Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this post, free of charge, from Hearts Magazines, for blog posting purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
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The February issue of Woman’s Day, now on newsstands nationwide, is made with love this season – the adorable cover features tasty low-fat lovebug cupcakes and heart-shaped cookies that are easy to bake and fun to share this Valentine’s Day, or any day you want to spread some love and smiles!.
Chocolate Lovebugs
Makes 24 mini cupcakes, cost per cupcake 27 cents
Ingredients:
Mini paper liners
⅔ cup granulated sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa (not Dutch-processed)
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
4 large egg whites
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Royal icing (recipe below) and decorations
Directions:
1 Heat oven to 400°F. Line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with paper liners.
2 In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
3 In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then whisk in the oil and vanilla. Add the egg white mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate.
4 Divide the batter among the lined muffin cups and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired.
Per cupcake 99 cal, 2 g fat (0 g sat fat), 0 mg chol, 51 mg sod, 1 g prot, 18 g carb, 0 g fiber
Royal icing and decorations
Great general recipe for both cupcakes and cookies!
Ingredients:
3 large egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar
1 lb confectioners’ sugar
Red gel paste food coloring
Red, pink and white medium nonpareils
Red, pink and white sugar hearts
Sanding sugar, for decorating
Directions:
1 Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-high speed until foamy, about 1 minute.
2 Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sugar, beating until just incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until medium-stiff glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes.
3 Separate into bowls and tint different colors. Transfer ⅓ of each color to separate pastry bags fitted with fine tips. Use a few drops of water to thin the icing remaining in the bowls for flooding; place in separate resealable bags; snip of the corners.
4 Using the thicker icing, outline lovebug wings on the cupcakes and outline the heart cookies, then flood using the thinner icing. Decorate while the icing is still wet. For multiple colors, let each icing dry before applying another.
Vanilla-Almond Heart Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen cookies, cost per cookie: 27 cents.
Ingredients:
1 cup sliced almonds (3 oz)
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp cornstarch
¾ tsp kosher salt
3 large egg whites
½ cup canola oil
¾ tsp pure vanilla extract
Heart-shaped cookie cutters
Royal icing (recipe below) and decorations
Directions:
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a food processor, finely grind the almonds with ¼ cup flour, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in the sugar, cornstarch, salt and remaining 2 cups flour.
2 In a second bowl, beat together the egg whites, oil and vanilla. Mix the egg white mixture into the almond-flour mixture (the dough will not hold together yet). Turn the dough onto a clean work surface and knead 3 to 4 times to bring it together; shape into two 1-in.-thick disks.
3 Roll each disk between 2 sheets of wax paper to ⅛ in. thick. Using different-sized heart cutters, cut out cookies. With a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 in. apart. Reroll and cut the scraps.
4 Bake, rotating the position of the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.
Per cookie 115 cal, 3 g fat (0 g sat fat), 0 mg chol, 36 mg sod, 1 g prot, 20 g carb, 0 g fiber
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