1993
Kitchen Krafts: Valentine Treats
February 1993


“Kitchen Krafts: Valentine Treats,” Friend, Feb. 1993, 27

Kitchen Krafts:

Valentine Treats

Little Cherry Cheesecakes

6 paper cupcake liners

6 vanilla wafers

1 package (8 ounces/227 g) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/2 can cherry pie filling

  1. Line a muffin tin with the paper liners.

  2. Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each liner.

  3. Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla; stir in the egg.

  4. Fill each liner 3/4 full with the mixture. Bake at 325° F (163° C) for 20–25 minutes. Cool, then top with the cherry pie filling.

Sweetheart Carrots

Cut a V-shape down the length of a scrubbed carrot, then round off the edges (see illustration). When you slice the carrot, each slice will be in a heart shape.

Pucker-Up Punch

1 can (6 ounces/170 g) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, slightly thawed

1 package (10 ounces/284 g) frozen strawberries in syrup, slightly thawed

1 1/2 cups water

4 cups/l liter lemon-lime flavored soda, chilled

  1. Put the lemonade, strawberries with syrup, and water into a blender container; cover and blend until smooth.

  2. Pour the blended mixture into a two-quart nonmetal pitcher. Stir in the soda and serve immediately.

Pretzel Sculpture

1 1/2 cups warm water

3/4 cup honey

1 package or cake of yeast

4–5 cups flour

1 egg yolk

salt

  1. Mix the warm water and the honey together. Stir in the yeast; let stand for an hour.

  2. Mix in half the flour and beat for one hundred strokes.

  3. Add flour until the dough is only slightly sticky, and knead 5–10 minutes. Cover; let stand in a warm place until double in size.

  4. Divide the dough into twelve balls. Roll each ball into a rope 12″ (30 cm) long. Form each rope into a shape such as a heart, flower, figure, or animal. Place the finished shapes onto greased cookie sheets.

  5. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water, then brush onto the dough shapes. Sprinkle the shapes with salt, if desired.

  6. Bake at 400° F (204° C) for 15–20 minutes for soft pretzels or at 500° F (260° C) for 15–20 minutes for hard pretzels.

Photo by Phil Shurtleff