Valentine’s Day holds a special place in my heart. Growing up my Mom would always buy us a heart full of candies, a small gift, and a card, to celebrate the occasion. So even if we didn’t have an official Valentine, we knew we’d always have Mom.
It wasn’t until I met my husband that I experienced having a full blown Valentine. Someone that bought me flowers and gave me a card. Our first Valentine’s he surprised me with flowers at work and at home, just so I would feel the full Valentine’s effect in both places (shout out to my old roommate E for setting up the roses Mr. A got me at home). It was sweet and thoughtful, everything that I thought a Valentine would be.
Our second Valentine’s day, Mr. A pulled out all the stops when he dropped down on one knee and proposed. While that night now lives in infamy from the multitude of comic (well, funny now but not at the time) blunders, Valentine’s will always remind me of who will forever have my heart (even if he did have to propose twice).
To celebrate the sweet occasion, I made some delicious butterscotch blondie hearts with homemade strawberry buttercream frosting. If you aren’t a fan of bananas feel free to sub in applesauce instead. And if you don’t like butterscotch (which I’m not really sure why you wouldn’t), you can use any other kind of chip you like—peanut butter, white chocolate, dark chocolate, the possibilities are endless.
Happy Valentine’s Day from my family to yours.
Ingredients
Blondies
- 1 cup butterscotch chips (you can buy vegan ones if you are a strict vegan)
- 3/4 cup mashed bananas (or applesauce if you don’t like bananas)
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Strawberry Buttercream
- 16 ounces strawberries
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add melted coconut oil, mashed bananas, and brown sugar to a large bowl. Whisk until combined.
In a small bowl, add dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Whisk until combined.
Fold in butterscotch chips.
Cover 11 X 17 pan with tin foil and pour mixture over top. (You can use a smaller pan if you want thicker blondies—but you will need to cook them longer).
Place in oven to cook for 25 minutes.
While blondies are baking, you can make your frosting.
Add strawberries to a large saucepan and cook on medium heat.
Continue to stir and cook for 10 minutes until strawberries have broken down into a jam like consistency.
Then use a masher to make sure that the strawberries are completely broken up.
Turn off heat and allow strawberries to cool.
In a large bowl, add vegan margarine, cooled strawberries, and lemon juice. Beat for 2 minutes.
Add in one cup of powdered sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
Repeat until you have achieved the desired consistency (anywhere from 2-3 cups of powdered sugar).
Your blondies should be done now. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Once they are cooled, remove them from the pan and cut them into any shape you like. I chose a heart.
Then slather on a layer of your delicious strawberry frosting.
You could also leave the blondies in the pan and add the frosting directly on top. Whatever you prefer.
Now go give one of these hearts to your Valentine
I’m happy to report that the family was in love with this frosting.
In fact, my Mom sent me this pick of my brother slapping the frosting on top of the raspberry cupcakes I shared yesterday. I’m pretty sure he also started eating it by the spoonful. Hey, at least, he got in a serving of fruit while he was at it.
What are you guys doing for Valentine’s?