by Trish Rudder
For lovers of chocolate, Valentine’s Day not only celebrates the love of your life, but it not so secretly demonstrates a day that acknowledges the rich, dark sweetness of chocolate for those of us who enjoy it.
Here are some recipes that allows you to enjoy luxurious chocolate desserts on Valentine’s Day.
They are made with gluten free flour for those beloveds who cannot tolerate gluten.
Gluten Free Texas Sheet Cake Cookies
1 box of gluten free chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
Add all above ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly until batter is smooth.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use 1 tablespoon of batter for each cookie and drop it onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Don’t overbake. They will seem undercooked but let them cool.
Let cool completely before icing
Icing:
½ cup butter, melted
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons milk or almond milk
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Melt butter in small saucepan. Add confectioners’ sugar and milk and stir until sauce forms. Sift in the cocoa powder and stir until combined.
Arrange cooled cookies on a parchment lined sheet pan next to each other and crowd them together.
Pour icing over the top and make sure each cookie is coated fully.
Sprinkle with red or pink sugar sprinkles or add cinnamon heart in center. (Make it fun and make it your own!)
Let icing set for about 1 hour before removing cookies from the sheet pan.
Makes 16 servings.

Loaded brownies
Here is a brownie recipe for all the kids in your house – big and small — who will love these loaded chocolate brownies to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Gluten Free Brownie Goody Bars
1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie Mix
Add butter and eggs from the recipe on the box
1 cup of Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Vanilla Frosting (from 16 oz. container)
½ cup salted peanuts coarsely chopped
1cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 cups Rice Chex Cereal
Heat oven 350 degrees
Line pan with foil and grease foil on bottom only for easier removal. Cool 1 hour.
Spread frosting over brownies and sprinkle with peanuts. Put in refrigerator.
Microwave chocolate chips and peanut butter 1-2 minutes, stirring once until melted. Stir in cereal. Spread over frosted brownies. Cool completely before cutting.
Store in tightly-covered container.
Makes 16 servings

Heavenly Chocolate Covered Strawberries
This is a Valentine’s Day standby – always pretty to look at, easy to make and so, so good.
Strawberries Dipped in Chocolate
1 pound of fresh strawberries, leaves intact, rinsed and dried well.
8 oz. chocolate chips microwaved until melted, stirring once in 30 second intervals.
1/2 tsp. coconut or vegetable oil or up to 1 tsp.
Toothpicks for handling
Sprinkles if using
Once the strawberries are dry, insert a toothpick in the top of the berry and dip one at a time in the chocolate mixture, let excess drip back in the bowl of melted chocolate, and roll in sprinkles while wet, and place each one on a parchment lined sheet pan.
Put in refrigerator and let them dry until chocolate mixture is hardened, about a half an hour.
Happy Valentine’s Day!