Valentine's Recap

Every Sunday is Pancake Sunday in our house, so when Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year, you know Conor (the pancake maker) had to make pink heart cakes. Aren't they cute? You should all be very jealous because they were delicious! We had a great day full of hearts, flowers, and yummy treats. Lillie and Quinn gave me a perfect bouquet of cala lillies and Conor gave me some beautiful roses.

Lillie, Quinn and I worked hard to make Conor a very special Valentine's cookie. These are heart-shaped, homemade Samoa's. I found the recipe here, and oh my, you can find more homemade versions of Girl Scout Cookies here. I strongly encourage everyone to make these cookies when you need a little sweet in your life.

Recipe: From Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

cookies

• 1 cup butter, soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• up to 2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
3. Working in two or three batches, roll out the dough between pieces of wax or parchement paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and cut out shapes using a 1 to 1 1/2 -inch cookie cutter.
4. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you'd like to make your rounds look just like samoas, use the end of a wide straw to cut a smaller center hole.
5. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.
6. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

coconut caramel topping

• 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels (like Werther's)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with salt, milk, and vanilla. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
3. Using a small spoon or small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
4. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
5. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Yields 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.