Whole Wheat Valentine Cookies

Whole Wheat Valentine Cookies

Valentine’s Day will be here in a few days and I just wanted to start my preparation for the romantic day with some healthy, tasty and easy-to-make valentine cookies.  

The story of Valentine's Day is interesting. If you want to know the story read it in the trivia section below.

Now since you know the story and the significance of the Valentine cookies, would you not want to pay tribute to Saint Valentine by expressing love to your dear one with these scrumptious but light Valentine cookies? I call them light as these taste too good even without all that heavy buttery icing usually found on Valentine cookies. So here we go…

Equipment Required

A Electric Oven

A cookie baking tray( flat tray  Mostly it comes with the oven)

Aluminum foil(  big enough to cover the tray)

A container (for keeping kneaded biscuit dough)

Standard Measuring cups

Standard Measuring spoons

Mixer/Grinder

Sieve

A Newspaper

A Spoon 

Food Items you Need ( Ingredients)

 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

½ cup strawberry flavored custard powder

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter

A pinch of baking soda

Method of Cooking

 Baking

Preparation Time

20 mins

Cook Time 

20 mins

How to Make Valentine Cookie ( Directions)

Sieve together all purpose flour, custard powder, and baking soda on a clean newspaper.
Powder the sugar in the mixer.
Melt the butter and pour it into a container. Add sugar and beat till a smooth and homogenous mixture is obtained.
Add the flour mixture and mix it in small portions in the butter-sugar mixture till you obtain a smooth dough. 

whole wheat valentine strawberry cookie dough

Let the dough rest for about 5 hrs.
Flatten the cookie dough with a flatbread flattener

Flattened Whole Wheat Cookie Dough

Shape cookies as hearts( you use cookie cutter ash shown in the picture) and place them on a baking tray lined with heat-proof aluminum foil.

Shaping Cookies With Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter

Chop cherries finely and place them in the center of each cookie.

unbaked cookies with cherries

Place the cookie tray in the oven and set the timer for 22 mins and oven temperature to 170 degrees centigrade. You can also try baking at 190 degrees for 10-12 mins and let me know if you’ve got a soft texture.

unbaked valentine cookies to be baked

The cookies will bake in the time set or wait till they brown along the edges.
Cracks on top of the biscuit will let you know that they have baked well.
Cool the cookies.
Remove the tray from the oven and delicately lift the cooled Valentine cookies one by one.

Baked Valentine Cookies

Serving

Package them in a plastic container and in attractive gift paper and present them to your Valentine.

Some Observations from Experience:

1.       Do not substitute butter with oil or margarine as they will spoil the taste. Butter can be substituted with oil in cakes but not in biscuits.

2.       Many recipes ask you to use ½ tsp soda, but do not do that! That much amount gave a bitter soda taste to my cookies earlier. Just use a pinch of soda. Not more than that.

Health Facts of Valentine Cookie Ingredients

Cornstarch - I used custard powder for coloring the cookies pink. I also thought about using pink food color but custard powder is definitely healthier. Cornstarch does not contain saturated fats and comes with zero fat and cholesterol content. It does not contain sugar and percentage of sodium is pretty low.

Whole Wheat Flour- I used whole wheat flour which has more health benefits than all-purpose flour, in the dish. The percentage of saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol in this flour is very low.  It supplies adequate dietary fiber to the dishes it is used in. It is rich in Selenium and Manganese
Compositionally Light- This is a light biscuit as it does not contain heavy and creamy icing which can add calories.  

Trivia

For those who are not aware of Valentine’s Day and why it is celebrated here is brief introduction to the occasion and why it is celebrated. Valentine’s Day is an occasion of romantic love when couples acknowledge love for each other. Somehow, tragedy and love seem to go hand in hand as seen in some of the greatest love stories of this world and the foundation of this hugely and internationally popular occasion of love is martyrdom for love. Valentine, a Roman physician, was imprisoned and killed for encouraging marriage for soldiers against the desire of the Roman rulers in 270 AD on the 14^th of February. He himself was in love with his jailer’s daughter and before being executed he sent her a love note addressed to her as “to my Valentine”.  The incident did not gain much popularity till the 14^th century when Geoffrey Chaucer, the Father of English Literature popularized it as a celebration of romantic love. Couples expressed their love with romantic cards, romantic gifts and foods out of which the valentine chocolates, cakes and cookies gained tremendous popularity. 

Where to Buy Whole Wheat Valentine Cookies

You may not have the time, equipment or ingredients to make these cookies. Does that mean that you do not have to enjoy these?

Valentine cookies of different varieties and flavors are sold by confectioners all over the world in the months January to February. There is no season for love and therefore some sell them throughout the year. You need to check with your local bakers and order them well in advance so that you are not disappointed in the last moment. You could also do a google search with keywords" buy valentine cookies" and you will get a list of retailers. Make sure that before you buy you will be given the product you want and this is especially true in online shopping. Read retailer reviews for credibility before ordering your lot and make sure that you are delivered the freshest products without damage.