Happy Valentine's Day 2025

Dear Readers, my electronic 2025 Valentine's Card goes out to you! I hope you find kindness, love, humor, and joy on this Valentine's Day.

FreePik

Often it's a day we still go into the office, sooo be the source of kindness, love, humor, and joy! Shoot ↖↗↘Cupid's Arrows↖↗↘ out in appropriate, goodwill ways to your co-workers and all the folks who cross your path today. Our superpower is to change and better the world in little, not monumental ways.

Artist: dotdave

Small splurges and treats will benefit you too. The Starbucks drink you normally forgo to economize, the sweets you pass on 90% of the time to stay healthy, the glass of wine you don't have because, well, you'd rather eat than drink your calories. Have them today in moderation. Celebrate the love of life! Holidays are your 10% days. Eat the chocolate!♥

Good ole Godiva dark chocolate truffles hit the sweet spot perfectly!

Happy Valentine's Day my lovelies! Hugs and kisses across the web from THE SAVVY SHOPPER! xoxo

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My Clean Sweet Snacks List

Food takes a big bite out of a family's budget and why it's one of the subjects I write about on THE SAVVY SHOPPER. We don't have the choice of not eating, and o'man, does food take up a lot of our time from shopping for it, preparing it, and cleaning up after cooking it. We could save so much time and rid ourselves of a repetitive task if only we could stop eating! But regardless of household income, we must eat to live!

Protein bars are great to keep in the pantry for snacks and quick meals when you have no appetite or don't have time to eat. Sometimes I'll put a protein bar in my bag if an appointment will cause me to miss breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It keeps our blood sugar from plummeting. The problem with protein bars is the ones high in protein and low in sugar and calories can taste chalky and bland. Also, they are not a substitute for real food, i.e. balanced meals, which we should eat 90% - 95% of the time. 

That said, my senior mother will no longer eat her oatmeal in the mornings and overall she's become a very finicky eater, so I supplement her real food with healthy protein bars to ensure she gets sufficient protein, whole grains, and calories. 

1) Clean Protein Bars are the best-tasting protein bars I've found thus far. In addition to their great taste, I like their 15 grains of protein, their 7 grams of fiber from 6.5 grams of whole grains, as well as, their reasonable price at Walmart (which I order online). They are fairly big bars at 190 calories too. While the Clean Protein Bars' simple ingredients are a big plus, at 10 grams of sugar per bar, they are slightly over the margin of what nutritionists recommend. Ideally, protein bars should contain between 5 grams - 8 grams of sugar each, but good luck finding lower-sugar protein bars that taste good enough to eat. 

2) Occasionally I also buy Pure Protein Bars, yet at 20 grams of protein with 1 gram - 2 grams of sugar, they are too dense and chalky tasting to be as satisfying to eat. They don't taste bad, but bars that go over 17 grams of protein nearly always sacrifice texture. We reach for them less often.

With the Clean Protein Bars, I'm ok with the 10 grams of sugar in exchange for relatively high protein, moderate calorie count, and delicious taste. One characteristic to note: The bars fall apart when you eat them, so on the run, take a napkin with you!

3) South Forty Nut Bars - I love everything about this snack except the $3 per bar cost and 260 calories. Both price and calories really add up! Not as high in protein as you'd think, yet they are a nut lover's dream snack made with only a few, simple and clean ingredients. A sometimes treat because we don't love flavorless, monotonous food regardless of how nutritious it is. Perhaps a competitor will figure out how to make nut bars more affordable. Nuts are expensive!

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4) My oatmeal cookies are healthier with less fat and sugar than most, but you do need some sugar to make cookies. They are delicious and a sometimes tasty treat especially if you're trying to get a picky eater to drink a glass of milk. Fast, easy, and cheap to bake from scratch, they contain mainly nutritious ingredients and are a complete protein with egg and nuts.

Makes 20 oatmeal cookies. Just the right amount.

My Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) brown sugar

2 tablespoons golden syrup (or substitute graduated sugar)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup Oats (either quick or old-fashioned, uncooked work)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 capful of cider vinegar - Ensures a proper rise.

1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg and pumpkin spice mix 

I add the extras below: 

1 tablespoon of raisins - Keeps the batch moist for extra days.

2 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips - You can also smash up a dark chocolate bar if you lack the chocolate chips.

2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips (Full disclosure: white chocolate isn't chocolate and has no nutritional value.:)

2 tablespoons of walnuts

Directions:

1) Using a fork, stir together the butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup.

2) Toss in the egg and mix in vanilla.

3) Add the oats, all-purpose flour, and baking soda.

4) Stir in the vinegar, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice.

