Chocolate Chocolate Heart Cookies for Valentines

Chocolate Heart Cookie Dipped in Melted Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Sprinkled with Pink Peppermint Chips.

I always bake cookies for holidays and judging from the number of heart cookie cutters I have collected over the years Valentine's Day has never been taken lightly!  The chocolate batter comes from an episode of Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman.  I love sprinkling in new recipes with my old tried and trues.  Last Sunday I mixed the cookie dough up as I made the pastry for a blueberry pie with intentions of getting them together way before now.  It has chilled in my refrigerator in a zipper bag for days now but rolled out just fine after letting it warm a bit.

Ingredients for Chocolate Message Cookies or as I call them Chocolate Chocolate Hearts:

2 1/4 C. flour
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder + more for dusting and rolling
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 C. (2 sticks) room temperature butter
1 C. brown sugar packed firmly
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 lg. egg
chocolate chips (any color or flavor desired)  to melt for drizzling and heavy cream to dilute if needed (just a droplet or so), optional
powdered sugar and stencils, optional
buttercream frosting for frosting or pipping, optional
 
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and whisk.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of the electric mixer.  Add vanilla and egg beating well.  Add the flour mixture a third at a time blending after each addition.

Place the dough in a plastic bag or wrap well forming into a disk.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to bake off the cookies pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare the baking sheets with parchment paper or sil-pat baking mats and set aside.  Dust your work surface and rolling pin with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the cocoa powder for 10-15 minutes or so until it softens enough to roll 1/4" think.  Dust the heat shaped cutters with cocoa powder before cutting into shapes.  Place on baking sheets.  Consolidate the dough left and re roll until all of the dough is used.

Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes until set but not browned.  Allow to cook in pans before removing then cool completely before decorations begin!

To decorate with stencils place them on cookie and cover the rest of the cookie with bits of wax paper and sift powdered sugar onto the decoration.  Carefully remove stencil and wax paper and dust any stray bits of sugar off with a small brush.

To drizzle melt chocolate chips a few seconds at a time in the microwave stirring until smooth.  If needed thin slightly with a drop or two of cream.  Drizzle as desired!  Mine are dunked!  While the chocolate was warm I sprinkled pink peppermint chips on some of the cookies.

To frost with buttercream for each cup of powdered sugar use 1 T. room temperature butter and 1/2 t. vanilla.  Add heavy cream stirring until you reach the desired consistency.  Tint as desired using food colors.

Do NOT stack these cookies!  Instead display on a large platter or under domes.  Present to your Valentine with a smile!

New Cookie Recipe, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, Home Made Ice Cream, Strawberries, and Pulled Pork for Memorial Day

Last night I baked a batch of cookies for my husband and this morning I baked a friend brownies for her pool party.  Now I am baking for ME! This Memorial Day I am having home made ice cream packed between chocolate chip chocolate cookies to form ice cream sandwiches.  Brian has the smoker cranked up and is smoking a pork butt for pulled pork.  We are well on our way to a lovely holiday meal.  Here is the rest of the menu:

Pulled Pork
Roasted Potatoes
Corn on the Cobb
Cole Slaw
Sweet Tea

Strawberries and Vanilla Ice Cream
with Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

All of the recipes are already posted here on my blog except for these cookies.  The recipe is adapted from the Cuisinart Recipe Booklet that came with my Automatic Ice Cream Maker.  It was supposed to be a cookie for Ice Cream Sandwiches but they look way too fat for that!  My choice would be the adaptation of Martha Stewart's Chocolate Malt Cookie.  Here is the link!     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothers-day-brought-gift-of-martha.html

Ingredients for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1/3 C. sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 C. sifted bread flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 T. instant espresso powder
1/2 C. room temperature butter cubed
1 C. sugar
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare the baking sheets with sil-pat baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.

Combine cocoa, flour, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder in a small bowl and whisk together then set aside.

Cream the butter until smooth and silky then add the sugar beating at medium speed.   Add the egg and vanilla and beat together.  Turn the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients beating until combined.  Add the mini chips and stir in well.

