Today’s treat for celebrating 14 Days of Valentine’s are cookies!
Hidden Kiss Cookies!
I thought these cookies were perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Their name is so seductive, conjuring visions of stolen kisses
in the shadows, star crossed lovers that will never be together
to fulfill their destiny, or if you are a Peter Pan fan you know that the hidden kiss is the kiss meant for your one true love. So, I nominate these cookies to become the
Official Cookie of Valentine’s Day!
(adapted from Southern Living)
1 cup Sliced Almonds
2 1/4 cups Flour
2/3 cup Powdered Sugar
pinch Salt
1 1/4 cups Butter, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
Chocolate Caramel Kisses 6 ounces Milk Chocolate Chips or squares
2-3 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
The recipe called for sliced almonds,
 but I only had whole almonds, so I chopped them upÂ
a little by themselves first using the food processor.
In the food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. If you don’t want to use a food processor, just combine the flour, sugar and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. The  almonds still need to be chopped until finely ground. 
Beat butter together with vanilla and  almond extract until creamy. 
Add flour in 2 batches beating until combined.
Turn dough out on to a floured counter and knead 4-5 times. Divide dough in half. 
Using 1 dough portion at a time, take a teaspoon full of dough, flatten it, and press a chocolate kiss on it. 
Now, take another teaspoon full of dough and spread  it over the top of the chocolate. 
Now press the top dough into the bottom dough. Make it look pretty like the one on the left. I don’t know what happened to the one on the right! 
Bake for 3-5 minutes until the edges begin to turn brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes. 
Make your chocolate drizzle by melting the chocolate in a double boiler. Once it is all melted, heat up your heavy whipping cream until warm, but not hot. Add some of the warm cream, just a little at a time. Stir until you reach your desired consistency. It usually takes half as much cream as the amount of chocolate you used. But, by just adding a little at a time, it eliminates any problem with the chocolate becoming soupy.  In this instance you want your chocolate to be thick  enough so that it doesn’t run, but thin enough that it will drizzle nicely. 
Put your chocolate in a pastry bag and drizzle any design you wish. 
Dust with confectioner’s sugar and enjoy! 
This was Day 7 of 14 Days of Valentine’s!
Thanks for stopping by!