Sending Love

Story, Styling & Photography by Quelcy Kogel

Maybe Valentine’s Day makes you cringe, but I would encourage you to see the holiday as a gentle deadline for sending and showing love to friends, family, and romantic partners. This year, I’m harkening to my elementary school days, when we’d craft mailboxes, position them on our desks, then await the many Valentine’s cards and candy hearts.

For my updated version, I’m packing confectionary parcels to put into real mailboxes: Swedish rye sugar cookies, gluten-free almond cakes with a vibrant, plant-based pink glaze, whole-grain jam shortbread bars, rose-petal-topped puff pastry, and more!

When it comes to assembling these parcels, start with a cute yet practical container that can be repurposed, and natural beeswax wraps since they’re a gift that can keep giving. If baking is too intimidating, wrap dark-chocolate-covered almonds in recycled paper packages tied with ribbon.

While I’ll be packing a heart-shaped box with extra care to send to my long-distance sweetheart, this activity can easily be geared towards kids (even kiddos with a limited attention span). Want something quick? Have your little sidekick punch cookie-cutter hearts into puff-pastry dough. Sprinkle with a pretty garnish, and voila! Plus, sharing these parcels with a neighbor or someone who needs extra cheer is a good example for your kids. We can always find more ways to connect and to give.

Whole-Grain Swedish Rye Cookie Recipe

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup rye flour

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup (2 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup fine-grain coconut sugar

Topping:

1 egg

1 teaspoon heavy cream

¼ cup fine natural sugar

Cardamom, to taste

½ - 1 teaspoon Pink pitaya powder

Directions

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the rye flour, spelt flour, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand), beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the butter, and beat until fluffy, mixing until the two are well combined.

Beat in the sugar and mix until well incorporated.

Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and stir only long enough to combine the two (the dough should no longer be dusty looking). Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead once or twice to bring it together, shape into a ball, flatten, wrap in plastic and chill it in a refrigerator.

Heat your oven to 350°F, and arrange the racks in the top and bottom thirds. When you are ready to roll out your cookies, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness, and cut into shapes with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place on the prepared baking sheets an inch apart.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and heavy cream. In a small jar with a lid, combine the sugar, a dash of cardamom (use the fragrance to judge your liking of this spice), and the pink pitaya powder. Put the lid on the jar, and shake to combine the sugar mixture. Brush each cookie with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes, until cookies are fragrant, and a bit golden at the edges - avoid over-baking or they will come out on the dry side. Allow to cool.

NOTES

Makes 5-6 dozen small cookies. Will vary depending on your cookie cutter. Pink Pitaya is Red Dragon Fruit Powder, a natural, plant-derived way to achieve a bright hue in your culinary creations.