 They say the way to a person's heart is through their stomach. If that's true, one of the best expressions of love is to cook something special for your loved ones. Food is my love language so I naturally gravitate towards expressing my love for others with food and I don't think there's any better day to show some love through food, than on Valentine's Day. 💘 There is a longstanding tradition of giving your Valentine a box of chocolates carefully packaged into a red heart shaped box on February 14th. But if you're feeling like you want to show your love with a homemade sweet this year instead of a store bought Valentine, there's actually a whole lot treats that you can make in your very own kitchen. Just remember that your edible Valentine doesn't have to be fancy or elegant. #itsthethoughtthatcounts A simple brownie or rice crispy treat cut into a heart with a cookie cutter can make the perfect sweet treat for your favorites. If you're looking for a little Valentine culinary inspiration, I've rounded up some of the sweet treats that I've made for my valentines in years past. So for a couple who loves to dessert almost as much as we love each other, you better believe that we celebrate Valentine's Day and all the other holidays with sweet-tooth satisfying treats. 😂 Doesn't everyone eat green ice cream on St. Patrick's Day, monkey bread for breakfast on birthdays and cereal treats shaped into tiny pumpkins on Halloween? 🎃😅 We even celebrate Chinese New Year with homemade fortune cookies, so you better believe that we celebrate big on Valentine's Day. It doesn't matter how old my kids get, I will always make them homemade treats for Valentine's Day. I get it honestly - My mom still mails us a box of Valentine goodies every year. #thanksmom  Our plans for V-Day are still up in the air for this year but I know that whether we end up dining in our own kitchen or going out for a meal, there will be deliciously decadent ganache filled brownies waiting for us at the end of the day. I can't think of a more perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Chocolate Ganache Brownies Brownies 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup boiling water 2 cups sugar 2/3 cup oil 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/3 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt Chocolate Ganache 1 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon sea salt Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache 1 1/3 cup chocolate chips (milk, dark or semi sweet) 1/2 cup peanut butter
 Spoon 1 Tablespoon of ganache into center of each brownie. I made two different fillings for these brownies - a dark chocolate ganache and a chocolate peanut butter ganache. Choose which one you like best OR make a half batch of each, like me, so your Valentine's can choose own their filling.
Ciao!
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  You really cant go wrong when you present your true love with chocolate dipped strawberries. If you present them with a chocolate dipped strawberry on top of a delicious strawberry cupcake - bonus points. It's February and that means that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. And nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like chocolate and strawberries. These cupcake really are amazing and they taste just as good as they look. If you want to impress your Valentine with a special treat this Valentine's Day - I recommend chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes.    Place strawberries in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes 12 ounces frozen whole strawberries, thawed 3/4 cup whole milk 6 egg whites 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 1/4 cups cake flour 1 3/4 cups sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 12 Tablespoons butter, room temperature Strawberry Buttercream 10 egg whites 2 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar 40-48 Tablespoons butter, softened Chocolate Ganache 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate 4 Tablespoons heavy cream 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2-3 Tablespoons water Garnish 12 chocolate dipped strawberries  Allow to cool. Press fruit through a sieve into a bowl.  Reserve Solids. Pour strawberry sauce into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup and thick and syrupy.  Whisk milk into reduced strawberry juice. Whisk in egg whites and vanilla.   Add butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl of mixer. Add milk, half at a time and beat until just combined. (I added a little bit of pink food coloring too.)  Scoop batter into 12 paper lined jumbo cupcake tins. Bake 23 minutes at 350. Cool on wire racks.
 Prepare strawberry buttercream. Whisk together egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in bowl of standing mixer. Set over double boiler and cook until foamy and warm to the touch. Transfer bowl to mixer and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.   Switch to flat beater and beat in butter, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Beat in strawberry solids and a drop of pink food coloring.  Pipe a circle of strawberry buttercream on top of each strawberry cupcake.  Refrigerate cupcakes while you prepare ganache. Heat chocolate and cream in microwave for 1 minute. Stir to combine. Whisk in powdered sugar and enough water to make a smooth, glossy, spreadable consistency.  Spoon a Tablespoon of ganache over each chilled cupcake. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes.  Pipe a small amount of buttercream over ganache and garnish with a chocolate dipped strawberry.     There you have it - the perfect Valentine's day treat. Ciao! |
