Valentine's Day Goodies Galore

Last weekend, the kids and I had so much fun putting together heart-shaped sugar cookies decorated with dark chocolate frosting and dark chocolate M&M’s^®. I really enjoy baking with the kids; it’s one of my favorite bonding times with them.  Anyway, it was easy because we used a package of sugar cookie mix that we had leftover from the holiday season and homemade chocolate frosting that I had in the freezer.  (I had made the frosting for cupcakes last month and split the batch – half to use now, half to use later.) The cookies looked so festive and the dark chocolate frosting made them an extra decadent treat.  Seriously, this frosting is for the most die-hard chocolate lover.  Vanilla girls, need not apply. 

Martha Stewart’s Dark Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

Makes about 5 cups  (that’s a lot of frosting, even for a piggy like me!)

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pounds best-quality semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Dark Chocolate Frosting - Martha Stewart Recipes

For our dessert on Valentine’s Day, I decided to make candy-coated pretzels.  A little less fancy than our normal Valentine’s Day fare, but I decided on them for the following reasons: 

1) Last weekend, hubby and I decided that I must take a break from baking. Otherwise, our waistlines will begin to suffer the consequences.

2) We’ve been craving pretzel M&Ms and snacking on them almost every night.

3) On some random impulse, I bought a ton of CandiQuik^® at the store last month. I’ve been looking at it wondering what I’m going to do with it; I’ve never used it before and am not really sure what to make with it.  I guess I could have looked up a recipe but that seemed to easy to me.  I was going to have to figure this one out on my own! 

Ginger’s Candy-Coated Pretzels

1 package of Vanilla CandiQuik

1 package of thick pretzel rods

1 bag of miniature Butterfinger^®

1 bag of M&M’s

1 cup of sprinkles

1) Put the Butterfingers and M&M’s in two separate Ziploc bags and smash away. Lay the crumbles and sprinkles on separate parchment paper lined plates.

2) Melt the CandiQuik according to the directions.

3) Dip, roll and/or pour the CandiQuik over ¾ of the pretzel and let the initial excess drip off. Then roll the pretzel rods in one of the candy crumbles or sprinkles.  Place on parchment lined baking sheets to dry and harden.

Side note: this was a messy project and CandiQuik takes some coaxing to come off once it has dried. And you can also make these with strawberries, instead of pretzels.  

We’ll be pairing them with ChocoVine – a chocolate and red wine drink. Should be interesting! 

And of course, you need music! Here are a few songs on my Valentine’s Day playlist:

Making Out – No Doubt

Hey Stephen – Taylor Swift

The First Taste – Fiona Apple

Your Body is a Wonderland – John Mayer

Warm Whispers – Missy Higgins

Paperweight – Joshua Radin

Hope you have a special day with your loved ones!