Drop by 1 1/2" scoop or tablespoon onto prepared pans about 2" apart and bake 15-18 minutes until done.  Let cool on the trays before removing to fully cool on rack.

If you want to make ice cream sandwiches cool completely and spread softened ice cream between 2 cookies of like size and shape.  Wrap well in plastic wrap and return to the freezer until serving time or decorate sides of exposed ice cream with sprinkles, nuts, or crushed cookies beffore wrapping to freeze. 
Yield 18 cookies.

Chocolate and White Chocolate Ganache to Decorate Valentines Day Cookies

Sweets for the Sweet.

I always decorate homemade cookies for Valentines Day.  I am really not too keen on all of these holidays that used to be simple and sweet but are all about more and more and more spending.  I can hardly watch the evening news without a bombardment of advertisements from pajama grams to sex aides?  Good grief.  Well, I am not changing my ways.

I do try to put a new spin on my cookies though and this time I am using ganache to do the final decorations.  I just finished them up and I have them cooling under the ceiling fan in the kitchen!


Ingredients for Ganache:

Making ganache.

1/2 C. heavy cream
2 C. chocolate chips

Place a glass bowl over a simmering pan of hot water.  Do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.  Pour in the chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth.

It is very common to add flavorings to the chocolate.  I have added a teaspoon of instant coffee granules to chocolate and also 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to white chocolate and just stir in.  If you want to add a bit of additional sweetness you can also stir in a tablespoon of white corn syrup.

Keep the heat turned to the lowest setting and hold until ready to use.  Stir occasionally.

Cookie Paint and Cutters.

I have made painted sugar cookies and chocolate wafer cookies and will spoon the chocolate over the cookies or dip the cookies in the warm ganache and then place them on parchment paper to cool.

Painted hearts with red sprinkles.

Here is the link to make cut out sugar cookies and the cookie paint.     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/02/painted-hearts-cut-out-cookies-for.html

Assorted hearts.

Here is the link for the chocolate wafer cookies.      thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/09/easy-slice-and-bake-chocolate-wafer.html

Cooling chocolate wafers.

After cooling the cookies and making the ganache I tried sever things.  Some were better than others but none were bad.

Drizzle stripes with a spoon.

Dip assorted cookies.

Roll edge of dipped wafers in Swedish sugar.

Drizzle wafers with almond flavored chocolate.

In the morning when these are all hardened I will package them up.  I think these will make a nice assortment and they are a little different from the previous years!

Doing Pie and Cookie Dough Today! Christmas Buffet Menu.

5 pie crusts

Today I have made up my recipe for 5 single crust pie crusts (or 2 double and a single)  because I am making two very special people their favorite pies to send with my husband in the morning when he leaves for work.  He can deliver them for me and they will still be nice and warm.  That sounds like a great Christmas surprise to me!  I have the pastry made up and patted out into 5 disks and wrapped in waxed paper then dropped into a plastic bag  and stashed into the refrigerator.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/07/cherry-pie.html   thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2012/11/canning-apple-pie-filling-my-revision.html     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2012/05/raisin-pie-and-primary-election-day.html

Home canned apple pie filling

I will use my last can of homemade Apple pie filling for one pie and then I am making an very old fashioned Raisin pie.

Raisins simmering

   

Snicker doodles

Next this morning I am making up a batch of Snicker doodles    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/08/old-fashioned-snickerdoodles.html   then a recipe of sugar cookie dough  thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/12/baking-christmas-cookies.html   and a batch of dough for painted roll out cookies.   thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/02/painted-hearts-cut-out-cookies-for.html   I will bake the Snicker doodles today and store the made up cookie dough to bake off tomorrow after my marathon trip to both the butcher and the market.

Since I have been troubled with bad knees I was counting the days to the injection appointment.  But, the injections bother me about a day and a half but then I jump up and feel 30 again for awhile!  Today is my first feel like 30 day.  Thus the reason I have postponed the marketing.

