‘Tis the month of love. February celebrates Cupid and his arrow denoting romance, love, intimacies and kisses that brings lovers together. The week long affair that starts on the 7th of February with Rose Day covers everything from chocolates, teddy bear, hugs, kisses and promises till it is joyously celebrated by couples as Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February. Ask our parents and they will raise their eyebrows, laugh and tell you that continuous love, understanding, care and passion is needed for relationships to thrive. A romance week in February is shortchange for an emotion that needs constant attention and importance.
Agreed, but I see no harm in dedicating a whole day just to love. Where everything and everyone ceases to exist and only two people in love matter. I’m a sucker for romance and if a day brings with it sweet nothings, romantic poems, cards, roses, balloons and everything heart-shaped, I’m all game. I will even don a chiffon saree and dance in the Swiss mountains a la Yashraj movie style on Valentine’s Day. Yeah, yeah, I’m pretty Bollywood like that.
Still fighting with jet lag from our travel back from the US, I woke up at 4:00 am and rummaged through my travel bag to take out the pretty kit of sprinkles. Though sprinkles are easily available in India, I loved the promise this one held in covering different occasions with its cornucopia of edible decorations in vibrant colours and shapes. The red and pink hearts were ideal for heart-shaped cookies. And since my man and I both love our cup of tea with cookies, it seemed a perfect way to start our day with heart sprinkles on heart-shaped chocolate cookies.
TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE BAKING HEART-SHAPED COOKIES ON VALENTINE DAY
The recipe is quite simple and entails the use of ingredients that are found in most kitchens. The heart chocolate cookies are made with cocoa powder and dipped in melted chocolate and topped with sprinkles. More so, they don’t spread out in the oven while baking. If you don’t have either melted chocolate or sprinkles, fret not. The plain cookies taste real good too.
The dough requires no chilling. Just assemble, roll, cut and bake. However, there are a few tips to keep in mind.
- Use a good quality cocoa powder like Ghirardelli or Hershey’s, natural unsweetened.
- The recipe calls for one and a half cups of sugar. I have gone 50:50 with sugar and jaggery and it tastes just as good.
- Bake similar size cookies together since larger cookies take a minute or two longer to bake than smaller cookies.
- If the dough is loose, shower flour generously while rolling out to tighten the dough.
- I dip the cooker cutter in flour before cutting so the dough doesn’t stick to it.
- Wait for the cookies to cool completely before chocolate frosting them.
- The cookies last at room temperature for 5 days or in the refrigerator for upto 10 days.
- You can use any cutter that you desire. Heart shaped cutter was used keeping the occasion in mind.
- For melting chocolate, use a double boiler to melt chocolate or microwave. Never add water when melting chocolate. If required, you could add a tablespoon of heavy cream to chocolate but do so before the chocolate melts for even distribution into the liquid.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 8 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 Cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tsp baking powder
- 3/4 Tsp salt
- 226 Gms unsalted butter If using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/2 tsp
- 11/2 Cups Confectioners sugar
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tsp pure vanilla extract
- 150 Gm Cooking chocolate
- Sprinkles For decoration
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and keep aside.
- In a bowl, sieve flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt together. Keep aside.
- In a big bowl, mix softened butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Beat for a minute or two until light and airy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 30 seconds more.
- Flour the work area and with the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use flour generously for dusting if required. Use cookie cutters to cut cookies and place on the baking sheet. Gather the leftover dough, reroll and repeat to cut more cookies.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow them to cool before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
- In a double boiler, melt chocolate . Dip half the cookie in the chocolate and instantly shower sprinkles on the cookie. Wait for the chocolate to dry up before serving.
