happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day!  

before i run off to do some more baking, let me share with you this year's work valentine's treats.  
i was especially excited to make something this year because i was so busy the past few months with a nasty deadline that i didn't have time for my normal christmas baking/craft craziness.

i wanted to pass out individually packaged treats this year, and remembered the white chocolate bark with berries and toasted rice from 2012.  the colors work perfectly for valentine's, and i could incorporate a cheesy pun as well.  i did run out of white chocolate though (meaning i ruined a huge batch), and had to make a batch with milk chocolate.

the heart strawberries on my tags were cut with my silhouette.  i had a great time assembling everything. it was the best part.

this is a special batch i made for bffbf.  i got these candy molds from ikea a while back, and decided it would be a good time to test it them out.    i filled the middles with toasted rice and freeze dried berries as well.  i didn't bother tempering the chocolate, so the bottoms look lumpy, but that's ok.  they still TASTE good. 

oh, if you've found yourself in need of a last minute valentine's card, you can print out the one i designed a couple years ago (wow, was it so long ago?) for free.

heart brownie roll-out cookies

as i was prepping the dough for smitten kitchen's brownie roll out cookies (you see, i was determined to make more heart shaped things for valentine's day), i reflected over my aforementioned affection for the holiday.

to be clear, thanksgiving and christmas are on top of my favorite holidays list, but i suppose you could say that valentine's day is third (or dead last considering i couldn't care less about all the other ones.  i think... mainly because none of them are 'pretty'.).

yes, it's true that i have been in a relationship for every valentine's day since 1999, but i really do mean it when i say that has nothing to do with it!  i have never had one of those swoon-worthy, over the top romantic valentine's day, and nor do i particularly want or expect them.  rather, i look to anniversaries for those moments, because those clearly have more meaning.

my fondness for this day primarily stems from childhood-- i have strong memories of decorating treat bags and eating cupcakes from PTO moms at valentine's parties at school.  every year, i went to the store with my mom and carefully picked out the cards i'd be distributing.  i remember many of them, my card selections ranged from strawberry shortcake, bears in sweaters holding a corresponding colored crayon, and cartoony dinosaurs.  this may be why, as an adult, i've tried to mimic these childish joys at the work place.  so, i printed out these free cards to pass out with these cookies. and because ilikethemSOmuch, i left a slew of them around the apartment for bffbf to find. 

these are the simplest roll out cookies i have ever made. generally speaking, i avoid cut-out cookies because typically i find the dough unwieldy even after refrigerating, and once baked, they tend to be hard and sandy, and i prefer soft and chewy.   instead, these have a semi-soft texture when you bite into them, and are quite tasty.  as you can see, i popped in some color by adding large heart sprinkles that i impulsively purchased during a recent grocery run.

i don't normally buy sprinkles. or eat them.  turns out they're disgusting.

disgusting but cute.

happy valentine's day!