Enchant your Valentine with Lipsmacking Dishes

 

Chocolate Conversation Heart Cakes

Sweetheart Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate Pecan Valentine's Day Kisses

Valentine's day Cake

Lemon Hearts

Victorian Gingerbread Valentines

Chocolate Conversation Heart Cakes

Ingredients:

  1. One and a half c. all-purpose flour
  2. Half cup granulated sugar
  3. Half cup packed light brown sugar
  4. Six full tablespoons cocoa
  5. One tsp. baking soda
  6. One fourth of a tsp. salt
  7. One cup water
  8. Six tablespoons vegetable oil
  9. One tsp. white vinegar
  10. One tsp. vanilla extract
  11. Creamy Frosting
  12. Red Decorating Gel

        Method: Heat oven to 350~ F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Stir   together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat with whisk or spoon until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Transfer to cutting board. Cut cake into 8 to 10 hearts using 3-1/4 inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Valentine's Day Cake

1. Cream together:

    1/2 Cup of Crisco
    1 1/2 Cups Sugar

Add 2 eggs - Beat Well

2. Sift 3 Times:

    2 Cups flour
    1 Tablespoon Cocoa
    1 Teaspoon Salt

3. Fold In:

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda dissolved in
1 Tablespoon Vinegar - Quickly

    Use 2, 9" Layer Pans that have been greased and floured.

    Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

 

4. Filling and Icing

Cook on low flame to pudding stage:

    1 Cup Milk
    1/4 Cup Flour
    Dash of salt

5.Cream:

    1/2 Cup Crisco
    1 Stick Margarine
    1 Cup Granulated Sugar
    2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Add to pudding and beat well. Spread between layers and on top and sides. Sprinkle with coconut.

 

SweetHeart Sandwich Cookies

 1/4 lb Unsalted butter
  1 1/4 c  Sugar
  2 lg Eggs
  1 ts Vanilla extract
  1/2 c  Unsweetened cocoa
  2 c  Flour
  1/2 ts Salt
  1 ts Baking powder
  1/2 ts Baking soda
  FILLING:
  4 tb Unsalted butter
  1 ts Vanilla extract
  4 c  Confectioner's sugar                  
  Whipping cream

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light. Beat in eggs and vanilla; set aside.

Sift the cocoa, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Stir the dry   ingredients thoroughly into the butter mixture.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F and butter 2 cookie sheets.

Using a teaspoon measure, roll level teaspoons of the dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cookies are puffed and surfaces slightly dry and cracked.

Cool on racks.

To make the filling, cream the butter until light. Beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar, adding whipping cream and continuing to beat until the consistency of creamy frosting.

When the cookies are cooled completely, spread about 1/2 tablespoon of filling on the bottom of one cookie, then top with the bottom side of another cookie.

Makes about 3 dozen cookie sandwiches.

Lemon Hearts

  1. 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter or margarine, softened
  2. 1 cup sugar
  3. 1 egg yolk
  4. 3 tsp. grated lemon peel
  5. 2 cups all-purpose flour
  6. 1 cup ground blanched almonds
  7. About 20 candied cherries cut in half

Method:  Beat butter and the cup of sugar until creamy; beat in egg yolk and lemon peel. Then gradually add flour, blend thoroughly and stir in almonds. Gather dough into a ball with your hands. On a lightly floured board, roll out dough to a thickness of1/4 inch. Cut out with a 2 to 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter; transfer cookies to greased baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar. Press in half a cherry in center of each cookie. Bake in a 325~ oven for about 20 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer to racks and let cool completely. Store airtight. Makes about 3-1/2 dozen.

Chocolate Pecan Valentine's Day Kisses

    3 Egg whites
    1/4 ts Cream of tartar
    3/4 c  Granulated sugar
    1/2 c  Finely chopped pecans or walnuts
    1/4 c  Sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
    1/2 ts Vanilla
    1 pn Salt

  Method:

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold in pecans, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt.

Spoon into pastry bag fitted with 1/2 inch tip. Pipe 1 inch kisses, about 1-1/2 inches      apart, onto lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake in 250F oven for about 45 minutes or until outside is firm but inside slightly soft.

Let cool on racks. Store at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.

Victorian Gingerbread Valentines

In Victorian times lovers declared their affections via words, songs, pictures    and foods. One such food was gingerbread "life cakes" in the shape of hearts.

    2 1/2 cups unsifted flour
    2 teaspoons cinnamon
    1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
    1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup margarine
    1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
    1/3 cup dark corn syrup
    1 large egg

Method:

In large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.

Blend together margarine and brown sugar until smooth. Add corn syrup and egg; beat well. Add dry ingredients, about one-third at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition. Chill dough one hour.

Roll out half of dough on lightly floured surface to one-quarter-inch thickness. (Reserve other half for decoratins or for a second batch of cookies.) Using hear-shaped cookie cutter, press out cookie shapes or use knife to cut around a pattern. Place hearts on cookie sheet. Decorate as desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until golden. Remove and place on wire racks to cool. Store in covered container.

Makes about eight 4 1/2 inch cookies.