Chocolate and Vanilla Linzer Hearts

About 6 weeks ago I shared a recipe for Two-Tone Ganache Filled Snowflake Cookies that was so yummy, my family hasn't stopped talking about them.  So I thought I'd expand a bit on the recipe to make Linzer-like heart cookies for Valentine's Day, filled with my homemade Strawberry Jam.   

Note - the recipe makes half vanilla and half chocolate cookie dough.  Since the vanilla dough spreads more during baking, I suggest you use it to make the bottom halves of these cookies.    

 Check out this set of nesting heart cutters I found.

I rolled my cookie dough between layers of waxed paper.  I chose to use wax paper because flour would discolor the surface of the chocolate dough.  You can see the wax paper left a few wrinkles on the surface of the dough, but they disappeared in the oven. 

To prevent the cookie shapes from distorting when being moved, I slide the wax paper/cookie dough onto a half sheet pan, cut the shapes on the pan, and pop the whole thing into the fridge so the dough can firm up.  Once chilled, I pop the individual shapes out of the sheet of dough and place them on a separate sheet pan to be baked.

Here's one of the baked shapes - see all those raggedy edges?  Those little suckers might not bother you, but they sure do bother me...

So I use a toothpick to file them away - I just run it along the raggedy edges and Voila - all gone!

Yes, I know - Baking OCD, but look how the edges are all nice and smooth now.

I'm just saying.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• heart shaped cutters https://amzn.to/2Ryb0rc

• commercial half sheet pan / silicone liner / cooling rack set https://amzn.to/2Rxdfet

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Chocolate and Vanilla Linzer Heart Cookies

makes approximately 30-40 cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Ganache:

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cookie Dough:

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (added to only one half of the dough - see directions below)

Filling:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 2 ounces high quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Garnish:

• powdered sugar

• strawberry or raspberry jam

Directions

To make the ganache:: 

1. Gently heat the cream and chocolate together; stirring until completely smooth and combined. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and chill for 30 minutes (do not cover with plastic wrap, which can allow condensation to drip into the ganache and seize the chocolate). Alternatively, you can make the ganache several hours in advance and let it sit at room temperature until it thickens to a piping consistency.

To make the cookie dough:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the blade attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until combined, scraping bowl as needed. Add egg and vanilla; beat to combine. Add flour until incorporated. Divide dough into two portions; adding sifted cocoa powder to one portion. Wrap each portion with plastic wrap and chill for 1-3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll the vanilla dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface (or between two layers waxed paper). Cut out the bottom cookies out of the vanilla dough using a heart-shaped cutter. Chill dough on waxed paper until firm before transferring cutouts to ungreased cookie sheet; spacing 2-inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are set; cool completely on a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the chocolate dough, but this time cut a small shape from the center of each cookie. Chill and bake as directed above. When the cookies are completed cool, sprinkle only the chocolate ones with powdered sugar (I left the smaller chocolate shapes unadorned).

To assemble cookies:

1. Place the vanilla cookies upside down on your work surface. Pipe a ganache "dam" on the bottom cookies (place the dam so it will be be hidden when the chocolate cookie tops are added). The ganache dam will keep the jam from oozing out of the assembled cookies (and it tastes really, really delicious!). Spoon about a teaspoon of jam inside the ganache dam; top each of the bottom cookies with a powder sugar dusted chocolate cookie. Cookies may be assembled up to a day ahead.

Notes

• The dough can be made 2-3 days ahead (be sure to wrap each flavor individually and chill in an airtight container). 

• Alternately, cookies can be baked ahead of time - place unfilled cookies in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper - store at room temperature for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.  Thaw before assembling.

Coeur a la Creme - Ooh-la-la!

This is the most amazingly delicious dessert imaginable - make it for someone you love very, very much!

**This post contains affiliate links.

The cast of characters - cream cheese, heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds - Hello! What's not to love?  I can't think of a more perfect Valentine's Day Dessert.

You'll also need some cheesecloth and a coeur a la creme mold.  Alternates for both listed further down, so keep reading.

This is a traditional French porcelain coeur a la creme mold.  I'm not at all fond of the shape this porcelain mold gives to the finished creme.  I decided to make my own.  Here's how.

I found an inexpensive plastic candy dish, drilled holes in the bottom, and voila, a DIY coeur a la creme mold.

