Banana Whoopie Pies for Valentine's Day

I know it's a bit late in the game to be making a sweet for your sweet, but these little heart shaped sweets are too good and too easy not to share.

Their adorable heart-shape is thanks to Wilton's Heart-Shaped Whoopie Pie Pan, but they work just as well if you pipe little mounds of batter onto a parchment lines baking-sheet.  Though I think these are a bit  cuter.

Nutella Mascarpone Frosting

A tea cup full of frosting?

I say, why not?  Especially because this frosting is the be all and end all of all frostings if you ask me.

It's rich and decadent, but not too sweet.

I'm the type of person that often prefers the cake to the frosting, since so many frostings are cloyingly sweet and as much as I love dessert I don't enjoy overly sweet treats.

I thought about this frosting sometime last week in preparation for World Nutella Day, but there was a glitch in that World Nutella Day fell on Superbowl Sunday and as much as I love me some Nutella, we all know where my heart was this Superbowl Sunday and the days leading up to it. So it was impossible for me to focus enough to test out my idea.

So here it is, my belated World Nutella Day entry.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

WARNING: These cookies are completely addictive.

I don't bake cookies all that often.  But a few months back, when I was working on a movie, my boss brought in a box of these amazing chocolate chip cookies topped with sea salt.  Made courtesy of his ridiculously talented baker of a mom.  Seriously, this woman is nuts I've been lucky enough to taste many of her treats and to bake with her and she is truly a wonderful baker.

Well these cookies were so good and completely the opposite of what I usually look for in a chocolate chip cookie that I had to ask her for the recipe.

12 Recipes to Know by Heart from The Kitchn

The fabulous folks over at The Kitchn shared a list of 12 recipes every home cook should know by heart.

It's actually a great list but it got me thinking about how many of those I could say I have either shared here on the blog or do in fact know by heart.   Click on over the The Kitchn to see their round-up and look below for my version of the list with links to my favorite recipes in each category.

Gnocchi!

A few years ago I shared a gnocchi recipe.  I also did my own twist on it with sweet potatoes.  They were pretty good.  But I've always wondered if I could do it better.

In came this post from Joel & Dana at Well Preserved:

Possibly the Best Homemade Gnocchi

You so shouldn't still be on my post, read that post.  If it doesn't inspire you to make those luscious little pillows of potato, egg and flour, nothing will.

I know I'll be making them this weekend for sure!