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 Sour Cherry Jam Shortbread Bars

 Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cherry jam (or fruit of choice)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment on all sides and set it aside.

 In a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to combine the butter, sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla and beat until the dough starts to come together about 2 minutes. The dough will be crumbly.

Press 2/3 of the shortbread dough into the prepared pan in an even layer. Top with the jam and spread into an even, thick layer. Crumble the remaining shortbread over the jam, making sure you leave some spots of jam visible. If the crumble covers too much, you can add a few dollops of extra jam for the visual contrast. 

Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes, until they are just golden brown. 

Allow the shortbread to cool before removing it from the pan and cutting it into the desired size and shape. Enjoy!

Notes:

Shortbread is a dry dough. Your dough will be crumbly, but as it bakes the butter will melt and bind the dough together.