Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies

One last post before I unplug for the weekend. After work tomorrow I plan on spending the weekend with my Valentine. Fingers crossed that I'm able to fight off this cold that has been plaguing me all week so we can enjoy our time together.


There's a little story behind these cookies...

One Valentine's Day when I was 15 and a sophomore in high school I had a boyfriend who was a senior. We dated for almost two years, practically an eternity in high school, and for Valentine's Day that year, he brought me a couple dozen heart-shaped, strawberry-flavored cookies. No, he didn't make the cookies himself; his mom made them, and they were delicious. As fate would have it, we got out of school that V-Day at 10 a.m. for bad weather, leaving me majorly bummed but happy to keep two dozen cookies to myself.

I'm not sure why these cookies made such an impact on me, but every Valentine's Day since then I have thought about those cookies. I convinced myself they were better in my memory. But when I made them this week, I realized I was wrong. The deliciousness was not in my imagination. It was real.

Disclaimer: These are not sophisticated, classy cookies. They are just down-home yummy in the simplest sense of the word. Based off a strawberry-flavored boxed cake mix, they couldn't be easier. and since the cookies are very sweet, the cream cheese frosting is a perfect, tangy balance.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookies

Ingredients
*1 box of strawberry-flavored cake mix
*1 large egg
*1/4 cup oil
*1/4 to 1/3 cup water (start with 1/4 cup and add the extra if needed)
*1 (8-oz.) container cream cheese at room temperature
*3 cups powdered sugar
*1/4 cup milk
*2 drops red food coloring
*Pink sprinkles or edible pearls (optional)

Instructions
*Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet, line with parchment paper, or use a Silpat (what I did).
*In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg, oil and water. Stir by hand until ingredients are evenly combined. Scoop dough by tablespoon portions and roll between your hands to make a smooth ball. Set on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
*Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until slightly crackled on top and just lightly golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
*Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer,  beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, milk and red food coloring. Continue to beat until smooth. Spread on top of cookies and beat until well combined.
*Spread frosting atop of cooled cookies and garnish with pink sprinkles and/or edible pearls, if desired.

Happy Baking!

Madison

White Chocolate Nutella Truffles

The more I listen to the people around me talk, I realize Valentine's Day is a very polarizing holiday. There aren't many people who don't have strong feelings about the day designated above all others to celebrate love. People love it, people hate it, some people pretend it doesn't exist, and while browsing the card isle at Target yesterday, I even saw "Anti-Val" cards for the ultimate cynics out there. Me personally? I love Valentine's Day. Romantic valentine or not, it's a great time to celebrate those you love - friends, parents, siblings, you get the idea.

But one thing I think we can all agree on is that Valentine's Day is a great time to indulge your sweet tooth, no heart-shaped box filled with bad chocolate necessary. Why you ask? Because you can make your own box of chocolates in less than an hour for a whole lot less than you would spend at a chocolate shop, and they're so easy. If you don't believe me, take a look at the step-by-step photos below.

These little chocolate cups are filled with Europe's gift to America - Nutella. If you have something against Nutella (or Europe?) you can swap about the Nutella for creamy peanut butter, but if you don't like either, then maybe you need to seek medical help, because you're seriously missing out. Likewise, milk or dark chocolate can easily be substituted for white chocolate. Finally, you will have extra Nutella filling leftover. I can think of a few ways to use that filling in baking, but the best option is probably eating it plain, with a spoon. Try to resist... or at least stop after a few spoonfulls. :)

White Chocolate Nutella Truffles 
Ingredients:

*2 (12-oz) packages white chocolate chips
*2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
*1 package Golden Oreos or other vanilla sandwich cookie
*1 (8-0z.) package cream cheese, softened
*1/2 cup Nutella
*32 miniature paper baking cups
*Colored sprinkles, if desired

Instructions:
*In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 bag of white chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. of the oil. Watch the chocolate carefully, stirring frequently, removing the chocolate from the heat when it is mostly smooth, but some lumps still remain. Once removed from the heat, continue to stir until the chocolate is completely smooth. (see photos above)
*Arrange 32 paper liners on a baking sheet or counter and spoon one teaspoon of the chocolate into each of the liners, making sure to cover the bottom of each. Allow the chocolate to cool slightly in the liners.
*Meanwhile, put the Golden Oreos in a food processor. Pulse for about 1 minute, until the Oreos are processed into fine crumbs and no lumps remain. Add in the cream cheese and Nutella. Blend until the mixture is well-combined. (You could do this all without a food processor, crunching the cookies by hand and then mixing the cream cheese and Nutella with a mixer, though it's much easier to do with a food processor)
*Drop rounded 1/2 teaspoons of the Nutella dough into the center of each chocolate cup.
*Melt the second bag of chocolate and second tablespoon of oil, same as before. Top each chocolate cup with another teaspoon of the white chocolate.** Garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Allow the cups to cool completely before eating, at least 1 hour.

** To get the 'swirled' look for the tops of these cups, move your spoon in a circular motion as you add the second teaspoon of chocolate.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Madison