Happy Valentine's Day

Whoopie Pies & Strawberries

Some how Valentine's Day came very quickly this year. I'm not sure how that could be since most of us feel February is longest month of the year (but then again, we still have 2 more weeks of this cold, snowy, dreary long month). Maybe that's why we celebrate with chocolate on Valentine's Day. To keep the chocolate tradition going, I made chocolate covered strawberries and whoopie pies for my daughter's Valentine's Day celebration at her school.

You ask, what's a Whoopie Pie? A whoopie pie, sometimes alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, or bob is a baked good traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as well as New England, made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. In Western Pennsylvania they are known as "gobs."

They taste very much like a soft oreo cookie. Give them a try ...

Whoopie Pies
Ingredients:

• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups milk
• Filling, recipe follows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or preheat a convection oven to 315 degrees F.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, and eggs together until well combined. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and beat or stir to blend. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and beat again. Add the remaining dry mixture and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk and beat until blended.

With a large spoon, scoop out 60 circles of batter onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

Spread filling onto half of the circles and place remaining circles on top, to make 30 Whoopie Pies.

Chocolate covered strawberries are a must for our family on Valentine's Day!



Chocolate Covered Strawberries

1 lb Make 'N Mold chocolates (or other chocolate chips)
2 Tbps Shortening
24 Long stemmed Strawberries

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding the strawberries by the stem, dip the them into the chocolate mixture.

Vintage Inspired Valentine ...

I'm truly fond of Valentine's Day pink & red decorations, cards, wreaths, lights, etc. Most of all I LOVE Valentine's Day fabric ... I found some lovely 1930’s reproduction Valentine’s inspired fabric on Fabric.com and made this vintage inspired Be My Valentine Red Heart Apron.


Happy Valentine's Day!! Enjoy your day...