Tomorrow is a big day in Bigs’ class – it’s his Valentine’s Day party! No matter how many old (relatively speaking) pictures I show him, he doesn’t remember Valentine’s Day last year. So this time around should be groundbreaking for him. I think he’ll really enjoy it! The parents of Bigs’ classmates have been invited to a potluck lunch in his classroom, and we are so excited! I was in charge of desserts. Obvi. It’s what I do. Plus, they may not know it, but none of the other attendees want anything I’ve cooked. Blarg.
I made three different desserts. I love variety. I think that’s why I love buffets so much (don’t judge). I need options. Lots of options.
All the desserts I made for tomorrow are gluten free. Not only is my husband GF, but one of Bigs’ sweet classmates is. I love being able to make desserts that everyone can eat. AND that taste great!
The first dessert I made was a Cherry Vanilla Almond Meringue Cookie.
I doubled the recipe and it made approximately one million. The recipe called for cherry extract, but as my life typically goes, I did not have that. I did, however, have a Duncan Hines Cherry Vanilla Frosting Starter (powder intended to be mixed into vanilla frosting). It added both a lovely cherry vanilla flavor AND color. I also added Wilton pink (rosa) gel color and extra almond extract to make up for the vibrant cherry flavoring. They came out so festively pink and delicious!
http://momspark.net/holiday-dessert-cherry-almond-meringues/
The second dessert I made was a chocolate cookie I first made about a week ago – Vegan Chocolate Haystacks. SO GOOD! And easy. Two of my favorite things.
This time, I used Hershey’s DARK chocolate cocoa and they came out richer and more chocolatey.
http://www.becauseilikechocolate.com/2013/12/vegan-chocolate-haystacks.html
And lastly, I made a GF chocolate cinnamon cookie that I’ve made half a dozen times before. They are really unbelievably good. These were the first cookie I’d eaten that really broke my own personal stigma against gluten free food.
Chock FULL of chocolate chips, these little babies are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Yummers. This is a family favorite cookie in our house, long before my husband went GF and DF.
http://food52.com/recipes/19209-divine-gluten-free-chocolate-cookies-no-seriously
I put the desserts in a hot pink tray that I found at the Dollar Store. I also found the little vase there as well. It says, “Love” in different fonts on it. I filled it with conversation hearts. I think it looks cute.
I meannnn, this would be a lovely addition to any Valentine’s Day table!
Even one’s own personal table for one, if that’s your case. If single, I’d DEFINITELY make sure I were eating well.
I can’t wait to tuck into this (my portion ONLY) tomorrow!
Happy Valentine’s Eve Eve (so lame)!
I am sadly missing out on a Mommy Night Out making chocolates due to horribly inclement weather. Such a bummer, but I’ll pinch a cookie out of the batches I made today and pretend I’m in a chocolate factory (using the depths of my imagination).
Have a sweet night!
Kristin
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