Braided Heart

BRAIDED HEART

2 loaves Rhodes bread
cream cheese filling
1 small can pie filling
1 egg white
icing

Cream cheese filling:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Icing:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. milk

Roll dough into a 12 x 30 in. rectangle (I never got mine this big. Just roll it into as large a rectangle as you want). Divide dough lengthwise into thirds (score the dough). Spread cream cheese filling in center followed by pie filling. Make cuts from filling to dough edges at 1 1/2-in. intervals. Alternating sides, fold strips at an angle across filling (I like to twist as I fold). Fold bottom end towards filling and finish by stretching last strips and tucking them under the bottom end.

Carefully lift onto a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bring ends together forming a circle. With a knife, cut ends on an angle and join; put the circle into a heart shape. Place 3-4 glasses filled with water in the middle to help retain its shape as it rises.

Brush with egg white and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double. Remove wrap and bake at 350-degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack. Drizzle with icing and decorate with fruit.

Haylee’s Note:
Darin’s Cousin Lisa made this for a baby shower I went to and it was SOOOO delicious!! We made it last week and loved it again!! I used a cherry pie filling and made it round instead of a heart! This recipe is a yummy dessert, breakfast or treat! Enjoy!

V-day Jello Hearts

V-DAY JELLO HEARTS

I just used the same concept as my 7 layer jello to make these. But instead I just used strawberry and raspberry jello and I used a heart cookie cutter to make them heart shaped.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 pound strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Put the semisweet and white chocolates into 2 separate heatproof medium bowls. Melt the chocolates in a microwave at half power, for 1 minute, stir and then heat for another minute or until melted.

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the dark chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set strawberries on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries. Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Set the strawberries aside until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes.

Haylee’s Note:
Who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries!? And I know most people don’t really need a recipe for this little number but I found this recipe on Food Network. Click here for the original. You can also use milk chocolate like I did!

Valentine’s Sunny Side Up Egg

VALENTINE'S SUNNY SIDE UP EGG

1 egg
Cooking spray
Salt and Pepper

Spray pan with cooking spray. Place heart shaped cookie cutter in pan. Crack egg into cookie cutter. Cook until done.

Haylee’s Note:
This was something I served on V-day with pink heart shaped pancakes. Hopefully Matthew will appreciate it when he gets a little older. Darin liked it too!