Have you ever thought about throwing a Valentine’s Day party for your single friends?  For the food, I would suggest a parade of bite-sized hors-d’oeuvres. As the goal is to float from one conversation to the next, to dance and to party, no one wants to cram together around a table. Lighthearted, whimsical and elegant are the key words to live by for a successful night. For dessert, these small pannacotta bites hit just the right note to capture the spirit of Valentine’s Day. And what better than small spiced sweets to kick off a year filled with love?

Servings: 24 bites

Preparation time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Shortbread cookies:

  • 3/4 cup (175 ml) soft butter
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) sugar
  • 1 tsp. (5 ml) vanilla sugar
  • 1-2/3 cups (400 ml) all-purpose white flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch ground star anise
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup (250 ml) brown sugar
  • 1 egg yolk

Vanilla pannacotta:

  • 3/4 of a 7 g packet powdered gelatin
  • 1 tbsp. (15 ml) very cold water
  • 3/4 cup (175 ml) Oikos plain Greek yogurt 0%
  • 1 Madagascar vanilla pod
  • 2/3 cup (150 ml) 35% cream
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) bitter orange marmalade

PREPARATION

Shortbread cookies:

  1. Mix together the butter, sugar and vanilla sugar in a food processor.
  2. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg all at the same time, then continue mixing in the food processor until smooth.
  3. Roll the batter into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  4.  Preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F).
  5. On a clean, dry work surface, roll out the batter with a rolling pin to 1/2 cm thick.
  6. Cut out circles in the cookie batter using a pastry cutter that is 3 cm in diameter.
  7. Arrange the circles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  8. Bake in the oven at 205°C (400°F) for 7 minutes, or until the cookies begin to colour. Let cool to room temperature (if you are making the cookies ahead of time, place them in a room-temperature metal box).

Pannacotta:

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the gelatin and cold water, then set aside.
  2. Put the yogurt in a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Open the vanilla pod and scrape out the pulp.
  4. In a double boiler, bring the cream and vanilla pulp to a simmer.
  5. Add the gelatin and sugar, then stir with a whisk.
  6. Slowly pour the gelatine mixture onto the yogurt and combine with a spatula.
  7. Pour the preparation into 24 small silicone molds (each with a capacity of about 1 tbsp. (15 ml)), then let the cream settle in the fridge.

Building the dessert:

  1. Turn out the pannacotta then place a portion onto each shortbread cookie. Top with a tiny bit of bitter orange marmalade, then serve immediately to your guests.

More dessert recipes: