chocolate heart cookies

These double chocolate heart cookies topped with orange-kissed buttercream frosting are delicious, rich and flavorful, just as Valentine’s Day should be.

I was compensated by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for my time in developing this recipe and post. All opinions are my own.

 

chocolate heart cookies with orange buttercream frosting 

Valentine’s Day is pretty much the perfect time to infuse life with flavor, right? I have no idea what that means in my human interactions, but I do know what that means for cookies. Rich, delicate, complicated flavor. Hence why I use three different pure extracts from Nielsen-Massey: Vanilla, chocolate and orange. You can skip the orange extract in the frosting of these cookies if you like, but oh-my-gosh-it’s-so-good-so-please-don’t. These chocolate heart cookies with orange buttercream frosting are perfect for the sweet day. 

Nielsen-Massey uses a cold extraction process, which takes 2 to 3 weeks, instead of the more common heat process, which takes 2 to 3 days, to preserve the delicate flavors of the beans. Ergo, that aforementioned “rich, delicate, complicated flavor” I was going for? Success.

 

 

For this recipe, I used Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, as it’s best for baking. You can learn more about which vanilla product to use when at the Nielsen-Massey site. The vanilla extract in the cookies, combined with Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Chocolate Extract, results in a smooth, chocolatey cookie. The cookies are not very sweet, so they pair best with the buttercream frosting. And I had to add Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Orange Extract to the frosting since I love the chocolate-orange combination. Next time, instead of orange I may try the coffee, peppermint or rose water.

 

about the heart cookies 

This cookie recipe holds its shape very well—freakishly well–which is important since we’re rolling the dough thickly enough to accommodate the sticks (available in the craft store). If you wish, you can skip the sticks and roll them to any thickness. Here, I used a three-inch heart cookie cutter, also available in the craft store, but you can use any shape or size cookie cutter you like. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time if your shapes are thicker, thinner or a different size.

There are no rules for decorating the cookies with the frosting. You can simply spread the frosting on the cookies with a spatula, toss some sprinkles on there, and call it a day. I used a disposable decorating bag and size “3” decorating tips, both available at the craft store. Feel free to use any decorating tip you want and pipe any design you can imagine.

 

If you’d like to add color to the frosting, in order to maintain the unique flavor of these cookies, I suggest a high quality food coloring that won’t alter the taste. I used my favorite food coloring, Americolor Soft Gel Pastes, in red and electric pink, available in specialty stores and online. It’s tasteless, so that vanilla-orange-chocolate flavor combination comes through beautifully.

 

And now, to resist eating every single one of these double chocolate cookie pops before I give them to my loves…

Need more flavor inspiration? Check out the Nielsen-Massey Instagram page.

 

 

This post also appears on Food Fanatic.