Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower; the herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
—Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2 Scene 1
Happy lovers’ day!
I hope you all had wonderful, lovely days with however many treats/sweets, flowers, and gifts as you so desired.
It was a gorgeous, sunny, cold, and clear day in NYC, and folks were certainly out and about taking advantage of it. The streets were packed downtown. It seemed that every other person I saw had a bouquet of flowers clutched or cradled in their arms. Such tender humanity. How can you not love love?!
A few months ago, my friend Cynthia made a remarkably delicious salted chocolate tonka bean mousse with cream and olive oil for her birthday picnic. Though I had smelled tonka bean in countless perfumes and enjoyed the scent, it was my first time tasting it, and I was enthralled.
All I knew about tonka beans were that they were technically illegal. Turns out, this is because of the coumarin content, which is hepatotoxic and from which warfarin/coumadin, the blood thinner, is derived. Tonka beans were banned in 1954, and the ban hasn’t been revisited since. I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of sense seeing that it would take eating 30 whole beans to reach toxic blood levels of coumarin. One bean is used in this entire cookie recipe to make love potion cookies, but I suppose if you wanted them to be poison potions, you could up the tonka bean content. Not sure it would be exactly edible at that point.
I have subsequently learned that tonka bean trees, Dipteryx oleifera, are super cool and paradoxically get stronger from lightning strikes. When lightning strikes tonka bean trees in the Panamanian rainforest, they conduct it into nearby trees and into the lianas and vines that grow on them, thus electrocuting (and killing) their neighbors, opening up the canopy, and allowing the tonka bean tree to thrive. Nature is metal. And tonka beans are tasty.
These little love potion cookies have a redolent tonka bean butter cookie base. It’s strong with vanilla notes, but also with hints of cinnamon, almond, and cocoa. I think in the absence of illegal beans, you could substitute vanilla + almond extracts and maybe a tiny, tiny pinch of cinnamon (which also contains coumarin, for what it’s worth). The cookies are nice and crisp, and the royal icing adds a simple sweetness.
The shaker effect is achieved with isomalt windows and sprinkles carefully sandwiched between. I recommend checking out Amy’s amazing guide to shaker cookies, because she is truly the best at making these! I only used 2 cookies since my sprinkles were so small, but if using larger ones, you should stack 3 cookies to get a wide enough window.
Valentine’s Day, previously (this list is getting long):
2025:
Pitaya pomegranate pavlova
2024:
Fudgy triple chocolate cake
2023:
Mini nutella Paris-Brest
2022:
Bite-sized beet and grapefruit tarts
2021:
Rose-covered white and dark chocolate ganache cake
2020:
Frilly and vintage chocolate, cherry, and cacao butter cake
2019:
Funfetti cake with marzipan and salted tahini frosting
2018:
Kawaii mini strawberry-strawberry cakes with olive oil and balsamic chocolate cake, strawberry jam, and marzipan
2017:
Fluffy, ruffled princess layer cake with a cascade of marzipan roses
Thick, soft M&M cookies
Mocha cupcakes topped with fluffy swirls of vanilla bean Italian meringue buttercream
2016:
Ginger, Malted Vanilla, and Hibiscus layer cake
Baby pink XO salty sugar cookies
Raspberry white chocolate and Nutella éclairs
Brown butter and vanilla bean teacakes
2015:
Fluffy, buttery copycat Lofthouse cookies
Chocolate covered strawberry cake with goat cheese frosting
Dolled-up red velvet cake
Mini pink princesstårta
2014:
Pink grapefruit possets with Ritz crunch and pistachios
Dark and white chocolate French mendiants
Strawberry pocky cake
Salty dark chocolate tarts
Tonka Bean Sugar Cookies
makes 20 cookies
227 grams (2 sticks, 1 cup) butter, softened
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
30 grams (1/4 cup) powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 tonka bean, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300 grams (2 1/2 cups) AP flour
8 grams (1 tablespoon) cornstarch
directions:
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Beat on high speed for 2 full minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the salt and sugars and beat for 3 more minutes.
Scrape the bowl and add in the egg, tonka bean, and vanilla; beat for 2 more minutes.
Scrape the bowl and add in the flour and cornstarch; mix until combined and the dough has come together into a cohesive ball, about 1 minute.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut shapes as desired.
Place cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet; freeze until solid, at least 45 minutes and up to a month, very well wrapped.
To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden at the edges and set in the center.
Allow to cool completely before icing.