Cooking with Toby: special cookies for Valentine’s Day

This archived article was written by: Toby Foster

There seem to be two-primary perceptions of Valentine’s Day. People who are all on board with it and those who refer to it as Singles Awareness Day. Conveniently, the view someone takes is usually related to their relationship status. I have come up with two recipes, one for those who want to show off to their Valentine, and one for those who, like me, will bury their sorrows in chocolate because they will be alone on this day.
For those looking to impress a date, I present stained-glass cookies. They are variation on sugar cookies that have a hard candy in the center. The center is made from any clear lozenge. You technically could use cough drops for this, but if you think that is a good idea, you may have worse problems than my articles can help you with. I recommend Jolly Ranchers since that is what I used and know they work.
This recipe is more complicated than most I have written about, I did this intentionally. Most people appreciate the extra effort that something like this takes. One person that I let try these even asked me if I used magic to make them. No magic is involved in making these, just patience and effort.
I experimented with a few variations on stained-glass cookies before I got it right. A few words of advise, do not try and use store-bought cookie dough, it will collapse and burn. Keep a close eye on the cookies as they bake. If the candy starts to boil, it will ruin the entire effect. The ones I accidentally let boil tuned into a cookie with a candy coating, instead of a cookie with a candy window.
The fastest way to get the cookies shaped with a hollow center is to roll them out to double the desired thickness. Use a cookie cutter to make the shape and then roll it out again so it is thinner and cut the center out with the same cutter. The recipe says to use parchment paper. USE PARCHMENT PAPER! Wax paper is not the same and does not work the same way. It will melt to your cookies; I learned this the hard way.
The second recipe is extremely simple. It is homemade Oreos. They are not like actual Oreos. They are a soft cookie and I blame them for why I have a hard time eating regular Oreos. They are soft, and I actually prefer them that way.
The recipe comes in two parts: the first is for the cookies themselves and the second is for the cream filling. It is actually a cream cheese frosting, but it can be used for either one. If you do not want put the extra effort to make the icing, then you can just buy some. If you really are making these to help you through a tough time, this option can really come in handy. You don’t even need to use a cream cheese frosting; it can be any flavor.
Homemade Oreos 1 Devil’s Food cake mix ½ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Roll into balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes. Let them cool before filling.