Brownie Roll-Out Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These cookies are what would happen if traditional roll-out sugar cookies married brownies and they had a baby. A brownie roll-out cookie baby. The are thick and sturdy but still soft and chewy. Deb (from Smitten Kitchen) says you can roll them 1/8″ or 1/4″ thick, but I agree with her that I like them better on thicker side. You will really be impressed with how well they roll-out and cut (unless of course you’re using XOXO cookie cutters which happen to be the biggest PIA ever).

For Valentine’s day I decided to skip the icing/frosting and leave ’em naked! 😉 But they are really ideal for royal icing. They would also make for an excellent ice cream sandwich cookie! Or the perfect pair for a cherry buttercream! Or you could follow Jesse’s lead and smear one with peanut butter then top with a second cookie. You really can’t go wrong with these versatile little cookies.

 

 

Strawberry Sorbet

As much as I love rich and decadent chocolate desserts, I think it’s also important to balance your menu. So if you have really heavy dinner, you’re probably better off going with a lighter, more refreshing, dessert. Today I’m taking that  lighter approach to Valentine’s day.

Sorbet is cold and refreshing and a nice lower-fat alternative to ice cream. But don’t confuse this sorbet with that neon rainbowy stuff from your childhood. This sorbet is PACKED with a sweet powerful strawberry punch and naturally has the most beautiful reddish-magenta color. It would really be the perfect finish to a heavy Valentine’s dinner.

 

Individual Strawberry Brownie Tarts

As I promised on Facebook last week, this week is going to be full of Valentine’s worthy treats. Lots of pinks and reds. And of course some chocolate too!

These Individual Strawberry Brownie Tarts are the perfect dessert for impressing your Valentine. A rich and chocolatey brownie topped with a delicious (and simple!) cream cheese frosting, juicy strawberries, and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Decadent and impressive, but surprisingly easy! For the brownie I stuck with a simple one-bowl recipe. While the brownies were baking I cleaned out the bowl and used it for the simple frosting. If you realllly wanted you could make them just a few steps easier by using boxed brownie mix and store bought frosting, but you might find that the (very few) extra steps for the homemade version are worth it. And you can definitely use store bought chocolate syrup (like Hershey’s).

As for the “individual” part of this dessert – I used a this heart shaped mini-cake pan from Wilton. You could also use ramekins or even a regular muffin tin (making 12 instead of 6, so they aren’t too thick). Or if you don’t feel like messing with individual dessert you could also use a pie pan, tart pan, or spring-form pan.  No matter which option you choose, I’m sure your Valentine will be impressed!!