Planned Christmas Buffet:

This Christmas I am planning a buffet to be left out and enjoyed at will.  The ham for Thanksgiving was such a hit I am repeating it.   thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/03/baking-whole-ham-for-easter.html    I also ordered several pounds of the butchers delicious homemade potato salad (yes I did!)  But I will throw together some baked beans.  Thinking of a huge, maybe 4 pound platter of fresh strawberries and some chocolate ganache for dipping!  Then our other "likes" include a platter of ice cold shrimp cocktail, a cheese ball with crackers, assorted bread. thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-fashioned-persimmon-pudding-my.html   Assorted beverages on ice and maybe a bit of hot buttered rum!    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2010/11/hot-buttered-rum.html

Spiced Pecans

Some spiced nuts, and of course veggies and dip.  Dessert will be Christmas cookies and a batch of Christmas rice crispy treats with red and green holiday sprinkles!  Then maybe, just maybe, I will do up a persimmon pudding with whipped cream for good measure.  

Raisin and Apple Pies

Monday Morning 7:30 AM:  The pies have finished baking and are packed for Brian's deliveries! 
Since they are still hot I dropped a cooling rack into the bottom of each of two large tote bags.  Next I covered the rack with a clean tea towel and put the aluminum pie plate in a second aluminum pie plate to sturdy up the base.  Then I rolled 2 additional clean tea towels into cylinders and used them as bumpers to keep the pie from sliding.

Tucked away to travel

The last step was to tear, fold, and enclose two ample sheets of fresh aluminum foil for the pis to be covered with when cool. 

Painted Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!

Airplanes, hammers, trucks, puppy dog paws, dinosaurs, rockets, trains, sunglasses, and more new cookie cutters!

I have had such a nice day.  Sunny, mild, widows open.  Lots of things accomplished.  The most fun has been baking these painted cookies with my new treasure trove of cookie cutters!  It's 5 pm and I have just finished cleaning up.  My big oak dinning table with the leaves still in from yesterday is half laden with colorful sparkling painted sugar cookies.  They are still resting from having come from the oven and I will pack them and ship them tomorrow to Chris our oldest son and the boys!  Bet they will have "big eyes" when they open this box!

This recipe is just too good not to make again and again and I do.  If you would like to try them here is the link.  thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2013/02/painted-hearts-cut-out-cookies-for.html

Really what I like so much about them is you just paint the cookies before baking and I sprinkle with colored sugars and as they bake and puff a bit it makes an outline it is really a cute outcome for not a lot of work.  On top of that I froze the unused paint I had made and used at Easter in little jars so I just thawed them today and they were perfect.  No waste at all!  (The paint is egg and food color.)

All those from these!!

Cookie Cutters!! Dinosaurs,Tools,Trucks, Planes, Rockets, Zoo Animals, Shades, and a Puppy's Paw.

These cookie cutters directly reflect the current "likes" of our little boys.

I am so pleased to report the quest has been successful!  I finally found and purchased a selection of "boy" cookie cutters!  I could not be more pleased!! I had gone to several local outlets for baking supplies and never seen the exact selection I was looking for.  Then I remembered good old Google!

Upon Googling I found Cincinnati Cake & Candy Supplies and after clicking onto the cookie cutter tab found everything I could possibly ask for!  Many of you may have observed  there is usually way more "girl" stuff and I admit that too seems to be improving over what it had been when my sons were growing up.  At any rate I found a great selection of exactly what I was looking for!

The service was perfect and the cookie cutters arrived the third day after I placed the order with no special instructions for shipping.  The cutters were very well priced.  Most under $2.00 (some under $1.50) each and look perfect.  I hope to make cookies with them on Monday or Tuesday to send to the twins and will share photos with you of the end result.

Note:  I am not paid by this company, do not own stock, or work for them.   I just found them and they filled my needs nicely!

Cincinnati Cake & Candy Supplies  has way more than cookie cutters and I will be looking there for more of my baking needs.  They can be found at  www.cincicakeandcandy.com/  if you too would like to visit their site.  It was certainly worth my time.  I found and ordered over a dozen  dinosaurs, trucks, sunglasses, dog paws, rockets, airplanes, and other animals. 

