By Susan Thomas of Farmgirl Fare

What’s not to love about Valentine’s Day? There’s nothing better than a multi-cultural, multi-national holiday that celebrates sweethearts - and sweets. And while the traditional Valentine’s card and box of candy or bouquet of flowers definitely lets that special someone know you care, a homemade treat from the kitchen truly says I love you.

It doesn’t matter whether you make something savory or sweet, quick and easy, or totally time consuming - what really matters is that you prepare it with love. Here are a few recipes to tempt you into putting on an apron and turning on the oven.

Sometimes simple is best, and sometimes nothing but a hunk of chocolate cake will do. Enter my Emergency Chocolate Cake. It isn’t glamorous, but it is very, very good - and so easy to make. It takes me less than 20 minutes to go from empty kitchen counter to cake in the oven, and that includes licking the beaters. It even freezes beautifully.

For something a little more fancy, just take the basic recipe, add a few more minutes of effort, and create a pile of adorable Chocolate Babycakes With Mocha Buttercream Frosting.

Biscotti may seem intimidating to those not in the know, but these elegant, twice baked cookies are actually a snap to make, even on your first try. All it takes is a little bit of time and the right recipe. This chocolate biscotti recipe is an excellent choice for beginners. Once you’ve mastered it, you can move on to all sorts of other varieties, such as Toasted Almond Chocolate Chip. Because it looks so perfect, and because it stays fresh for many days, homemade biscotti makes a wonderful gift. Package it in little cellophane bags tied with a colorful ribbon, and your honey will think you spent a fortune on them at a fancy bakery.

Afraid of the oven? Paula at Half Baked grew up enjoying her mother’s no-bake Chocolate Mousse Pie, which is a whipped cream-covered cross between chocolate mousse and cheesecake. She decided to adapt the recipe and make darling little tartlettes, which would be perfect for Valentine’s Day. Afraid of the oven and lazy? Simply skip the graham cracker crumb crust and spoon the mousse into fancy glasses or dessert cups instead.

Is your sweetheart more the vanilla type? Here’s a recipe that lets them know you adore them even more than chocolate. Former professional baker Katrina Hall has been sharing some of her favorite recipes online, and this scrumptious Coconut Orange Cake is one of them. Garnished with a small bouquet, it would also be a hit with frosting haters and flower lovers.

Beth’s Berry Marshmallows With Chocolate are sophisticated kid food for grown-ups. “Homemade marshmallows are surprisingly easy to make and cannot fail to instill a certain confidence,” Beth tells us. “This alchemy of simple things - in this case, sugar, corn syrup, fruit, and water - is why I love to cook.” Can’t you just see the look of adoration (and disbelief) you’ll receive when you say, “Yes, darling, I love you so much I made you all these marshmallows from scratch.”

It wouldn’t be a Valentine’s Day RoundUp without some heart shaped goodies, and Sonia’s Coeur a la Creme is sure to please. This ‘heart of cream’ is a sublime combination of creams and cheeses with a touch of confectioner’s sugar. Don’t have the traditional white porcelain heart-shaped molds with draining holes in the bottom? No problem. Sonia says you can “just line a colander or sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth and use that instead. Or you can use anything that has holes or drainage. I once used a kid’s plastic beach sand sifter and it worked fine.” Her article also includes a recipe for homemade creme fraiche.

For romance on the savory side, grab some potatoes and a heart-shaped cookie cutter and try these easy Sweet Red Roasties from Sarah at What Smells So Good? “The idea is to get them into fairly even bite-sized bits,”explains Sarah. “I chopped my potatoes into about 4 slices each then cut the slices with the cutters.” So cute!

Or how about a Valentine’s Day tea for two, complete with a basket of warm English muffins or crumpets? The kitchenMage demystifies the difference between these two skillet breads for us and offers up original recipes for heart-shaped versions of both.

And lastly, if you want to show your affection in a slightly healthier way (or simply need to rationalize eating chocolate mousse pie for the rest of the day), you can’t go wrong with a batch of Ginger Pear Bran Muffins. Made with 100% whole grains, including hefty portions of both oat and wheat bran, nobody will ever guess that these moist and flavorful muffins are so good for them.

Of course you can also search to your heart’s content for all sorts of romantic recipes on FoodieView.

Susan Thomas writes about her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres on her award-winning blog, Farmgirl Fare, where you’ll find all kinds of sweet and savory recipes tucked between the pictures of cute farm animals.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.