5) Fold in the extras: raisins, nuts, dark chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. At this step, I added 2 extra tablespoons of oatmeal to get a drier dough, so eyeball the consistency.

6) Refrigerate for 20 minutes or in the freezer for less time. Cold cookie dough is easier to handle.

7) I used a small cookie scooper to form and drop the dough on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 

8) Bake at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes. I like my oatmeal cookies crispy on the outside yet soft and done on the inside. (13 - 14 minutes makes crispy cookies, a 2nd preference.) Remove from the oven and let cool. Enjoy!

 

Moderation is the key to healthy snacks, which ideally should be no more than 200 calories. Try to make the calories in everything you eat, including sweet snacks, count!

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Useful: Bigger Bolder Bakers' Substitute Corn Syrup & Molasses

PhoPhoto: Bigger Bolder Baker

There are two baking ingredients I never have in my pantry because I rarely need them. With these substitute recipes, I may never have to buy them. Thanks to Gemma Stafford, a former chef, I can make them at home (with ingredients I always have) for when I get a notion to bake a pastry that calls for one or the other. I love Gemma's recipes, tips, and videos but her website has so many ads and popups it's slowwww to load and murder to scroll, therefore although I'll link her website here I'm reluctant to send readers over there to be frustrated, so I'm reposting her 2 substitute recipes below also:

 I) Substitute Corn Syrup

Ingredients:

2 cups (16oz/450g) sugar
3/4 cup (6floz/170ml) water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (there is no substitute for this)
2 teaspoons lemon juice (stops sugar from clumping)
a pinch of salt

Directions:

1) Toss the sugar, water, cream of tartar, lemon juice, and salt into a heavy saucepan.

2) Bring to a medium boil, stir until the sugar dissolves, then turn down the heat to a gentle boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture reduces quite a bit. Once cooled the syrup thickens. 

Photo: Bigger Bolder Bakers

II) Substitute Molasses

Ingredients:

2 cups (16oz/450g) dark brown sugar
3/4 cups (6floz/170ml) water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed

Directions:

1) In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, add the dark brown sugar, water, cream of tartar, and lemon juice. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

2) Once the sugar dissolves, reduce the heat and simmer for 4 - 5 minutes until the mixture thickens. Cool and store in a sealed glass jar.

Gemma is an excellent baker and teacher and you should check out her how-to YouTube videos, but oi vay that website!

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So now let's bake something!

All blondie photos and recipe courtesy of ATK

Let's use our homemade corn syrup to make America's Test Kitchen's Brown Butter Blondies -- linked here -- another website with inconveniences that you can overcome by watching its videos on Youtube.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons table salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup corn syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup pecans, oven-toasted and chopped coarsely

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt, crumbled

Prepare a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with 2 sheets of aluminum foil with flaps (and crisscrossed +) so that you can lift the blondies up out of the pan after they are baked. Make sure you press the foil into the 4 corners of the pan and grease or use cooking spray on the foil.

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking powder.

2) Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet. Over medium heat, simmer the butter, whisking throughout until it's golden brown and has a nutty aroma, which gives the blondies a butterscotch flavor. Transfer to a large heat-proof mixing bowl.

3) Add the sugar to the hot butter and whisk. 

4) Next add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

5) Stir in the flour mixture until fluffy. Test Kitchen uses a spatula to incorporate the ingredients.

6) Stir in the pecans and chocolate chips.

7) Spread evenly into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle to top with the flaked sea salt.

8) Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 35 - 40 minutes (turning the pan around at 20 minutes) until golden brown and the cake springs back to the touch.

9) Let the blondies cool completely in the pan before lifting the foil with the pastry out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Makes 24 bars.

Sometimes it takes a professional baker to perfect a substitution that works in our recipes. Thank you, Gemma Stafford (and Test Kitchen for the best blondies). Who wants to run to the supermarket every time you turn around, not to mention, stock 2 ingredients you rarely use! Now there's no need to do either.

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Black Forest Cookies

I'm still busy away from blogging but I'll jump on as time permits. Today for the first time ever I tasted a soft, chewy, and ultra chocolatey cookie that I never knew existed! The rich dark chocolate (like an Oreo) cookie is filled with chunks of white chocolate (or substitute dark chocolate chips) and maraschino cherry pieces. I think both the taste and texture make the cookie delectable. Here is the recipe:

Black Forest Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar (I try to cut the sugar a tad without a resulting cookie failure😏)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons good cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped and feel free to substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1) In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

2) Next add the egg and vanilla and beat with the mixer.

3) In a 2nd bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in portions until just combined.

5) Mix in the white chocolate and maraschino cherries.

6) Cover the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

7) Scoop the cookie dough (into tablespoon-size balls or globs) and deposit onto a buttered or parchment-lined prepared cookie sheet.

8) Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees F oven for 9 - 11 minutes or until the edges set.

I like Black Forest Cookies even better than the cake. Delicious paired with a cup of milk or coffee. Down the hatch or freeze a batch!

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Plum Crazy Desserts Part 2

Photo: the Spruce

Have you been following? I'm down to 2 1/2 pounds of dried plums and still figuring out ways to eat them. In fact, they are quite moist as is, yet tasteless if popped into your mouth ... lacking the sugar and heat of say, dried ginger. So if you want flavor, you have to turn them into desserts. Following are 2 plum desserts that look especially appealing to me. Eash sweet can be baked in a square baking pan, then cut into squares if you wish.

The 1st dessert is less work than traditional English plum pudding, its cousin across the pond (which surprisingly contains no plums). This one does --

Plum Pudding With Caramelized Sauce

Tweaked from Idaho's Prepared Pantry

Ingredients:

2 cups dried plums, chopped

1/2 cup of boiling hot water

1 stick soft butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped

Start with 1/2 cup of milk -- up to 1 cup (Step 6 explains.)

Directions:

1) In a separate bowl, let the diced plums soak in boiling hot water for 1 hour. (My dried plums were very moist out of the bag so I didn't have to soak to rehydrate them.)

2) In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugars, and eggs.

3) Sprinkle in the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4) Add the flavors, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

5) Toss in the plums with water and walnuts. 

6) Starting with 1/2 cup milk, add to get a not too thick or too thin batter consistency. I used nearly 1 cup of milk. Stop before you arrive at runny.

7) Pour into a well-buttered square baking pan.

8) Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes or until done in the center. While baking you can make the sauce.

Caramelized Brown Sugar Sauce

Ingredients:

1 stick of softened butter

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon good Kentucky bourbon

Directions:

1) Melt the butter in a saucepan.

2) Stir in the sugar and continue whisking.

3) Dissolve the cornstarch into the milk and add it to the mixture continuing to whisk while the sauce simmers and thickens. 

4) Finish off near the end by flavoring with the bourbon.

After cooling down a bit, pour the Caramelized Brown Sugar Sauce over the Plum Pudding. 

Note: I'll omit the sauce the next time I make this dessert. Everyone agreed the cake is moist and tasty without it. We put sauce on the side, and nobody ate it after a bite. We liked the sauce but it didn't improve the cake or pudding as it is called.

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The 2nd dessert is a crumble ... crisp, crumble, cobbler, to know the difference go here.

Plum Berry Crumble

Ingredients:

Filling Ingredients --

💟 2 cups plums, soaked in 1 cup of boiled hot water for 1 hour. 

💟 Then pour the plumped-up plums with the water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into a blender (or food processor) to puree.

💟 1 1/2 cups blueberries (or a mixture of berries) - leave whole

Batter Ingredients --

1 stick softened butter (Eyeball the consistency. It should be crumbly. You can add a 2nd stick of butter if needed. I try to cut back on the fat and sugar when possible without ruining the dessert.)

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cardamon

3 cups Quaker Oats (1 minute, or old fashioned works)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

A pinch of salt

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar.

2) Add the eggs and vanilla and mix together.

3) Toss in the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.

4) Divide the batter in half. 

5) Press half of the batter in the bottom of a well-buttered square baking pan.

6) Spread the filling of plum puree and toss some whole blueberries (or other berries) on top of the bottom batter.

7) Spoon the remaining batter on top of the filling.

8) Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Much maligned, who knew dried plums and prunes (which are Italian plums) make such tasty desserts? And, the healthy dried plums have a convenient no-rush self-life! We can always have a bag of dried fruit waiting in the pantry.💜

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Faux-Reos: When To Make Homemade Cookies?

Photo and recipe courtesy of King Arthur Baking Co.

Everyone should know where his or her food comes from, what's in it and what it takes to put it on the table, so I think everybody should have a few basic cooking or baking skills.🙂 Often homemade is healthier as you use better ingridients. That said, life is a balance. Who wants to spend all their time in the kitchen? So how do I decide between homemade or readymade?

If I can't make food, better, healthier, or cheaper, I buy it readymade. Oreos are one of my favorite store-bought cookies. I can't make them better than Nabisco Cadbury Milka, their manufacturer ... and not much cheaper either. 

Moreover, are cookies ever healthy? Really ... truly?! It's the sugar that's so bad for us ... as well as, eating too many cookies! So Oreos are a cookie I buy and never bake at home. BTW, if you can find the same crispy chocolate sandwich cookie manufactured by Hydrox, the original inventor of the recipe in your supermarket, buy them. As tasty as Oreos, Hydrox -- the 1st retailer to make them -- deserves your patronage!

