Valentine Sweets

Sweetie pie, honey bun, sugar, cupcake, cookie, apple of my eye; all endearing names for the ones we love and the foods we love. The common denominator? Sweetness.


I would never eschew roses, of course, or jewelry for that matter—but if you want to win my heart, chocolate will do nicely. I think it’s partly because women worry about their weight almost universally and don’t feel like they should indulge in their passion for chocolate—but if your sweetheart brings you chocolates—well, what can you do? And men love chocolate too, even if they don’t let everyone know, so you can share the joy; there are some who even say chocolate is an aphrodisiac.

Every Valentine’s Day we give the couples at our inn something special. The most well-received gift is chocolate—hands down. I used to buy chocolates thinking they would be too difficult to make myself since I’ve never had good luck with candy making. But I finally found a recipe that combines the wonderful creaminess of peanut butter with a rich dark chocolate shell that tastes a lot like the peanut butter cups you buy; and it’s simplicity itself to make. Now I buy some cute little foil candy cups and have a really delightful treat to give—well, if I can hide them really well from Zig.

Cupcakes are another way to deliver chocolate. Cupcakes (in case you’ve been asleep for a couple of years) are really a hot item. Cupcakes on tiered holders stand in for the traditional wedding cake and can run from simple and elegant to flowered and fancy. Cupcake wars are held on the Food Network and whole cookbooks are devoted to the art of the cupcake. They have so many advantages over large cakes that I’m not sure why this trend didn’t happen sooner. I love them because I can give my guests an individual serving without slicing and plating and because they make a perfect way to make cake for two people without wondering what to do with the rest of it. (Well, it’s not really a great idea for us to finish off a whole cake by ourselves).

This year I’m putting the little candies in their festive wrappers in the guests’ rooms and serving the cupcakes for an evening treat. Both of these recipes are simple and quick and a perfect way to make your sweetie pie or honey bun happy on Valentine’s Day.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
4 ½ tsp. butter, softened
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), broken in pieces

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt until smooth; set aside. In a large microwave-safe pan or bowl, melt the chocolate chips, candy bars and remaining peanut butter (about 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds); stir until smooth. Drop teaspoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into foil paper-lined miniature muffin cups. Top each with a teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture. Top each with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3-4 dozen

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbsp red food color
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
4 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 cup buttermilk
½ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp. White vinegar
2 ¼ cups cream cheese frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. In small bowl combine cocoa, red food color and vanilla; set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter and ¾ cup sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each. Add cocoa mixture and blend well.

In another clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a measuring cup combine buttermilk with salt. In a separate bowl, combine ½ cup sugar, baking powder and cake flour. Add buttermilk mixture and flour mixture to cocoa mixture, alternately, beating after each addition. In another bowl combine baking soda and vinegar then add to batter and blend well. Fold in egg whites. Line muffin pans with paper cups, lightly sprayed with vegetable spray. Fill cups ¾ full. Bake 15-17 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly pressed or a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cupcakes before frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes

Simpler: use a Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash salt
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp. half and half

Put all ingredients in mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add more half and half if frosting is too stiff and beat at high speed until very smooth and creamy.