8 minutes for 1-inch cookies, 10 minutes for 1 1/2-inch cookies, and 12 minutes for 2-inch cookies, rotating halfway through. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets set on wire racks. Spread or pipe (using a pastry bag and a small plain tip), filling onto bottom side of half the cookies, and sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.
Bon Appetite!
