Today in our cooking class we made delicious chocolate mini-Whoopie pies.Kids being kids enjoyed working with chocolate,hearts and frosting!Happy Valentine’s Day!?

A great overview of Valentine day food traditions:

Herbs – Basil, lavender, and rosemary are the three herbs most associated with Valentine’s Day. Basil is a traditional symbol of fertility and was often worn by women to signal their single nature. The scent of lavender is not only relaxing, it is said to be an aphrodisiac. Rosemary has long been a symbol of love, with it being used frequently in wedding bouquets during the Middle Ages.

Wine – The warm feelings one gets upon drinking a glass of wine have long been compared to the euphoria of love. This has easily made wine a symbol of the same. If you want to avoid its inebriating qualities, cooking with wine will burn off the alcohol.

Honey – Bees are traditionally a symbol of love because of the sweetness of honey and the bitterness of their sting. It’s no wonder that honey is also used to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Strawberries – Their read color and heart shape make strawberries a perfect fruit to celebrate love. Strawberries are also the symbol of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Dip the fruit in chocolate and you can enjoy one of the most traditional Valentine’s Day foods.

Chocolate – We won’t leave out the most popular Valentine’s Day food, even though it one of the more recent additions to the holiday menu. Chocolates became a common gift during the Victorian era. Victorians practiced a romanticized version of medieval chivalry and courtly love. Richard Cadbury (yes, that Cadbury), a chocolatier who worked during the mid-1800s, not only developed a recipe for a creamier chocolate, but also dreamed up the special heart-shaped boxes now associated with Valentine’s Day.

(food traditions from chequamegonfoodcoop.com)

 

 

Valentine's Day Special: Whoopie Pies

Ingredients
  

Whoopie Pies

  • 2 ounces nsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cups natural cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine salt

Meringue Frosting

  • 3 egg whites
  • 5 tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions
 

Whoopie Pies

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add 1 cup water to a pot. Bring to a boil and then lower the temp to a simmer.
  • Put the unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolates and butter in a medium metal mixing bowl.
  • Using the double boiler method, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. When done, remove from the stove.
  • Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.
  • Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into another bowl.
  • Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened.
  • Switch to a spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix.
  • Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until the batter is finished, spacing them about 1-inch apart.
  • Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 6 minutes.
  • Cool the cookies slightly on the baking sheet and then transfer them onto a cooling rack.
  • Once cooled, fill one side of the cookie with the swiss meringue buttercream and top with another cookie.
  • Continue until all the cookies are done.
  • Store in tightly sealed container for up to 1 week.

Meringue Frosting

  • Bring the pot of water from earlier to boil and then lower to a simmer.
  • Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl.
  • Using a hand whisk, beat until the mixture is foamy.
  • Add the sugar to the egg mixture (if using the espresso powder add it here) and mixture briefly with the whisk to get the sugar mixed in the egg white mixture.
  • Place the metal bowl on top of the pot and continue to whisk until the sugar has melted and you can no longer feel the graininess of the sugar, when rubbed between your fingers. PLEASE DO NOT STOP MIXING THE EGG WHITE MIXTURE OR ELSE IT WILL SCRAMBLE.
  • Once the sugar has melted, remove the bowl from the pot and use a handheld mixer to beat the egg white mixture.
  • Beat on high until soft peaks are formed.
  • If adding liquid secret ingredients, add them here.
  • Continue to beat on high until stiff peaks are formed. Mixture should look like clouds or melted marshmallows, be glossy and should hold its shape when beater is removed from the mixture.
  • Frost the cookies as needed.

 

 

 

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