Baked Cinnamon Hearts with Sweet Cherry Dipping Sauce
Valentine’s Day is February 14th!
Show your sweetheart just how much you really care, by baking up some cinnamon hearts, that are actually, well, …good for your heart! (No oil added!) Top it off with a vibrant sweet cherry dipping sauce providing a perfect tangy contrast to the sweet cinnamon chips.
These are super simple to make! Just round up some heart shaped cookie cutters. (I threw in some lip and mustache cutters too, just for fun!) Cut out shapes from flour tortillas. (use brown rice tortillas for a gluten free version.) Mist the shapes lightly with water, and then sprinkle them with the cinnamon sugar mixture. (To see a video tutorial of the basic process, go to this similar recipe we posted last Fall.)
Bake them on parchment paper (so they’ll crisp up nicely without sticking) and serve alongside a bowl of sweet cherry dipping sauce! (See recipe below)
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Baked Cinnamon Hearts with Sweet Cherry Dipping Sauce
Add a little sweetness to your life with this heart-healthy treat!
Ingredients
BAKED CINNAMON HEARTS
8 flour tortillas (or brown rice tortillas for gluten free)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
water (in a misting spray bottle)
parchment paper
SWEET CHERRY DIPPING SAUCE
2 cups pitted, frozen dark cherries
1 teaspoon lemon juice (brightens the taste and improves the color)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon and mix well until color is uniform. Pour mixture into a clean spice bottle with a shaker lid. Set aside.
Place a heart shaped cookie cutter on top of a tortilla and press down firmly, wiggling the cutter back and forth while continuing to press down firmly, until the shape breaks free of the tortilla. Repeat until all sizes and shapes have been cut from all the tortillas.
Lightly spray each shape with water from the misting spray bottle, then sprinkle a light coating of cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the water mist. (The water mist makes the cinnamon mixture adhere to the tortilla shape, so you don’t need to use any oil.) Turn shapes over and repeat the water spray and cinnamon sugar mixture on the other side.
Lay the shapes out onto parchment lined baking sheets, (don’t overlap) and bake in the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or just until shapes begin to lightly brown on the edges. (Watch carefully-don’t over brown.) You may need to bake each sheet in batches to allow plenty of room for air to circulate around each baking tray.
Remove baking sheets from the oven and carefully transfer each chip filled parchment paper to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. (Chips will continue to crisp further as they cool.)
Transfer cooled chips to a zip-lock bag or airtight container until ready to serve. Note: Chips may be made 1-3 days ahead of time, and stored at room temperature in an airtight container or zip-lock bag.
While chips are baking, prepare the sweet cherry dipping sauce by putting the cherries a food processor or blender. Pulse 5-8 times (The cherries should still be a little chunky, not fully pureed.)
Pour the finely chopped cherries into a serving bowl. Add the lemon juice and stir well to mix. (The color will start to brighten.) Taste the sauce, and if necessary, add a teaspoon or so of additional sweetener, but only if the cherry sauce is too tart. Allow the sauce to thaw at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Set the bowl of sweet cherry dipping sauce on a serving plate, and arrange the baked cinnamon hearts all around it! Now enjoy a wonderful evening filled with love and sweetness!
Little Blue Plates 