Valentine's Day 2018

Valentine's day is coming up. Exciting, right? Well, you’re not wrong. But there’s a lot of expectations that come with the holiday. Flowers, chocolate, gifts, it can be overwhelming. But there’s a solution for all those, if you’re scrambling for something last minute to put together.

The place? Your kitchen. The gift? Spending quality time with each other as you create delicious treats that you can both later enjoy. All you need to do is get the recipe and ingredients, and th you’re good to go. And don’t worry if the treats don’t turn out like you expected. The purpose is to spend time with your significant other and have fun.

If you’re not sure what to make, here are some Valentine’s themed options:

♡ Mini Cherry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies

♡ Sweetheart Cinnamon Rolls

♡ Marbled Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

If you’d like to make some Mini Cherry and Cream Cheese Hand Pies, here is a list of ingredients that would be required.

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

4-5 tablespoons water

2 cups or about 10 ounces cherries, pitted and halved

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 ½ tablespoons cold water

8 ounces cream cheese

⅓ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¼ cup decorative or large crystal sugar

To make these mini wonders, you must first preheat your oven to 450°F. Next, In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse flour, butter, salt, and sugar 10-12 times or until the batter has a consistency of small peas. Add cold water and pulse 5-7 more times or until the dough starts to come together. Once this is finished, take the dough and turn it onto a floured surface. Shape the dough into 2 round discs. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (You might want to make the dough before your special someone comes over)

Next step is to take a medium saucepan with the water. Add the cornstarch, sugar, and cherries. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the temperature so it’s simmering. Allowing it to cook for about five minutes before you remove it from the heat to cool.

Next, with your handheld mixer, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and almond extract until it’s nice and smooth. Then roll out the dough so it is about ¼ inch thick. Use a 5-inch biscuit cutter to cut out the round pie discs. Or if you would like, use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Apply the first layer with some of the cream cheese mixture, and then add a mound of about ¼ cup of cherry mixture. Lightly brush the edges of the circle with egg. If you have a circle layer, fold in half and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. If you have a heart, take another layer of dough and apply it over the first. Crimp edges with the fork.

Place the pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the egg wash over the pies, and then sprinkle some decorative sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden. You can serve it immediately with a nice side of vanilla ice cream, or wait for it to cool and eat it at room temperature.

Mini Pies, not your style? Try this twist on cinnamon rolls. It takes less time but is guaranteed to taste just as good. The only ingredient you need is a (13 oz) can of Pillsbury™ refrigerated flaky cinnamon rolls with icing. It’s important to use this type of Pillsbury™ dough, as any other type won’t roll out.

First, preheat your oven 350°F, then spray a 9-inch pan with cooking spray. Carefully unwind each roll into long strip of dough, leaving the center coiled. Coil the unrolled end of each strip in toward the center. Pull middle of strip down to make a point, forming the sought after heart shape. Pinch the points together. Place in the pan, and bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the rolls for 5 minutes before removing to consume. lastly, spread frosting over the warm rolls. Enjoy!

Finally, the recipe for Marbled Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies. A nice treat if you’re feeling a little fancy. You will need:

3 1/4 cups flour

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

5 tablespoons milk, divided

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon red food coloring

2 teaspoons white vinegar

2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

To make this tasty treat, just follow these simple steps. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Next, grease a 13 x 18 pan with butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Take a large bowl and whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of milk, vanilla extract, red food coloring, and white vinegar.

Your next step is to combine the dry and wet ingredients until completely combined. The batter is going to be really thick, with an almost moldable texture. That’s just how you want it.

Remove 3/4 cup of this batter and place it in another medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of milk into the 3/4 cup of batter you just took out. Set aside the 3/4 cup batter.

Proceed to pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the batter to reach all the edges.

Now, in your stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined and there are no lumps.

Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the red velvet layer and smooth mixture until it reaches all the edges.

Next, drop spoonfuls of the remaining red velvet batter -the one that you mixed with milk- onto the top of the cheesecake layer. Drag the tip of a knife through the red velvet and the cheesecake layers to create your marbling effect.

Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through, or just until the center is set and it no longer jiggles.

Let your brownies cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Use a medium sized heart cookie cutter, and you’ve got the perfect Valentine's Day snack!