Cinnamon Heart Treats - Three Ways

Cinnamon Hearts are little red, heart-shaped, hard candies spiked with a hot and spicy cinnamon flavour. Typically they are only available around Valentine's Day but in this world where stores advertise for the next spending occasion before the current one has arrived you can find them for several months of the year.
I like to play around with Valentine treat ideas simply because all us single gals know February 14th is not just for couples. At least that's what I'm telling myself. We don't need a significant other to have a good time! With a little sugar cookie dough, a simple ice cream base, Alton Brown's doughnut recipe, and a bag of cinnamon hearts, Cupid can take the day off.

Grind Cinnamon Hearts to Make a Powder

Instead of using a bottle of food-dye and extracts to flavour and colour your Valentine treats, grind cinnamon hearts to make a powder. With a coffee grinder (wiped clean before and after each use!), cinnamon hearts can be easily pulverized into a pink powder. Use the powder like you would icing sugar to infuse frostings, fondants, ice creams, or dust pastries with that unforgettable spicy cinnamon aroma and colour.

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Cinnamon Heart Doughnuts

Fresh doughnuts are a thing of beauty. Crisp on the outside, slightly chewy yet tender on the inside. Making your own doughnuts do not (haha!) have to be too labour intensive - if you make the dough the night before, the chilled dough is easy to roll and will be ready in time for breakfast or even lunch if you have to wait. Frying doughnuts in one Dutch oven won't take any longer than 15-20 minutes once the oil is hot.

Cinnamon Heart Doughnuts - Recipe

Doughnut Ingredients:

1 1/2 c milk
1/3 c butter
5 tsp instant yeast
1/3 c warm water (95 to 105 degrees F)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
28 oz all-purpose flour (10 oz spelt, 18 oz ap)
3-4 L Sunflower oil  for frying

Glaze Ingredients:

2 c cinnamon heart powder
3-4 c powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp milk

Cinnamon hearts, sprinkles for garnish (optional)

• Heat milk and butter over medium heat just until warm enough to melt the butter. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let bloom for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the (slightly cooled) milk  mixture. Add the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and half of the flour.

• Combine the ingredients on low speed using the dough hook until flour is incorporated and then turn the speed up to medium and beat until well combined. Add the remaining flour, combining on low speed at first, and then increase the speed to medium. Beat on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the bowl and becomes smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in the fridge overnight.
• On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out dough using a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter and smaller heart for the center hole. Set on floured baking sheet, cover lightly with a tea towel, and let rise for 45 minutes. (Save the doughnut heart holes to fry, too.)
  

• Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 365 F. Gently place the doughnuts into the oil, 4-5 at a time. Cook for 1 minute per side until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack placed in baking pan. Allow to cool 15 to 20 minutes prior to glazing.
• To make glaze, combine cinnamon heart powder and icing sugar in a bowl. Stir in some of the milk until a thick but pourable glaze forms. Adjust consistency with more milk or powdered sugar as necessary. Spoon over cooled doughnuts or alternatively, dip doughnuts in glaze. Garnish with cinnamon hearts or sprinkles. 
• Makes about 24 doughnuts + holes
  

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Cinnamon Heart Ice Cream

If you have an ice cream churner, making your own sorbets, ice creams, frozen yogurts, or gelatos beats anything you can buy on the grocery store shelf. Be able to customize and create out-of-this world flavours like Cinnamon Heart is pretty sweet.

Cinnamon Heart Ice Cream - Recipe

Ingredients:

500 mL milk
125 g cinnamon heart powder
6 egg yolks
100 mL coconut milk or heavy cream

Directions:

• Scald milk in a small pot. In a medium-sized bowl combine egg yolks and ground cinnamon hearts together with a whisk. Once milk is hot, temper into yolk mixture in three additions until combined. Pour mixture back into pot and cook over medium-heat - stirring constantly - until slightly thickened.
• Immediate pour through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and add coconut milk or cream. Stir and then cool mixture; allow to chill completely.
• To churn, follow directions with your ice cream maker. Serve with crushed cinnamon hearts. 
• Makes about 2 pints of ice cream.

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Cinnamon Heart Cookies

A couple of years ago I developed a method of using jell-o powder to both flavour and colour sugar cookies. The picture and idea made waves across the internet and to this day it is my most popular web post. I still avoid artificial colours and flavour as much as possible in the food I prepare and eat and that moderation is why I permit myself a few junk foods on occasion.

Cinnamon Heart Cookies - Recipe

Cookie Ingredients:

1 c unsalted butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 c pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Fondant Ingredients:

3 c mini marshmallows
2 tbsp water
2 c cinnamon heart powder
2-4 c powdered sugar
2 tbsp butter

Icing Ingredients:

3 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp meringue power
2-4 tbsp water

Directions:

• To make cookie dough, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until lightened and fluffy. Add in egg and extract.
  
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Mix the dry ingredients in to the creamed butter in three additions until just combined.
  
• Divide dough into two discs and cover each well with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge at least 4 hours, overnight preferably. Remove one disk from the fridge one hour before rolling (reserve other in the freezer for another bake, if desired).
• On a floured surface, roll cookie dough 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes (hearts! L-O-V-E!). Chill cookies again before baking.
  
• To make fondant, heat marshmallows with water in the microwave until just melted. Pour into mixing bowl and add cinnamon heart powder. Mix until combined using dough hook.
  
• Mix in as much powdered sugar as necessary (start with 2 cups) and turn speed to medium/medium-high to make a thick dough that doesn't quite hold its shape, similar to soft pasta dough. Mix in butter until completely combined.
• Scrape out fondant onto plastic wrap and cover well. Set aside at least 8 hours or overnight. Fondant can also be stored in the fridge for several weeks; bring to room temperature before using.
• Using dustings of powdered sugar, roll fondant 1/8-inch thick, making sure it doesn't stick to the rolling surface. With the same cutters used for the cookies, cut out fondant shapes and place on lined trays, not overlapping. Keep fondant covered so it doesn't dry out.
  
• When ready, bake cookies at 325 F for 10-13 minutes until they are just set and barely have any colour. Remove from oven and while still hot, use an offset spatula to carefully place fondant cutouts onto corresponding hot cookies. Place fondant topped cookies back in the oven for another 45 seconds to a minute to lightly melt fondant to cookie. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool completely.
  
• While cookies are cooling, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water in a bowl. Mix until a thick icing has formed, adjusting moisture and sugar as necessary. Pipe icing onto cooled cookies. Allow to set before storing in air tight containers.
  
• Makes 24-36 cookies depending on size.