Valentine's Day
shopping list
parchment paper
Stand mixer
assorted sprinkles
recipes
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Duck fat cookies dipped in white chocolate
Makes about 36 1.5 inch cookies
Duck Fat Cookies
ingredients
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 1 1/4 cups Duck Fat, cold
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ of a scraped vanilla bean
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 4 cups organic all-purpose flour, plus more
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- food coloring, optional
method
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix 1 cup of sugar and chilled duck fat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and mix to combine. Add vanilla and zest; combine.
In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Gradually beat flour mixture into sugar mixture on low speed. If you’d like to add food coloring, do so here. Store and chill dough in refrigerator overnight.
On a floured work surface, roll out dough to desired thickness. We wanted thicker shortbread, so we rolled to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes.
Place cookies on parchment lined sheet trays, being careful as the cookies will be soft. Put sheet trays in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
While chilling, preheat oven to 350° F. After 15 minutes in the freezer, bake cookies 12 to 14 minutes. Cookies should be set but not browned. Remove from sheet tray after 1 minute and cool on a wire rack.
Cookies will keep in an airtight container for a week.
white chocolate
ingredients
- 8 oz white chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 TBS coconut oil
method
Fill the bottom half of a double boiler with about 1 inch of water. Heat on medium-high until the water comes to a light boil.
Reduce heat to low. Place white chocolate in the top of the double boiler. Stir gently but continuously until the white chocolate is mostly melted but a few bumps remain. If needed, add a small amount of coconut oil to help the consistency.
Transfer the top of the double boiler to a heat-safe surface and continue to gently stir. If you’d like to add food coloring, do so here. Once the chocolate is fully melted, you are ready to dip your cookies in the white chocolate.
Dip cookies in melted chocolate, decorate with sprinkles, and lay flat on parchment paper until fully solidified, about 20 minutes.
gaps crème fraîche truffles
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
ingredients
- 1 cup organic cocoa butter
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- ⅓ cup crème fraîche
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- Sea Salt
method
In a small saucepan combine the cocoa butter, and coconut oil over low heat. Once melted, add cocoa powder slowly, whisking out any clumps.
Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and honey. Season lightly with a pinch of salt.
Pour half of the chocolate into a medium bowl, reserving the rest in the pan. Whisk crème fraîche into the bowl and add flavoring of choice. Refrigerate until firm.
Once filling is chilled, use a small spoon to scoop out chocolate and form small balls, reserving on a sheet tray. Once all are formed, freeze the balls for 2 hours.
Reheat saucepan with the other half of the chocolate. Carefully and quickly dip each ball into the chocolate and if you are rolling in cocoa powder or garnishing do so now. Transfer to a tray and back to the fridge.
Once the truffles are set, refrigerate for one hour before serving.
cupid cookies with white chocolate chipS & strawberry marshmallow cream
Makes 3 dozen cookies
cupid cookies with white chocolate chipS
ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup raw cane sugar
- 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ of a scraped vanilla bean
- 2 large eggs
- 8 oz white chocolate chips
- food coloring
method
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, cane sugar, turbinado sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add 5 drops beet food coloring. Stir in white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly golden on edges. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
strawberry marshmallow cream
ingredients
- About 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 ½ teaspoons grass fed unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup cold water, divided
- 2 cups cane sugar
- ½ cup golden syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 tablespoon vanilla or ½ of a scraped vanilla bean
- 2 oz freeze dried strawberries
- food coloring
method
Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan and dust bottom and sides with confectioners’ sugar.
In bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle gelatin over ½ cup cold water and let stand to soften.
In a large saucepan, mix sugar, golden syrup, second ½ cup of cold water, and salt over low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Turn heat to medium and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240° F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stir until gelatin is dissolved.
With stand mixer, beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume; about six minutes if using standing mixer. This might take longer with a hand mixer.
In medium bowl, use clean whisk attachment to beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring) into sugar mixture until just combined and then add freeze dried strawberries and food coloring. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Sift ¼ cup confectioners sugar evenly over top. Chill uncovered until firm, at least three hours, and up to one day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert onto a large cutting board. Lifting one corner of inverted pan, loosen marshmallow with fingers and ease onto cutting board. Use a large knife to trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly one-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners’ sugar back into empty baking pan and roll marshmallows through sugar on all six sides. Shake off excess sugar. Store in airtight container. Marshmallows keep in an airtight container at room temperature about 1 week.
To make cupid cookie marshmallow sandwiches
Warm cookies in oven on a sheet tray under broiler on low. Add a square of marshmallow on one cookie and let soften, about 2 minutes. Top with other cookie and you have yourself a treat!
chocolate covered strawberries
Makes about 16 strawberries
ingredients
- ½ cup organic cocoa butter
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup raw honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Sea Salt
method
In a small saucepan, combine the cocoa butter and coconut oil over low heat. Once melted, add cocoa powder slowly, whisking out any clumps.
Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and honey. Season lightly with a pinch of salt.
For chocolate covered strawberries, pick ripe, red strawberries, preferably with long stems. Dip strawberries in chocolate and let set on parchment lined sheet tray.
Alternatively; pour into paper lined mini muffin pans for buttercups or onto a parchment lined sheet tray for solid chocolate.
