I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day.

Never have been.

But that has never stopped me from joining in the celebration with lots of chocolate sweets. Because as we all know, it's easy to fall for "the dark master".

The Cocoa Bean.

(Quick!  Can you name that T.V. show?)

Well, I  made a few heart-shaped cakepops. What would you call "a few cakepops"? Would that be considered "a gaggle"......a gaggle of pops?  Or is that term only reserved for geese? Anyway, I only made a few of them in red velvet and dark chocolate and they were promptly devoured by my nephews and niece.

Gone.

So I had to have a back up recipe. It's a simple one too. It's just your basic recipe for Chocolate Cutout Cookies by Martha Stewart.  They're rich, chocolate-y, chewy and delicious!  

They are frosted with  decadent Chocolate Ganache. I love that name. Ganache. Do you know how to make it??  Using a double boiler, melt about 8 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate with about half to three quarters of a cup of heavy cream and a tablespoon of corn syrup. Stir it well, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly. 

Sweet Maria.

Yum.  Like I was saying.....this chocolate heart of mine. 

Pursing my lips, I sucked the ganache out of the pastry bag first, then

I piped a border of ganache on each cookie. 

Then I used a small frosting spatula to fill in each heart.

Then a knife with a wide flat edge to spread the ganache over the entire surface of the cookie.

Let 'em dry completely, then use Royal Icing to decorate.

Um. Yeah. Have a great Valentine's Day!