Box of Chocolates

Don't spend a bunch of money and a little bit of time picking up a store-bought box of chocolates for your Valentine. Instead, make a bunch of homemade chocolate treats (maybe like my recipes for chocolate peanut butter cups, white chocolate bark or cookie dough truffles) and cut them into bite-sized pieces (or use cute Valentine-themed cookie cutters). Then place white mini cupcake liners in the bottom of a deep-sided container and fill liners with your bite-sized chocolates. Your Valentine will be so impressed that you made all the treats in the box, rather than you half-heartedly picking up a box at the convenience store.

Cookie Dough Truffles

Eating store-bought cookie dough can be dangerous, so you can have ease of mind while eating these homemade balls of chocolate covered dough. There are no eggs to be found in this recipe, so the only thing to worry about is running out of them.


Ingredients:


1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped in small pieces (or mini semisweet chocolate chips)
4 cups semisweet chocolate, for melting


1. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed in a large bowl. Add in vanilla and beat.

2. Beat in flour – 1/2 cup at a time – alternately with condensed milk. Once mixture becomes combined well, mix in the 1/2 cup of chocolate morsels.

3. With flour on your hands, shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place balls on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.

4. After chilled, melt the 4 cups of chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute; stir. Microwave for an additional 30 seconds, or until chocolate is completely melted. Using 2 forks, dip chilled cookie dough balls into the melted chocolate to cover completely.

5. Place back on the waxed paper and continue coating balls in chocolate. Once all balls are coated, return to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

Then, enjoy!

White Chocolate Bark

This is the simplest chocolate treat to make. It is only a matter of melting chocolate and covering it with whatever toppings you like.

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz.) bags white chocolate chips*

1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. In a heat-proof bowl, microwave the chocolate chips for 1 minute. Stir and then microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir again. If not melted, continue microwaving in 15-second intervals until melted.

2. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread chocolate evenly. Immediately sprinkle the top of chocolate with coconut flakes and almonds.

3. Let sit at room temperature until completely hardened, about an hour. Once chocolate is hardened, break apart into all shapes and sizes. Enjoy!

*Some variations could be dark chocolate sprinkled with chopped dried cherries and almond slivers, milk chocolate sprinkled with chopped pecans or butterscotch sprinkled with chow mein noodles and peanuts.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

These taste like those wonderful peanut butter cups we all love, and these only have five ingredients. They're so simple to make, you'll have them in the fridge all the time so you can have your favorite candy whenever you want.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Line a 13x9-inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

2. In a food processor, combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Process until the mixture forms into a ball. Press mixture into the pan into an even layer.

3. Melt the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir after the first minute and if chips are not melted, microwave for an additional 15 seconds then stir again.

4. Spread chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until chocolate is completely hardened.

5. Before serving, remove from the refrigerator to come slightly to room temperature. Then cut into square pieces and serve. Keep stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Crispy, Spicy Chicken Fingers

These chicken fingers have the same crunchy texture as a fried one, only these are baked and have a special kick of heat. For a nice appetizer, cut chicken breast into 1 1/2-inch nuggets instead of long strips.

Yield: 4 chicken fingers

Ingredients:


1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into four long strips
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup plain yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
kosher salt, for sprinkling
olive oil, for drizzling


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Prepare a dredging station for the chicken: combine the flour and salt in one shallow dish; put the beaten egg in a small dish in the middle; combine the corn meal, chili powder, cayenne pepper and garlic powder in another shallow dish; and place the greased baking sheet at the end of the station.

3. First, evenly dredge the chicken pieces with flour, shaking off any excess. Then coat with the beaten egg; shake off any excess. Lastly, evenly coat the chicken with the corn meal mixture. Place coated chicken on the baking sheet.

4. Lightly drizzle each piece with olive oil and sprinkle with a small pinch of kosher salt.

5. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the outside is crispy and golden and the chicken is just firm to the touch.

6. Serve with sweet and spicy honey mustard dipping sauce (2 tablespoons honey mixed with 4 tablespoons spicy brown mustard) or with a Ranch dipping sauce.
Enjoy!

Date Nut Bars

I remember eating these all the time growing up, and my favorite part is still sprinkling the confectioners sugar on top. It's the sweet topping to a thick, cake-like bar.

Ingredients:


3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour (take 2 tablespoons out of each cup of flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour milk (1 cup milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates
confectioners sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking dish.

2. With an electric mixer, cream together the sugar and shortening in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg; beat.

3. In another large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients and milk to the creamed mixture in small batches, alternating between sour milk and flour. (Begin and end with flour.)

4. Fold in nuts and dates. Evenly spread batter into the baking dish.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out barely moist with some crumbs. Don't overcook or bars will be too dry.

6. Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan. Once cooled, sprinkle liberally with confectioners sugar. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!

Shortbread Cookies

All you need to make great cookies is 5 ingredients. This is a staple recipe, and you can jazz them up in so many ways. And if you want to always have them on hand, pop the prepared rolled dough log in the freezer and bake them off within a month.

Ingredients:


1 1/2 sticks butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar, plus some for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla extract; beat.

3. In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Add to butter mixture in small batches, beat on low speed after each addition. Beat just until dough starts to form.

4. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Loosely wrap dough in plastic wrap and form into a log shape 2 inches in diameter.

5. Refrigerate wrapped dough log for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator and unwrap dough.

6. Slice into 1/2-inch cookie disks. Place cookies on baking sheet 1-2 inches apart. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of sugar.

7. Bake cookies for 20 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Enjoy cookies plain or jazz them up with the following suggestions:

– For chocolate dipped cookies, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir after 30 seconds then continue microwaving in 30-second intervals until completely melted. Add in another 3/4 cup chocolate chips and stir vigorously until chips melt from the residual heat of the microwaved chocolate. Then dip cooled cookies halfway into the chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to harden. For extra special cookies, sprinkle chocolate-dipped cookies with finely chopped pecans.

– For lemon shortbread cookies, substitute lemon extract for the vanilla extract. When cookies are cooled, dip in a lemon glaze mixture: 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. Allow dipped cookies to harden.

– For pecan sandies or almond shortbread cookies, stir in finely chopped pecans or toasted slivered almonds before rolling dough into a log.

– For coconut shortbread, stir in toasted coconut before rolling dough into a log.