Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

Cupid’s arrow is stuck in a jar of jam. I guess that means I have to marry it, but sorry, jam, this gal’s taken. Not my jam. Or is it?

An ancient Hershey’s cookbook (circa 1998) says jam is the moment. I’ve held onto this cookbook for years but have never made anything from it—until now, for Valentine’s Day. Lots of sweet, chocolate desserts are packed into the colorful pages, and I’ve chosen the chocolate cookie that has a layer of jam on top. (Now we’re jammin’.)

The picture that goes with the recipe in the cookbook has the cookies cut into diamonds and squares, but I’ve chosen heart shapes because, after all, Cupid did come all the way out to the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks kitchen. I’m guessing it took quite the effort with those teeny tiny wings and all. Maybe I should leave some cookies out for the little whipper snapper—if there are any left.

In any case, I’m not sure I’m allowed to reproduce the recipe word for word from the cookbook, but it did involve the following ingredients and cooking time/temperature—wink, wink, nudge, nudge:

½ cup of sugar

¼ cup of cocoa

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp cream of tartar

1 ¼ cups of flour

¼ cup of margarine or butter

1 egg

½ cup of good quality jam

1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon of water for icing

1 baking pan: 13 x 9 (I used 8 x 8 by mistake, which resulted in a thicker, brownie-like cookie, so I also increased the baking time to 14-15 minutes)

Temperature: 375F for 10-12 minutes

For the topping, I used a good quality raspberry jam, and instead of a white chocolate chip drizzle (which is what the original recipe called for), I just made a confectioner’s sugar/water mixture for drizzling icing.

Results:

Yeah, there won’t be any left for Cupid. Sorry, buddy. There also won’t be any left for the cookie jar, which is good, I guess. The raspberry topping would leave smears on the jar, and we don’t want Cupid’s wings getting all hung up. Anyway, the cookies are definitely full of chocolate flavor with just a burst of jammy goodness—and they’re so pretty as little heart shapes.

Serve These With:

• Cupid’s arrow
• A bucket of Cupid-shaped ice cream bars
• Boxes full of vintage Valentine’s Day cards that say, “I’m Popcorny For You!” & “What’s Cookin’, Good Lookin’?”
• Heart-shaped seat cushions attached to a first-class seat on a flight to Hawaii
• Crates of his and hers wine glass holders for drinking in the shower
• Crates of his and hers mini cookie-holder domes for eating in the shower

Your Turn: Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day)? If so, how do you celebrate?