These Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet… just like being in love! 

Deliciously rich chocolate blended with almond butter holds the two cloud-like meringue cookies together. Oh, and they are gluten-free!

 

I tinted the meringue for the Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies with food coloring and added raspberry flavoring. Cherry, strawberry or even vanilla would pair nicely with the chocolate almond filling.

You’ll fall in love with these little bites of heaven. Get the recipe here! 

 

 

This is sweet seduction: Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Crust.

The strawberries you’ll find in markets at this time of the year are different from the strawberries you ate a month ago. Why? Because now they taste like REAL strawberries. Sweet. Succulent. Seductive.

Chocolate and strawberries are a natural combo, so I used chocolate wafer cookies to make the crust. You can also use graham crackers or shortbread if you prefer. I folded the strawberry puree into pillows of whipped egg white so the pie is light and airy. I’ve included a step-by-step tutorial after the main recipe.

Just make sure you buy locally grown strawberries. If the package says the strawberries were picked in another country, put them back and wait a few weeks longer. Fresh strawberries are in season… succumb to the sweet seduction.

 

Tutorial: Deep-Dish Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Crust 

1. Gather your ingredients: 1 package chocolate wafer cookies; 1⅓ cup sugar, divided; ⅓ cup melted butter; 1 lb. strawberries, divided; 1 envelope gelatin; ¾ cup cold water; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 2 egg whites

2. Place oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.

 

3. Crush cookies and ⅓ cup sugar in a food processor.

 

4. Transfer crumb mixture to a large bowl and add the melted butter. I don’t add the butter to the food processor because it can get clumpy.

 

5. Press the crumb mixture into the deep-dish pie pan, including the sides (your crust will be thick). Bake 8 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and set aside to cool.

 

6. Remove the stems from the strawberries. Place 12 ounces of the strawberries (about ¾ of all the strawberries) and ½ cup sugar into a food processor and purée; set aside.

7. Pour water into a small saucepan and sprinkle on gelatin; soften for 5-minutes.

8. Add remaining ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and salt to saucepan. Cook on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until sugar dissolves (don’t boil!). Pour gelatin mixture into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.

9. Pour strawberry mixture from food processor into cooled gelatin; stir and set aside.

10. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.

11. Fold egg whites into strawberry mixture.

 

12. Keep folding until the egg whites are incorporated into the strawberry mixture. It will be liquidy.

13. Pour into baked chocolate piecrust. Use a spatula to remove all the eggs whites from the bowl.

14. Garnish with remaining 4 ounces of strawberries (you can slice them, or just put them on whole).

 

15. Chill pie for at least 3 hours.

 

 

Here are some terrific Chocolate Dipping Tips (and an easy recipe) if you want to create Valentine’s Day enchantment!

What to Dip

Fresh Fruit:

• Make sure it’s fresh and ripe. Even the richest chocolate can’t hide the sour taste of an unripe, mid-winter strawberry.
• Remove the fruit from the fridge about 10 minutes before dipping in order to take the chill off and prevent the chocolate coating from cracking.
• The fruit needs to be absolutely dry and free of moisture before dipping.

Nuts:

• Whole or halved nuts work best, but sliced almonds, or pecan pieces are great, too. Put them in small clumps on a parchment  paper-lined baking sheet and spoon on the melted chocolate.
• If you’re buying a large bag of nuts from a big-box store, taste them as soon as you’ve purchased them. If they taste stale, take them back!

Other Dip-ables:

• Pretzels, potato chips and other salty junk food can bring a delicious balance to the sweetness of the chocolate. If you’re buying these in a super-sized quantity, make sure they are fresh!
• Bacon! Thick cut bacon works best. Fry it until very crispy. Cool completely before dipping.
• Marshmallows and cookies.
• Dried fruit. Apricots, pineapple and apples are addictive.
• Zucchini. I’m not kidding. Slice fresh zucchini sticks and dip them in powdered sugar… then into chocolate. Amazing.

Chocolate Dipping Tips:

• Water or moisture in your chocolate will cause it to “seize.” This means it will get hard, crumbly and grainy.
• Chocolate that gets too hot will also seize. That’s why you need to melt chocolate slowly and at the lowest possible heat until smooth.
• If chocolate seizes, blend in 1 tablespoon shortening for every 4-ounces of chocolate and stir constantly until the chocolate is smooth again.
• Chocolate bars and squares are best for melting. They put additives in chocolate chips so the chips will keep their shape. You want the best and purest chocolate you can afford with only these ingredients: cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (an emulsifier) and vanilla.
• Chocolate should be warm (not hot!) and have a thin consistency so it gently coats what you’re dipping. If it’s too cool it will be thick and ugly.
•  Use a potato masher to dip fruit, pretzels or cookies in hot melted chocolate.
• Don’t waste the last bit of chocolate in the pan! Spoon the remaining chocolate into a plastic re-sealable bag and seal. Snip off a tiny piece from the bottom corner and drizzle it over anything still left to dip!
• Cool your dipped items on a tray lined with parchment paper.
• After coating the goodies, tightly wrap the chocolate and store it in a cool, dry place. You can also refrigerate for up to 2-days.

This Valentine’s Day, fall in love… with this creamy 6-Ingredient Strawberry Flan.

Caramel… fresh strawberries… chocolate curls. Are you with me?

But as fabulous as that sounds, the best part about this seemingly decadent dessert is that it’s low in fat. Seriously.

I wrote this recipe for my pals at Right@Home, the bilingual website that has some amazing (and Pinnable!) Valentines recipes and crafting ideas.

They’ve also got great tips for cleaning and organizing your home (who couldn’t use that kind of help, especially at this time of year?). Sign up for email alerts with this registration link so you don’t miss a special offer or coupon. Click here to sign up.

Are you ready to fall in love? Here’s the easy step-by-step way to make this luscious Strawberry Flan.