Recipes for Valentine’s Day

I really don’t like Valentine’s Day.  In fact, I hate it.  And, no – nothing happened.  Nothing traumatic or heartbreaking happened for me to feel this way.  I can think of several other occasions to celebrate love besides a holiday concocted for it.  But, I’ll tell you what.  The best Valentine’s I remember is the first one I spent with Binks.  Specifically, he brought me a box of chocolates, which we ate standing over the sink.  I would take a bite and then give him the rest.  We did this methodically with the entire box.  Best. V. Day. Ever.

So, aside from the creepy flying baby in his underwear, the tolerable thing about Valentine’s is the food.  The glorious decadent food.  In honor of, I’ve put together a list of foods that I think would be great for any Valentine’s.  Happy VD my sweet friends.

1.  Raspberry Coulis

Drizzle this on – anything.  Pancakes.  Cheesecake.  Straight into your mouth.  Wonderful.

2.  Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A little on the nose, but who can resist a beautiful red velvet cake?   And, I promise you that this cake is irresistible.

3.  Garlic Bread

This may not be on the nose and mostly on the breath but this garlic bread is completely worth it.

4.  Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

I love making and decorating sugar cookies for Valentine’s.  It’s a creative and personal way to show someone you care.

5.  Cream Puffs

Looking more difficult than it actually is to make, cream puffs are a delicious way to impress a Valentine.

6.  Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza is a love in our house and this Chicago style deep dish is a decadent main course for a casual meal with anyone you love.

7.  Funfetti Cookies

A classic sugar cookie gets an instant glam makeover by adding your favorite sprinkles.

8.  Donut Muffins

I dare you resist donuts at any time.  Waking up to these in the morning will truly show a loved one how much you care.

9.  Pesto Macaroni and Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Peppers

All my favorite flavors and ingredients combine to make a dish that makes me swoon.

10.  Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a favorite cookie in my house and everyone that tries them falls in love.

Happy Valentine’s Day {Sugar Cookies}

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I must say that I have never been a fan of Valentine’s Day.  Whether I was single, dating or married, the purpose of the day was lost on me.  All purposes save one.  The delicious factor.  You know what I mean.  Chocolates.  Desserts.  And of course, cookies.

With sugar cookies on the brain lately, I finally sat down and decorated sugar cookies for friends.  My experience has been that most cut-out decorated sugar cookies have lacked great flavor.  Well, not these.  These cookies are perfect.  Full of flavor and tender crumb.  The cookies are not overly sweet, which works well when paired with the royal icing, which let’s admit may not be the most delicious thing to put on top of a cookie.

And, as a novice at the decorated sugar cookie, I fully expected my cookies to be imperfect and composed of minor, superficial blemishes.  However, with a superior base product, I would gladly eat and share these cookies with my family and friends.

Sugar Cookies
–  from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 and 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 and 1/2 cup sifted flour

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Cream butter until fluffy and add powdered sugar until fully incorporated and light.
3. Add egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt and flour to the butter mixture until well blended (in that order).
4. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours, until the dough has firmed up.
5. Once chilled, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the cookie dough to a 1/4 inch thickness.  If your dough keeps sticking, I suggest alternating between flour and powdered sugar to powder to the surface.  This way you won’t run the risk of adding too much flour to the mixture.
6. After rolling, cut out your desired shapes with cookie cutters.  Transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes until only barely browned on the bottom.  You do not want to brown these cookies.
8. Allow the cookies to cool on a cooling rack completely before decorating.  If you don’t intend on decorating right away, store in an airtight container until it is time to decorate.