You don't need a heart-shaped mold to make this yummy dessert. You can use a mesh sieve if you prefer.

The French porcelain molds have little feet on the bottom. My homemade mold doesn't, so here I'm using a mixing bowl to suspend the mold and catch the liquid as it drains.

A bird's eye view of the set-up.

Before we begin mixing the ingredients together, let's line our mold with cheesecloth. You can use coffee filters or paper towels if you don't have cheesecloth.

Time to mix the ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the softened cream cheese and sift the confectioner's sugar on top.

I always sift clumpy ingredients like powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Just push the lumps through with a spatula or wooden spoon.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I LOVE by BeaterBlade attachment.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. If you own a stand mixer, you need to get one!  

Combine the sugar and cream cheese and beat on high for 2 minutes, then add the vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds.

To extract the vanilla bean seeds, split the bean in half...

And scrape out the seeds with back of your knife.

Mmmm. Look at all of that yummy flavor!

Don't throw that vanilla bean away - use it to make vanilla sugar. Simply submerge used seed pods in granulated sugar and store in an airtight container. Keep adding bean pods and sugar and you'll always have a supply for cookies, desserts, beverages... whatever.  Good stuff!

Beat in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. See all those yummy vanilla specks?

Add the heavy cream and replace the paddle with the whip attachment. Beat on high until stiff peaks form.

Pour the mixture into the prepared mold. It's okay to have a little extra - the mixture will shrink a little as it drains.

Wrap the excess cheesecloth over the top and place the mold in a container to catch the liquid that will eventually seep out.

I ran into an unexpected problem when I placed my filled mold in my mixing bowl to drain. The mold was kind of top heavy and it kept tilting sideways, so I placed some plastic wrap around the rim of the bowl which held the mold firmly in place.

Dairy products are notorious for absorbing refrigerator odors - not that there are any in MY refrigerator, but you never know when one of the teens is going to put some leftover Chinese take-out in there. So just to be on the safe side, wrap your Coeur a la Creme well with plastic before it goes into the fridge overnight.

Here we are after 24 hours. See how the creme has compressed a bit. The cheesecloth is saturated with moisture.

and look at all the liquid that drained into the bowl.

Time to place the finished Creme on a serving dish.

Remove the mold. Lift straight up so you don't mar the soft surface of the Creme.

Carefully peel away the cheesecloth which leaves a neat textured impression.

If I was serving this dessert on a white platter, I would have made a red fruit sauce (strawberry, raspberry), but since I'm using a red platter, I thought a chocolate sauce would be more appropriate. I made a simple sauce by combining 1 part chocolate to 2 parts heavy cream, over med heat; stirring constantly until combined. Allow to cool before using.

I garnished with some wild black raspberries I had stashed in the freezer.  Voila!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• pure vanilla extract https://amzn.to/3mPsjp4

• coeur a la creme mold https://amzn.to/2E5uWKi

• sieve https://amzn.to/2vVX4Lq

• cheesecloth https://amzn.to/2vX8TB0

• vanilla beans https://amzn.to/2EhmZSn

• Barefoot in Paris https://amzn.to/2HgXzpC

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Coeur a la Creme

serves 4-6

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar, sifted to remove lumps

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, cold

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle or BeaterBlade attachment, slowly combine the softened cream cheese and the confectioner's sugar until the risk of spewing powdered sugar all over your kitchen has passed; increase speed to high and beat for 2 minutes.

2. Turn the mixer off; add vanilla extract and vanilla seeds, mix to combine on low.

3. Add cream and continue to mix on low until incorporated (scrape sides of the bowl if needed).

4. Turn mixer off and replace the paddle attachment with the whip attachment; whip mixture on high until stiff peaks form.

5. Pour mixture into a cheesecloth lined mold.

6. Place mold in a bowl to catch the juices that drain.

7. Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

8. Unmold, garnish, and serve.

Chocolate Sauce

makes about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

• 4 ounces bitter-sweet chocolate

• 8 ounces heavy cream

Directions

1. In a heavy bottomed pan over med heat, melt chocolate and cream together; stirring constantly. Cool before using.

adapted from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten

Tip:  Cream cheese will dry out quickly if exposed to the air, so be sure to keep it wrapped while coming to room temperature.  If you're pressed for time, you can quickly bring cream cheese to room temperature by placing it in a sturdy zip-top storage bag and knead it for a few minutes. It will soften up in no time flat.