I just baked my first sugar-free cookies, courtesy of Baking with Agave Nectar.

These Linzer Torte Cookies were quite yummy. Slightly sweet, nutty, fruity, cinnamon-y… it was somewhere between an oatmeal cookie and a breakfast bar. I used fruit-sweetened black cherry preserves, rather than the raspberry preserves the recipe called for, as my husband wouldn’t have touched them otherwise. I think apricot would have been tasty, too.

(After a bit of Googling, I happened across the recipe on FitSugar Enjoy!)

I thought I’d try my hand at the Hostess-style cupcakes again. I really liked the Fauxstess cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is a pretty simple chocolate cupcake recipe filled with buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache. This time, I wanted to change up the filling by adding maraschino cherries… because pink and cherries seem more festive.

Maraschino Frosting
(adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 teaspoom vanilla extract
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice**
2-4 maraschino cherries, finely chopped (optional)

Beat shortening and margarine until well combined, add sugar and beat about 3 minutes. Add extracts and maraschino juice, beat 5-7 minutes until fluffy. Add cherries and beat until combined.

**In the name of full disclosure, I only had about 1/8 cup juice left in the jar, and added soy milk to get 1/4 cup. It should work fine either way.

Filling the cupcakes with a large pastry tip.

Dipping filled cupcakes in chocolate ganache, kept warm in a double-boiler.

Writing Valentine’s messages with a #2 writing tip after ganache has thoroughly cooled.

If I don’t return to the kitchen before then, have a happy Valentine’s Day!

I made these vegan snickerdoodles (Vegetarian Times, September 2007) for my husband on Valentine’s Day, 2009.

Truth be told, I had never actually eaten a snickerdoodle before moving in with Brad. I’d heard of them, but I didn’t have the slightest clue what they tasted like. Now that I’ve had a fair few, I would definitely say I love the chewy texture, but as I’m not a big fan of cinnamon, these are an every-once-in-a-while type of cookie for me. The husband, however, could eat cinnamon with every meal… so they are one of his favorites.

On Valentine’s Day 2008, I decided to make this heart-shaped cake on a whim.

It’s the basic chocolate cake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, with an added splash of orange extract, baked into a sheet cake, then cut into hearts using a large cookie cutter. The filling is an orange-flavored buttercream, and the whole thing is covered with a chocolate ganache, both adapted from VCTOTW.