A Little Valentine's Day Inspiration

It's two days before Valentine's Day.

Maybe your menu is all planned out.

Or maybe, like me, you're up right now, far past your bedtime, paging through cookbooks in search of that just-right recipe.

If you still need a dessert, let me suggest some of my favorites. They range from simple to complex, but I think they're all delicious.

These brown sugar sandwich cookies make the perfect heart-shaped treat. They're not too sweet, and the jam gives them such a nice, fruity touch.

This raspberry filled brioche french toast is perfect for breakfast, dinner or dessert!

I can only imagine that these nutella filled pop tarts would be even tastier heart shaped!

These white and dark chocolate heart brownies satisfy all kinds of brownie lovers.

It would be hard to go wrong with a good old-fashioned chocolate pudding. It's got an intense chocolate taste.

This chocolate mousse cake is perfect for anytime. Seriously.

What are you making this Valentine's Day? 

Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies

As a kid, Valentine's Day was always an opportunity to express my creative side. I was never a fan of the store-bought, generic Valentine's Day cards. They never had the styles I wanted, and matching the pre-written messages to my classmates never seemed to work the way I imagined. 

So, I made my own. I'd spread the table with doilies, red and pink paper, and more stickers and glitter than you could image. For hours, I'd create one valentine after another. A good chunk of my time was spent recreating the same style of valentine again and again, but occasionally I'd add extra doilies or stickers and create one for a teacher or best friend. 

I may not spend hours creating my own Valentine's Day cards anymore, but I bake instead. These cookies are my Valentine's Day treat for my dearest friends and myself. They're more complex than your typical sugar cookie since they're filled with dark brown sugar and studded with poppy seeds. The specks of salt and sugar dusting the top of each cookie add an element of surprise to each bite. 

In true Valentine's Day style, I stuffed mine with vanilla cream filling and raspberry jam, but they would be equally delicious stuffed with a bittersweet chocolate. 

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette, Valentine's Day Style

This is not my year for planning ahead for holidays. I did all (all) of my Christmas shopping in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. I made my New Year's Eve plans in the hours leading up to New Years. I posted Thanksgiving recipes onto my blog the day before Thanksgiving, long after everyone had planned their menus. 

This heart-shaped tart is my attempt to get back on the right track, to be prepared for holidays as they come and to be able to share my musings about them with you. 

While it is beautiful as a round galette, that just wouldn't do for Valentine's Day. In the 30 extra seconds it took to shape this galette into a heart, I ended up with something that looked like it was planned specifically for the occasion (which it was). 

It's loaded with an entire roasted butternut squash, slowly caramelized onions and some shredded fontina cheese. The sour cream-infused crust is tender, yet it withstands the weight of all the vegetables piled inside. 

A slice of this and a nice light salad make a delicious, vegetarian-friendly Valentine's Day dinner.