Valentine’s Day Bites
Some moms are great about turning even minor holidays into a celebration, with decorations, themed food, crafts and fun traditions. I, on the other hand, usually forget about Valentine’s Day until my kids are already at school and my Facebook feed starts filling up with pictures of heart-shaped pancakes and adorable handmade cards. Aaahhh! While I contemplate whether I’m ruining my kids’ childhood or I just have too many over-achieving friends, I scramble around on Pinterest for last-minute Valentine ideas that require minimal time and effort but have a bit more charm than store-bought cookies.
One of our favorite quick and easy treats are puff pastry “bites” filled with jam or chocolate. Add in a heart-shaped cutter and some pink sprinkles and your sweetheart is sure to swoon. Kids can make these almost as easily as they can eat them. So it’s a great option when they want to offer a handmade treat to family and friends. Happy baking!
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry, a.k.a. Blätterteig, preferably a 24 x 36-cm rectangle
- 1/2 cup jam, Nutella or other filling
- 1 egg, egg white or egg yolk for egg wash (optional)
Method
- Preheat oven to 210°C.
- Unroll the puff pastry. Using a cookie cutter or knife, cut shapes out of the dough. Make sure to cut pairs of each shape, so you can match them together during assembly.
- Spoon a teaspoon of jam, Nutella or other filling in the middle of a cut out. Dip your finger in water and lightly moistened the edges of the shape. Lay a matching shape over the top. Firmly press together the sides all around the shape. Repeat for remaining cut outs.
- Place assembled shapes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Optional: brush each shape with egg wash, which will give it a more golden color when baked.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Meanwhile, prepare icing (recipe below).
- Cool briefly on a rack, then decorate with icing and sprinkles. Don’t worry if some of the jam leaks out during baking – they’ll still be tasty.
Icing
- ½ c. (60 gr) powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbl milk
Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl and whisk with milk until it has a slightly runny consistency.
Text and photos by Tanya Deans
Originally from San Francisco, Tanya has made Zurich her home for the past decade with her husband and two growing boys. She runs the website Moms:Tots:Zurich, which is all about hiking with kids in Switzerland and other family-friendly outings in and around Zurich.
