If you’re still searching for something sweet to give your loved one on Valentine’s Day, I’ve got just the treat for you. These Snickers blondies are sure to win him or her over–especially when vanilla bean ice cream is added to the picture!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope everyone had or is having a wonderful day, filled with lots of love, chocolate and wine.
I plan on spending my night cooking a homemade meal with my roommate, then curling up on the couch with a cocktail or two. After the craziness of Grammy week, nothing sounds more appealing than my night ahead. :)
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
Today is one of the few days when consuming excessive amounts of chocolate and candy is deemed appropriate—from chocolate covered strawberries to boxes of assorted chocolates to candy hearts. The list of guilty pleasures goes on. However, since I’m always baking, I consider it acceptable to eat desserts every day, especially since I have a terrible sweet tooth.
In spirit of the holiday, I made mini vanilla heart cakes, using a simple butter cake recipe from Betty Crocker. I decided to spruce them up with a red marble design, decorative sprinkles and gel. The cakes didn’t turn out as moist as I’d hoped, but at least they looked cute!
With Valentine’s Day in sight, I wanted to get a head start on some themed cooking and baking. Originally, I was planning on making strawberry macaroons, as I’ve never tasted or made the cookie. However, I was in a lazy mood and didn’t feel like baking something that would demand too much effort.
I decided to bake cupcakes instead, especially since I had some adorable new liners that I’d been craving to use. I chose a Martha Stewart recipe for raspberry cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting and lacy chocolate hearts—primarily because they looked absolutely adorable in the photo that accompanied the recipe. I was unsure about making the chocolate hearts because of the tedious process, but am so glad I took the time to make them.
I substituted a few ingredients in the recipe and the cakes turned out moist and delicious. The finely chopped raspberries in the batter were a pleasant surprise when biting into the cupcake.
I topped the cupcakes with my reliable and fool-proof recipe for sweet and smooth buttercream frosting. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any leftover berries, but next time I would definitely add fresh raspberries to the frosting to give the cupcakes a little extra zing.
Oh, and I got to use my brand new, gorgeous Kitchen Aid professional mixer—definitely a wise investment. :)