"Painted Hearts" Cut Out Cookies for Valentine's Day Gift Giving

I love the way these bake up and leave a cookie dough outline around the outside of the cookie from  when you painted them.  The crackle is lovely and I dusted half of the cookies with red sugar which adhered well to the paint and gave a really nice effect.

I have had this recipe pulled aside to make for quite a while now and not gotten to it.  Ree Drummond the "Pioneer Woman" blogger had posted it for Christmas Cookies.  I have adapted it and am using heart cutters with pink and red colors to paint them to send off to my grandchildren.  Katie will surely smile if I have a package ready and pick her up from school and I am sure she will share with her older sister Emily.  Jack and Sam will be excited to get a package in the mail and cookies are always welcome treats.

My husband, Brian's Valentine, shhhhh don't tell.

So......it is 9 AM two days before Valentine's day and I have the cookies baked, Decorated and the frosting is firming up under the breeze of the ceiling fan above them in the kitchen.  I mixed them up last night and left them to chill overnight so I could bake them off first thing today.  The dough was easy to work with and I loved the way the painting went.  These have found a permanent place in my cookie file and I will for sure make them again and again!  As for today, I have but to box them up and deliver to the girls and mail off to the little boys!  I  am so blessed and it is such fun to be MOM and GRANDMA!

Ingredients for Painted Cut Out Cookies:

1 1/3 C. shortening
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs 
2 T. + 2 t. milk (8 teaspoons total)
1 t. vanilla
4 C. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Combine the sugar and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth, add the vanilla and the milk and beat 5 minutes.   Add the 2 whole eggs and continue beating for 1 minute.

This recipe makes 4 nice disks of dough to wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and add to the creamed mixture beating until it forms a dough.   Divide the dough into 4 equal portions resembling a disk and wrap each in waxed paper.  Slip the disks into  a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least a half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment or sil-pat mats. Set aside.

Ingredients for Cookie Paint:

2 egg yolks
5-6 drops food coloring (I made both red and pink paint.)
2 t. water

HELPFUL HINT:  Here is the part where I place the 2 unused egg whites in a small container and pop them into the freezer to use another day.

Combine the yolks, water, and food color.  Since I used 2 colors I placed one yolk and 1 teaspoon of water in each small bowl and mixed in the gel paste food color.   Paint the unbaked cookies with a soft brush using the colored glaze.  Add a few more droplets of water if needed to reach a paint like mixture.

It is fun to collect cookie cutters and they make nice gifts too.

Roll the chilled dough about 1/4" thick and cut with floured cutters into heart shapes.  Using a soft brush paint the tops with the cookie paint you have prepared.  I paint all of the way to the edge and when they puff up baking it leaves a nice rim.

Unbaked painted cookies ready for the oven.

Place on the prepared pans and bake for 6-7 minutes.  Do not brown the cookies, they should be slightly puffed and the glaze will look crackled.  Bake in several batches.  Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before frosting.

Ingredients for  the White Decorative Icing:

1 pound powdered sugar
1/4 C. milk (You may add more milk a droplet at a time until you reach the right consistency if needed.)
1 rounded T. dried egg whites

The kid's all get a cookie with their initial made just for them.

Mix the sugar, milk, and egg whites and beat well.  Make sure the frosting is thick enough to retain it's shape.  Using a pastry bag or a zip-top bag pipe the cookies with the icing to further decorate.

Some of the cookie decorations are made just for fun.

Ultimately half of the cookies are painted and sprinkled with cookie sugar and the other half painted and frosted which makes for a nice variety in this big batch of cookies.   Yield 4-6 dozen cookies depending on the size of the cookies and if you re-roll the dough scraps. ( I always do re-roll.)

Frostings, Chocolate Butter Cream, Cream Cheese, & Old Fashioned Whipped, plus My Favorite Cookie Icing.

Left to right, Chocolate Butter Cream, Cream Cheese, and Old Fashioned Whipped Frosting.

As I told my Mother this morning I have always had more issues finding a frosting to ice my cakes with than the making of the cakes.  Since I delivered the desserts last night to the Christmas party I have been thinking of these cakes and frosting's and decided to share with you my FAVORITE frosting/icing recipes, how to make them successfully, and the tips I use.  I do not like the ultra sugary sweet frosting.  These are just the ones I like and hope you might too.  Some take some time and trouble and others are very simple.  All are delicious!

