sweet hearts

Valentine's Day is pretty simple around our house. But it's still a good excuse to indulge in some treats and remember the original Source of Love. This year I tried out a new dessert recipe with my three helpers (even Will has his own apron....a very manly apron with fish on it). Another Pinterest special, from this website. The original recipe calls for cherries and ricotta cheese, we substituted with strawberries and cream cheese. They turned out scrumptiously.

I used my favorite pie crust recipe:

1/3 C. shortening
1/3 C. butter
2 C. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 C. boiling water

Then I chopped up some strawberries and sprinkled some sugar on top. Rolled out the crust dough and cut out heart shaped pieces - I didn't have a large enough heart cookie cutter so I actually ended up using the plastic top off of a heart-shaped chocolates box we had received. Next I placed some strawberries in the middle of the dough heart, added a dollop of sour cream and covered with another dough heart for the top. Margaret helped me press the edges together with a fork. As a final touch we melted 1 T. butter and brushed it on the top before baking it for 18 minutes at 375. (The original recipe called for 15 minutes, ours were pretty thick so they took longer.)

Next time I make them (and there will be a next time), I will probably mix the strawberries with the cream cheese a little bit. I also doubled the pie crust recipe to make six mini pies. 

See that chunk of chocolate behind the plate? My valentine brought them home for me. Now that's what I call a chocolate bar. He also made me a steak dinner. He knows how to please.

And speaking of sweethearts, here's another one I'm pretty smitten with.

Happy Valentine's Day, a day late!