Chocolate Sweet Hearts

These heart-shaped, chocolate-filled hand pies  are a sure way to win your sweetheart's heart 

Made with LOVE


Say hello to my 💓
My heart is sweet and warm ... and stuffed with smooth and creamy chocolate, of course :)
These hand pies are all you love about pie crust and spreadable chocolate bundled up in cute and most dangerous heart-shaped cookie. 
Each one of this has a buttery, flaky and

Puff Pastry-Pecan Mini Tarts Topped with Caramelized Pecan Halves

Make your holidays sweeter with these mini pecan pies

Deliciously small and perfectly unshareable!


This post is sponsored by Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. All opinions are mine.Thank you for your support!


Who says that dessert should be shared?!? Oh no. Sometimes it's nice to selfishly enjoy every last, tiny little crumb of it. Especially when it's as yummy and cute as these mini pecan pies.

Cranberry Curd Tart

When I first saw NYT Food's Instagram post featuring a cranberry curd tart I knew I needed to make it if only because of how gorgeous it was.  But each time I made it I couldn't figure out how to photograph it so that the picture would do it justice.  Which meant I just kept making it over and over again.  Awful, I know.  Then this last time I got a pomegranate in my Boston Organics delivery and decided to try sprinkling some on top of the tart for some contrast, and it finally looked as good as it tasted!  They also give the tart a little crunch and freshness to cut all the richness.

For the crust, instead of the using the hazelnut crust in the original recipe, I used Smitten Kitchen's "great unshrinkable sweet tart shell" because hazelnuts are expensive and it's pretty much a no-fail recipe.  To save time and effort, I usually end up just pressing the dough into the tart pan right after making it (starting with the edges), docking it, and then freezing it for 30 minutes before blind baking it with the buttered aluminum foil on top.  Feel free to use whatever tart crust you prefer, though, as long as it's blind baked beforehand.  I can see Thomas Keller's pine crust tart crust being amazing for this recipe.

For the cranberry curd, make sure that you don't overcook it after adding the eggs, because the egg whites curdle really easily if the mixture gets too hot.  Since it's kind of hard to tell when it starts to thicken, the sign I look for is when steam starts rising off the top.  You definitely don't want the mixture to start bubbling, and it helps to keep stirring to distribute the heat.

Cranberry Curd Tart (adapted from The New York Times)
makes a 9" tart

Your favorite 9" sweet tart crust, blind baked
12 oz. cranberries
1 cup sugar
Juice and zest from 1 orange
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs plus 2 egg yolk
Pomegranate arils, for garnishing (optional)

Heat the cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and zest in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until the cranberries have popped and softened, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a food mill or sieve and push the cooking liquid into a medium bowl.  Place butter in the saucepan and pour the liquid back into the saucepan.

Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in the bowl, then add a couple of ladlefuls of the liquid into the bowl and whisk to temper the eggs.  Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and steam just starts coming off.  Cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Pour the cooled curd into the blind-baked tart crust.  Bake for 10 minutes to set the curd.  Allow to cool completely before garnishing with pomegranate arils.

Next:  Pull-Apart Scallion Swirly Bread
Previously:  Pear Apple Cranberry Slab Pie
Two Years Ago:  Pull-Apart Thanksgiving Leftover Stuffed Bread
Three Years Ago:  Thai Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango
Four Years Ago:  Vanilla Passion Caramels
Seven Years Ago:  Wah Guay (Taiwanese Rice Cake with Meat Sauce)

Pear Apple Cranberry Slab Pie

Sometimes you get an idea in your head that you just need to make a reality.  This was one of those times.  I already had alphabet cookie cutters from another project and a good slab pie recipe.  I didn't have any leaf cookie cutters, but those were easy enough to freehand cut out of the dough.

For the filling I used up fruits that had been accumulating from my Boston Organics deliveries and ended up using 3 pears, 2 apples, and 4 oz. of cranberries, which I think ended up being about 5-6 cups of chopped fruit.  I liked how the cranberries added a little tartness and color to the otherwise simply sweet filling.  (If you want to add more than 4 oz. of cranberries, I would also up the amount of sugar to account for the additional tartness.)

I cheated a little and didn't make a bottom crust, but in the end I think that was a good call because it saved a lot of time and aggravation and really, no one likes the soggy bottom crust right?  That meant I could make the top crust a little thicker and have plenty of dough left for the cut outs.  If I had had the time, I would've added more leaves, but for my first attempt at pie dough decorations, I think it went pretty well.  =)

Pear Apple Cranberry Slab Pie
makes a 9" x 13" slab pie

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
3 pears, peeled and chopped
2 apples, peeled and chopped
4 oz. fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten

Remove a heaping tablespoon of flour from the 2 cups and reserve for the filling.  Mix the remaining flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor.  Add the butter and pulse until the butter has been cut into pea-sized pieces.  Add the water and pulse to combine.  Add more water if needed, a teaspoon at a time, just until the dough comes together.  Form the dough into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the chilled dough on a large piece of floured parchment paper or Silpat and roll the dough out to a 9" x 13" rectangle about 1/6" thick.  You should have enough leftover dough to make cut outs from.  Cover and return to the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Mix the sugar with the reserved flour and cinnamon,  Toss with the chopped pears, apples, and cranberries.  Pour into a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Decorate the pie dough as you like and place it over the fruit.  Make an egg wash by mixing the beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water.  Brush the entire crust with the egg wash.  Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate and bake for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Next:  Cranberry Curd Tart
Previously:  Soy Garlic Glazed Korean Fried Cauliflower
Last Year:  Pad Thai
Two Years Ago:  Raindrop Cake
Three Years Ago:  My Mom's Taiwanese Sticky Rice
Four Years Ago:  Duchikey (Simplified Turkducken)
Seven Years Ago:  Nanaimo Bars
Eight Years Ago:  Homemade Crystallized Ginger

Apple of Roses Cream Pie

I found a beautiful pie on Pinterest and created my own recipe inspired by a lady named Yoli from Bulgaria.  I had to translate her recipe to english, change some measurements, and used substitutions. I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit.

 For the dough:

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 egg
• 1 cup finely ground almonds (almond flour)
• 1 cup flour

For the cream:

• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 5-6 apples
• apricot jam

Directions:

1. Beat soft butter with powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange peel. Add egg and ground almonds. Add flour gradually to make a soft dough.
2. Dust a 9 inch greased round pie pan with flour. Spread the dough evenly in it. Place in refrigerator while preparing the cream.
3. For the cream, in a sauce pan mix the flour with vanilla and orange peel. Add yolks and a little milk. Stir until smooth. Pour in the remaining milk and apple cider. Bring the cream slowly to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened, then let it cool.
   
4. With a vegetables peeler cut the apples in long strips.
5. Wrap the strips into apple roses.
6. Pour the cream on top of the dough and arrange the apple florets close to each other.
7. Glaze the roses by lightly brushing them with the warmed apricot jam. Bake pie in preheated oven at 300 degrees farenheit until the dough is baked and apples become golden.  
8. Let pie fully cool before serving.
   
   

   

 This pie is so delicious and light tasting too. Enjoy!