Bake up something sweet for the sweeties in your life, like these Chocolate Crinkles, or this decadent Tiramisu, two recipes perfect to make this Valentine’s Day!
Chocolate Crinkles
1/2 cup safflower or sunflower oil
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled
2 cups raw or granulated sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix oil, cooled chocolate, raw sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and refrigerate for three to four hours. Grease cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar and roll around to coat and shape dough into balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove cookies from baking sheets to cooling racks.
Tiramisu
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 cups raw or granulated sugar, divided
1 (16 oz.) container Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3 cups ricotta cheese
36 ladyfinger cookies
2 cups very strong coffee, sweetened as desired
Unsweetened cocoa powder and shaved chocolate, for dusting and decorating
In a chilled bowl, with chilled beaters, whip the heavy cream with 3-4 tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl beat together Mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese and 1 cup sugar. Fold whipped cream into Mascarpone and ricotta mixture. Take one ladyfinger at a time and quickly dip into the prepared coffee, then layer the ladyfingers on the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan. Spread half the cheese filling on top of the layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers. Sprinkle some cocoa powder on top of the cheese layer, then repeat with the remaining ladyfingers and another layer of filling, spreading the top smooth. Sprinkle more cocoa powder over top of the cheese layer and garnish with chocolate shavings or syrup. Cover Tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours before serving.
Lisa Ann Panzino DiNunzio is author of Seasoned With Love, Treasured Recipes, Lisa Ann’s Seasoned With Love II, and children’s books Snicker Learns An Important Lesson and Readers’ Favorite 5-Star rated Little Twinkle Learns Her Purpose.
