Valentine’s Cookie Baking

This week's cookies included Linzer Hearts, Chocolate Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate-Iced Peanut Squares and Crackled Chocolate Cookies.

I started off with the Linzer Hearts which are classified as sandwich cookies. I learned how to blanch nuts with this recipe: Hazelnuts get baked until their paper-like skins flake off, with the aid of a towel rubbing; Almonds get boiled and their skins slip off, they then have to be dried in the oven. I ground the nuts, combined the flour and spices, beat the butter and sugar, added the nuts and flour/spices and then tried to flatten the "mixture" into dough and refrigerate. It was very crumbly. It didn't cooperate but I smooshed it all together and stuck It in the frig. I did this twice. I made one "dough" with hazelnuts and the other with almonds. I cooled the dough and when I took out the hazelnut dough and started to try to roll it out it broke up. I struggled and struggled and managed to get 24 cookies (1 top and 1 bottom) baked them and then let them cool. The cookies held together and then I reduced the raspberry jam, spread it on the bottom, topped it and then filled the opening with a bit more jam. They look really good. I sampled just the cookie part and it was good. I have the almond-based dough to tackle. I think I'll do that tomorrow. The first batch was traumatic.

The chocolate chocolate sandwich cookie is also a sandwich cookie. So it used sort of the same process. Make the dough, chill the dough, roll the dough, bake the dough, chill the cookies, make the filling and fill the cookies. This dough came together nicely. I could easily shape it into a rectangle and chill it. When I started to roll it the dough became fussy. I rolled and baked about half of it before I gave up. I think the cookie-baking time is a bit off. I baked them per instructions but some of them came out toastier than others. So another day, perhaps tomorrow I will finish off the batch. The filling was simple and came out great.

Crackled Chocolate cookies: another dough that needs refrigeration before use. This cookie is a molded cookie. It is dropped into confectioners sugar and then rolled into a ball put on the baking sheet and voila, cookies with a lovely white/dark crackle. A great success. I took some to Altar guild set up today and got favorable nods.

The Last cookie I baked for Valentine's day is a bar cookie (baked in an 11 x 13 baking dish) called Chocolate-Iced Peanut Squares. This was easy, easy, easy. You blend the ingredients smoosh it into the baking dish and bake. Then you make the topping melting chocolate, mixing in the butter and spread it on the cooled 'cake' and then top with peanuts. Wait for the chocolate topping to set and then cut.

I have given a tray of all of these cookies to our church coffee hour. They will join the mounds of delicacies that are made by the extremely talented Pam. We'll see.