Cut to the Crunch

My second date with my husband was a movie date, and it happened to fall a few days after Valentine’s Day. Woody Allen on a snowy Chicago afternoon was perfectly romantic.

Films seem to play a role in just about every budding and permanent relationship, whether it’s an evening out at a theater or a Blockbuster night in. With that in mind, why not bake a batch of Valentine’s Day cookies and present them in a metal film can?

Studios have always used round, shallow cans to hold 35-millimeter film reels, and they work equally well as cookie tins. You can purchase new reel cans from film supply companies that sell editorial equipment. One good source is J&R; Film in Hollywood, (213) 467-3107. J&R; sells new 10-inch tin plate cans for $5.30 apiece. They’re big enough to hold 1,000 feet of film or two dozen Valentine cookies.

The following recipes offer a variety of flavors and shapes, including plenty of rich hearts and melt-away kisses. The soft chocolate-mint cookies are loaded with melted chocolate chips and a hint of peppermint. The meringues are snowy-white and airy, with an underlying flavor of white chocolate. And the shortbread cookies, made even richer with buttery macadamia nuts, make crisp, sweet hearts.

If you’re a real movie buff, you could attach movie passes to your package, guaranteeing another date. But we think the cookies themselves should be enough to win the heart of your very own Clark Gable or Marilyn Monroe.

CHOCOLATE-MINT COOKIES

3 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

4 (1 1/2-ounce) chocolate-covered peppermint patties, broken into small pieces

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2 cup flour

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Melt 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips in top of double-boiler over simmering water until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Add peppermint patties and stir until melted and incorporated into mixture, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool, 10 to 15 minutes.

Beat eggs in bowl of electric mixer at medium speed 5 minutes. Add sugar and beat until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add butter, vanilla extract, peppermint extract and melted chocolate-mint mixture, then beat 1 minute to combine. Add flour, salt and baking powder, then mix on low speed until combined. Stir in remaining 2 cups chocolate chips. (Batter will be very runny.) Cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour to firm up batter.

Use tablespoon or small ice cream scoop to form golf ball-size cookies and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake cookies at 350 degrees 15 minutes (they will be soft). Remove baking sheet from oven and let cookies cool on pan, about 10 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. (Cookies will firm up as they cool on pan).

3 dozen cookies. Each cookie:

161 calories; 53 mg sodium; 25 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MERINGUE KISSES (Low-Fat Cooking)

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup white chocolate chips

2 egg whites, room temperature

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grind sugar in food processor few seconds until crystals are very fine. Remove sugar and reserve.

Chop white chocolate chips in food processor for few seconds until chips resemble large crumbs. Remove and reserve.

Beat egg whites in bowl of electric mixer at medium speed until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add salt and vanilla extract, increase speed and continue beating until whites begin to form soft peaks, about 1 minute. Beat in ground sugar, 1 spoonful at a time, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in ground white chocolate chips.

Fill pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip with meringue and carefully pipe “kisses” on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, finishing top of each with twist, leaving little tails on top. Leave about 1 inch between each kiss.

Place in 225-degree oven and immediately reduce heat to 150 degrees. Bake until kisses are dry, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn off oven and leave meringues in oven 1 hour longer, until they are completely cool. Store meringues in airtight container.

2 1/2 dozen kisses. Each kiss:

45 calories; 16 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber.

MACADAMIA-SHORTBREAD HEARTS

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch salt

2 cups flour

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped

Coarse sugar, optional

Red crystals, optional

Sprinkling with coarse sugar or red sugar crystals (available in the baking sections of most supermarkets or in candy supply shops) adds a bit of sparkle to these rich, buttery cookies.

Beat butter with powdered sugar in electric mixer until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and salt, then beat 1 more minute. Add flour and beat until just combined. Stir chopped nuts into mixture.

Divide dough in half. Roll each half between sheets of wax paper to 1/4-inch thickness, place on baking sheets and freeze until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

Remove half of dough from refrigerator, unwrap and use 3-inch heart-shaped cutter to cut out cookies. Arrange cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle coarse sugar or red crystals over cookies, if using.

Bake cookies at 300 degrees until pale gold in color, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove cookies and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Scraps may also be gathered, rerolled and frozen to make more cookies.

2 1/2 dozen cookies. Each cookie:

79 calories; 53 mg sodium; 12 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.11 gram fiber.

Vintage movie poster from Jason Vass Gallery, Santa Monica.