There is method to my madness and the confessions of my OCDS are as follows!  (Obsessive, compulsive disorder syndrome.)  The first thing I do is to assemble everything I need.  I would have already made the cakes and either wrapped the layers in waxed paper or parchment and slipped each into a large plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen them.  The reason is that it is WAY easier to frost a cold cake.  When I have the frosting done I take out the layers and unwrap brushing lightly any loose crumbs from the sides with my hands as I go.  I really prefer to freeze them overnight.  This is especially helpful if it will sit out with a cream cheese or butter cream to keep it cool and it is terrific if you have to transport the cake.  If it will not have time to thaw before you want to serve just refrigerate instead.

Tools: turntable if available, decorative flat cake platter, offset spatula, bamboo skewers, stand mixer with paddle and whip attachments, rubber scraper, measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients for Old Fashioned Whipped Frosting:

7 T. flour
1 1/2 C. milk

Mix the flour and milk in a heavy bottomed pan and cook stirring constantly until it forms a very thick paste.  Remove from the heat and scrape into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until cold.

1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
3/4 C. Crisco shortening
1 1/2 sticks room temperature margarine (3/4 C.) Do not use butter. 
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Beat the sugar, Crisco, margarine, and vanilla until it turns very white using the whip of a stand mixer for about 6-8 minutes.  Add the cold flour mixture and continue beating until it becomes very white and very fluffy, about 6-10 minutes.  The resulting frosting is not a sugary sweet frosting but more like whipped cream.  Very light and not overly sweet.  This recipe frosts a three layer cake.

To assemble I first place a good tablespoon of frosting in the center of the cake plate to anchor.

Next I frost the layers.

When I have placed the top layer onto the stack I ofter insert a wooden skewer or two to anchor and keep the layers from sliding, especially it they will be transported or on a hot day.  I use a scissors and a bit of elbow grease to cut it to size.

Old Fashioned Icing.

The skewer if placed in the center will just drop by the wayside when you slice and serve the cake.  It does not show on the frosted cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting for a Three Layer Cake:

12 ounces softened cream cheese
3/4 C. softened stick margarine, not butter
6 C. powdered sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Beat the cream cheese and margarine together in a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment until very well blended.  Then add the powered sugar,and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Frost the cake using the above steps.  This recipe is adapted from Chef Doug Rennie of Evansville, Indiana.  This recipe frosts a large three layer cake.

Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting.

Ingredients for Creamy Chocolate Butter Cream:

2 1/2 sticks of room temperature butter
1 C. powdered sugar
3/4 C. Dutch process cocoa
pinch of salt
1/2 C. light corn syrup
1/2 t. vanilla
1 t. instant powdered coffee or espresso powder
7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips melted over simmering water and cooled to room temperature

Add then butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt to the bowl of the food processor.  Pulse until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice, about 30 seconds.  Add the corn syrup, vanilla, and espresso powder and process until just combined, about 10 seconds.  Scrape the sides of the bowl one more time and add the cooled chocolate.  Pulse until the frosting is creamy, about 15 seconds.  Makes about 3 cups of frosting.  This is a recipe I think I saw of Bobby Flay's on The Food Network and have adapted it to suit our family..It is easy and delicious!


Cookie Frosting Recipe and Ideas:

Ingredients for my favorite Cookie Frosting:

For each cup of powdered sugar add 1 T. soft butter and 1 t. heavy cream adding more a droplet at a time until you reach the desired consistency.  This icing becomes firm if left out to dry a bit and then does not stick to the other cookies.

I also occasionally use this recipe for some cake frosting.   I just cover it with a cake dome instead of leaving out to air dry a bit.

These coolies were baked and decorated by my two granddaughters 13 and 17 this afternoon using this frosting recipe.  They made 2 cups and tinted part if the frosting.  I mixed up the dough for them last night and they came this afternoon and had a "cookie bake" at our house and Grandpa and I enjoyed it very much. It made great memories for us all.