Sweet treats say ‘I love you’

A beautiful bouquet of long-stemmed roses and a box of chocolate might be a time-honored expression of love on Valentine’s Day, but break from the traditional this year and express your affection with heartfelt handcrafted treats. These recipes are thoughtful ways to say “I love you” without breaking the bank.

Linzer Cookies With Guava Jam

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups guava jam (or substitute another fruit jam)
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch and salt.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat together butter and lemon zest until light. Add sugar and beat until completely incorporated. Add whole egg and egg yolk and beat until fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.

Gather dough into a ball and divide into thirds. Flatten each third into a disk. Wrap separately in waxed paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets. Dust 1 dough disk with flour and place between 2 large sheets of waxed paper. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 2-1/2-inch cutter, cut out cookies. Gather dough scraps into a ball, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Refrigerate 10 minutes.

Bake until edges of cookies are golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool. Repeat with remaining 2 disks, then roll out, cut, chill and bake scraps in same manner.

On half of the cookies, spread jam on the bottoms, spreading it lightly at the edges. Place remaining cookies on top of the jam, making little sandwiches (the bottoms should adhere thanks to the jam). Dust with powdered sugar, if using.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Makes about 3 dozen.

Approximate nutritional information, per cookie: 140 calories, 4 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 25 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 14 g sugar, 1 g protein

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

• 3-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

In a bowl, combine coconut, sugar, egg whites and extracts; mix well. Spread out on baking sheet and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line another baking sheet with parchment. Using a small melon baller, scoop heaping portions of coconut mixture and pack into small, rounded domes. Place on second prepared baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Line original baking sheet with fresh parchment.

Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. (Be sure the pan is not touching the water.) Stir until melted and smooth. Remove top pan from over the water.

Dip bottom of each macaroon in melted chocolate to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Place chocolate side down on baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. May be covered and refrigerated up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving. Makes about 16 cookies.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per macaroon: 220 calories, 13 g total fat, 9 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 23 g sugar, 3 g protein

More Hawaiian Electric Co. recipes are available at hawaiianelectric.com.