Share the love: Valentine’s Day gifting
February is the month of love. Do as the lyrics to Love is All Around tell us: “Let it show!” We may think about sharing expressions of love with our sweetheart, children or bestie, ahh, but it’s also a nice time to just be nice. We could all use a little pick-me-up about right now whether you’re tired of the weather, bored from staying home, missing your family or bummed about no warm beach vacation. Share a little love with someone who may not expect it. Let your co-worker or a neighbor know they matter. Drop off homemade or classroom-style valentines on porches in your neighborhood. Package up some red, white and pink goodies in a jar. Read on for suggestions, recipes and kitchenistic gift ideas.
Classroom-style Valentine’s Day Cards
There’s something very cheerful and nostalgic about those little valentines we couldn’t wait to open back in third grade. If you were lucky, you might have received one from a secret admirer who had stuffed a conversation heart in the envelope stating true love. I’m loving this Sweet Food Valentine Card Set (below) that includes fun food-themed sentiments.
If you can’t get enough food puns, check out this Etsy shop that has a set of 21 food pun cards with sayings such as “Spread Hap-Pea-Ness” and “You Bake Me Crazy.” If you’re more of a DIYer, you might fancy these Sushi Valentine cards. Or pick up some construction paper and a glue stick and make your own! Grab some baker’s twine and tie a heart around a Mason jar full of goodies. You can find pink and red lids on Etsy and Amazon.
Mason jars full of goodies:
Frozen cookie dough balls. Use your favorite recipe and attach baking instructions. Mine are called Angie’s Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies. (Recipe follows below, but I can’t figure out where I found this originally.)
Peanut Butter Balls. I’ve had this recipe for years. I got it from a friend in Arizona (thanks Laurie). Here is is slightly adapted and halved.
1 cup peanut butter
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup oats
1 cup powdered sugar
2 4-oz bars of Ghirardelli White Baking Chocolate, chopped
Melt peanut butter and butter in microwave until melty. NOTE: I used Wild Friends Classic Peanut Butter known for its creamy, drizzly texture. This worked fine, but do not use a natural peanut butter that separates. Stir in oats and powdered sugar until mixed well. Roll into balls. Place in fridge while melting chocolate. Melt chopped chocolate in glass bowl over simmering water. Use toothpicks or a fork to roll the balls in the chocolate, letting excess drip off and place on parchment paper. Drizzle on additional chocolate tinted red or pink if desired. Chill in fridge if needed.
Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts with absolutely no redeeming nutritious qualities. But hey, I wait 12 months for these sugar-covered bites of joy to show up at my local drug store. And then I stock up.
More homemade treats
Depending on who your recipient is (your mom? sister?) and their level of comfort with homemade treats, you could gift baked goods wrapped in a pretty tea towel like the It’s in the Air one with embroidery from Anthropologie or be more subtle with this tea towel covered in tiny black hearts.
Suggested recipes:
Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Press Chocolate Cake aka copycat “ding dong” chocolate cakes from Magnolia Table, vol 2 (page 299) — I’m dying to make these but they look like work!
Diane Morrissey’s Fudgy M&M Brownies (or a box mix with Cupid’s Mix M&Ms added)
Go all out and gift a pie (store bought or homemade) in this Heart Pie Box from South Bend Baking. Or buy it for yourself. I won’t tell. Bonus points for making your crust with this Made with Love rolling pin from Anthropologie.
Here’s my Valentine’s Day Pie.
Strawberries and Cream Pie
Ingredients:
1 baked pie shell (I used a heart-shaped baking dish, but a regular pie plate works)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped
3 ounces. chocolate chips (I chopped Ghirardelli baking bars; first drizzled with dark and then with semi-sweet).
Fresh strawberries, washed & hulled
Bake pie crust and let cool completely. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla extract; blend well. Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold it into the cream cheese mixture. Spread mixture into pie shell, leveling with a knife or offset spatula. Arrange strawberries pointed side up over filling and place in fridge to chill. In a glass bowl placed over a small saucepan on low heat, melt chopped chocolate and stir until smooth. Drizzle over berries and put back in fridge until set. Note that it’s a bit difficult to neatly cut pie slices. If you like, slice the berries before drizzling chocolate and it will be easier. But I like them standing up. Feel free to eat the berries with your hands like a chocolate-dipped strawberry!
Not food related, but …
I can’t get over the cuteness of a Hoya cactus. Look for these at your local florist or nursery. It needs drainage (trust me, I killed one), so leave it in the pot it comes in and just drop it into a cute mug or container for your bestie. If you can locate one of these Hearth and Hand mugs at your local Target, it would be perfect. Or pick up inexpensive terracotta pots.
I bought this baby at Down to Earth , a cute little florist in Snoqualmie, WA.
More kitchenistic gifts for your galentines (or yourself)
Pictured below: Heartfelt by Anthropologie Felted Wool Coasters and Pottery Barn Watercolor heart napkins
Swedish dish cloths from Potluck Press Seattle make washing dishes more cheery.. I’m partial to Love Grid (pictured below), Truckload of Hearts and Love Wildflowers. The Paulownia wood heart tray below (carved from a tree with heart-shaped leaves no doubt) on the right is from Provocatrix in Snoqualmie. Just add an air plant or wrapped chocolates for your galentine.
A Gift for your favorite cook
A cookbook tied with a bow and this heart spoon carved from wild olive wood (each purchase supports Wood Carvers of Kenya artisans). Cookbook suggestions:
Me, I’ll probably spend the day in the kitchen baking, wearing this Baking Heart tee. It’s my new Covid-kitchen uniform: a tee or sweatshirt repping a food saying.
Happy Heart’s Day ❤️
xoxo Angie
Angie’s Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. dark chocolate chunks
Maldon Flaky Sea Salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
3. Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.
4. Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or spoon, gather dough and roll into rounds. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes - no longer. They will look underbaked.
5. Let cool, on the sheet for five minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes:
- Salt is optional, but makes these sooo tasty. Push a few crystals of Maldon or Jacobsen’s Flaky Sea Salt into each cookie ball before baking.
- For best results - Refrigerate dough over night or for a few hours.
- I use the Private Selection brand of dark chocolate chunks from Kroger/KingSooper stores.
- If baking from frozen, let sit out while oven preheats and bake an extra minute or two.