As the season of love rolls around and Valentine’s Day looms on the horizon, you might be wondering how to celebrate. For many, the expectations and pressure of the holiday make preparing for the day a daunting task. That’s why we at the B-Line staff have prepared a list of recipes to help make your festivities perfect.

Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Credit for this recipe goes to Delish!

Ingredients

Cookies

• 3 c. (360 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 c. (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
• 4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• Pink and red food coloring
• Sprinkles

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy and pale. Then add egg, milk, and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Then, add the flour mixture until combined.
2. Shape the dough into flattened discs, wrap in plastic, then refrigerate. 
3. Preheat your oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out your dough on a clean surface, cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter. Then, freeze for ten minutes. 
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
5. Mix together cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. When smooth, add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.
6. Divide the frosting in two bowls, adding pink food coloring and then red coloring to two of the bowls. Once frosting is the color you  desire, frost cookies with a spatula, then add sprinkles.
7. Enjoy!

Pink Pasta

Credit for this recipe goes to Jillian Harris!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup heaping soaked raw cashews, drained and rinsed
• ¾ cup water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small red beet, peeled then cut to 1-inch cubes
• salt (to taste)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 box of heart shaped pasta (for example, Trader Joe’s Italian Artisan Heart Shaped Pasta!)
• ⅓ starchy pasta water
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ vegetable stock
• parmesan

Directions

1. Soak cashews overnight, or bowl for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 425°. Drizzle your beets with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then wrap in tinfoil and roast until tender, for 50-60 minutes.
3. Put cashews, water, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in your blender. Slowly add in your beets until you have the pink color you’d like.
4. Boil pasta, and setting it aside save ⅓ of the pasta water.
5. Bring a skillet to medium heat, add pasta sauce and bring to a simmer. Add in pasta water and vegetable bouillon. Adjust seasoning based on taste.
6. Add in your pasta and combine.
7. Top with cheese and enjoy!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Tarts

Credit for this recipe goes to the Food Network!

Ingredients

• ½ cup fresh raspberries
• ¼ cup whipped cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 14-ounce box refrigerated pie dough, thawed if frozen
• flour
• 2 heart shaped cookie cutters, one 4 inches, the other ¾ inches

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put raspberries, honey, and cream cheese in a bowl. Mash the raspberries with cream cheese until only a few pieces are intact.
3. Unroll your pie dough, then use your larger heart cookie cutter to stamp out 20-22 hearts.
4. Lightly flour a clean work surface, then lay half the hearts on it. Put 2 teaspoons of the raspberry cream cheese mixture in the center of each heart, leaving about a ¼ inch border on the edge.
5. Cut a heart out of the middle of each of the remaining dough hearts with your smaller cookie cutter. Lay these hearts on top of the ones with the raspberry cream cheese mixture. 
6. Crimp the edges of the hearts together around the raspberry cream cheese mixture. Place your hearts onto your baking sheet then bake for 20 minutes.
7. Let your cookies cool, then enjoy!

Heart Cheesecakes

Credit for this recipe goes to Hungry Happenings!

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons butter

Cheesecake

• 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pint sour cream (1 pint = 16 ounces or 2 cups of sour cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• food coloring – pink purple, blue, green, yellow, and red

Directions

1. Fill a roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the silicone heart molds.
2. Set the roasting pan in the oven.
3. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and melted butter.
5. Equally divide the crumbs among 18 heart-shaped silicone mold cavities.
6. Press the crumbs into an even layer and refrigerate until needed.
7. Beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth.
8. Add sugar and beat until incorporated.
9. Beat in eggs then add sour cream and vanilla and mix just to combine.
10. Equally divide the cheesecake batter into 6 bowls.
11. Color one bowl of filling pink, lavender, yellow, orange, green, and blue using food coloring.
12. Equally divide each color of filling among 3 heart cavities.
13. Bake cheesecakes in a water bath for 18-24 minutes until the edges look set but the center is jiggly but not wet.
14. Remove from the oven and water bath and allow to cool at room temperature for an hour.
15. Freeze for at least two hours then remove and un-mold.
16. Paint conversation heart phrases onto the tops of the cheesecakes using red food coloring.
17. Enjoy with loved ones!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Credit for this recipe goes to A Beautiful Plate!

Ingredients

• 2⅓ cup (280 g) unbleached all purpose flour
• ¾ cup (75 g) Dutch-process or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (1/2 lb; 225 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (200 g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (120 g) milk chocolate chips plus more for finishing
• ¾ cup (120 g) semisweet chocolate chips plus more for finishing
• ¾ cup (120 g) white chocolate chips plus more for finishing

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) with a rack in the center position. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and both sugars. Mix until smooth, 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Use a spatula to stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop the dough by the rounded tablespoon on the prepared baking sheet, setting them apart by about 2 inches. Not all cookies will fit on the sheet for one batch. 
6. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until the cookies are set but still soft in the center. Do not overbake. 
7. While the cookies are warm, gently press extra chocolate chips into the cookies for presentation. 
8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. 
9. Once the baking sheet has cooled, repeat with the remaining dough.
10. Storage Tips: Store the cookies in an airtight container, between layers of parchment, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Beef Wellington

Credit for this recipe goes to Delish!

Ingredients

• 1 (2 lb.) center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 lb. mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 shallot, roughly chopped
• Leaves from 1 thyme sprig
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• all-purpose flour, for dusting
• 14 oz. frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Using kitchen twine, tie tenderloin in 4 places. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Over high heat, coat the bottom of a heavy skillet with olive oil. 
3. Once the pan is nearly smoking, sear tenderloin until well-browned on all sides, including the ends, about 2 minutes per side (12 minutes total). 
4. Transfer to a plate. When cool enough to handle, snip off twine and coat all sides with mustard. Let cool in the fridge.
5. Meanwhile, make duxelles: In a food processor, pulse mushrooms, shallots, and thyme until finely chopped.
6. To skillet, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add mushroom mixture and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then let cool in the fridge.
7. Place plastic wrap down on a work surface, overlapping so that it’s twice the length and width of the tenderloin. Arrange the prosciutto on the plastic wrap into a rectangle that’s big enough to cover the whole tenderloin. Spread the duxelles evenly and thinly over the prosciutto.
8. Season tenderloin, then place it at the bottom of the prosciutto. Roll meat into prosciutto-mushroom mixture, using plastic wrap to roll tightly. Tuck ends of prosciutto as you roll, then twist ends of plastic wrap tightly into a log and transfer to fridge to chill (this helps it maintain its shape).
9. Heat oven to 425°. Lightly flour your work surface, then spread out puff pastry and roll it into a rectangle that will cover the tenderloin (just a little bigger than the prosciutto rectangle you just made!). Remove tenderloin from plastic wrap and place on bottom of puff pastry. Brush the other three edges of the pastry with egg wash, then tightly roll beef into pastry.
10. Once the log is fully covered in puff pastry, trim any extra pastry, then crimp edges with a fork to seal well. Wrap roll in plastic wrap to get a really tight cylinder, then chill for 20 minutes.
11. Remove plastic wrap, then transfer roll to a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt.
12. Bake until pastry is golden and the center registers 120°F for medium-rare, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before carving and serving. 

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to get out of your comfort zone with cooking, using your skills and creativity to make recipes for all your Valentines. Try the any of the recipes above? Let us know how they went below!