Despite never making the chocolate sandwich biscuit myself, I'm curious to know what's in my favorite, sooo delicious, store-bought cookie. Let's turn to a professional baking company for a copycat recipe:

Faux-Reos by King Arthur

Ingredients for the cookie:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

12 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 large egg

1 tablespoon cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup good quality cocoa

Directions for the cookie:

1) In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, and espresso powder. 

2) Beat in the egg, water, and vanilla. Next add the flour and cocoa (to get a stiff dough with no leavening agent, so do not worry about either).

3) Roll the dough into 2 teaspoon-size balls (the weight of a chestnut).

4) Place the balls on a greased, or parchment paper prepared cookie sheet, leaving 1 1/2'' - 2'' apart.

5) Flatten each cookie to about 1/8" with your fingers or a glass bottom dipped in cocoa.

6) Bake the cookies for 18 - 20 minutes and watch them closely to get a crispy-without-scorched cookie. When just right, remove them from the oven and cool completely.

Ingredients for the filling:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons cold water

Directions for the filling:

1) Beat together the sugar, shortening, and vanilla.

2) Add the water and continue to beat until smooth and spreadable.

3) Place 1 tablespoon of filling in-between 2 crispy cookies and squeeze to flatten.

Oh, what a lot of sugar, no wonder they're so tasty! Frankly, unless Oreos and Hydrox cookies both disappear from supermarket shelves, I don't plan to make them. Yet seeing the recipe is an education, isn't it ... and I'll hold onto the Faux-Reos recipe to make at home should the day arrive of empty supermarket shelves.

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Here's another easy King Arthur recipe I will make:

Photo and recipe courtesy of King Arthur Baking Co.

No-Bake Energy Bites

Ingredients:

3/4 cup any nut butter (I'll use peanut butter)

1 cup of rolled oats

1/3 cup of honey

1/3 cup of dried whole milk (I'll use dried skim milk ... all I ever buy and doubt with powdered milk, it makes much of a difference in taste. What am I ... a supermarket?🙂)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Select:

2 cups of mix-ins - such as mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, dried fruits or seeds, crushed candies (unhealthy), 1 tablespoon chia or poppy seeds (healthy) -- or whatever you like.

Directions:

1) In a mixing bowl, combine the 1st 5 main ingredients.

2) Next add 2 cups of whatever mix-ins you like.

3) Use your hands to mix and get the right consistency. Add more oats if too sticky, add a tad more honey if too dry.

3) Form into 1 tablespoon-size balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Wait at least 20 minutes for them to rest and firm up before eating.

Obviously, the Energy Bites are healthier than Oreo cookies, but sometimes you need an Oreo; and we all must practice moderation. Alas, staying healthy always comes down to portion control! I rarely eat more than 3 Oreos, yet rarely eat less than 3.🙂

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Valentine's Day Truffles

All photos: Wallpaper unless noted

Mostly I stick to baking and skip candy making. Making candy is tricky ... more precise. You need a candy thermometer to control temperature. It's easy to end up with messy, uneditable goo, or ruined pots and pans due to how blazing hot melted sugar gets. I don't want 1st degree burns either. But featured today is a candy we can make without all the hazards, fuss or failure. 

Luscious Valentine's Day truffles are ultra easy to make, and the ingredients are few! My kind of homemade candy, lets's get stared!:

Ingredients:

Photo: Gina Mork

12 ounces of dark chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet)

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or half vanilla/half rum, your choice)

Directions:

1) Break up (if needed) chocolate into small pieces and toss into a saucepan along with heavy cream. Add the butter.

2) On low heat, melt and whisk together the chocolate, heavy cream and butter until uniform and creamy. If you have a double boiler, use it; if not, follow my slow, low-heat, in a pan, on a stovetop, with continued whisking method.

Photo: wallpaper

3) Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. If you want to add some rum or bourbon for flavor, now is the time.

4) If you select the right sauce pan, you can cover and place it directly into your refrigerator without having to transfer the chocolate mixture into another dish that needs to be washed. Hey, it pays to think ahead!🙂

Photo: Gina Mork

5) Refrigerate for 2 hours. If you allow it to get too hard (because you forget the time), let room temperature soften it some so you can scoop and form into balls.

6) Use a tablespoon or small scooper to make 1-inch balls.

7) Roll the truffle balls in (1) rich cocoa powder, (2) crushed nuts, (3) shredded coconut, (4) crushed peppermint, (5) crushed English toffee, or (6) candy sprinkles ... whatever you like. Some of each looks lovely.

8) Plate your truffles and keep cool in the refrigerator until ready to eat!

Hugs and kisses, xoxo.

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!💋

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