Photo courtesy BellaBaker.com.

“I absolutely love surprises,” says Lauryn Cohen of BellaBaker.com. “Imagine a cupcake surprise…biting into an already delicious cupcake and finding a second delicious surprise inside.”

So she created Strawberry Surprise Cupcakes, a lovely treat for Valentine’s Day.

The cake is tender and light and gets its strawberry flavor puréed fresh strawberries added to the batter. The surprise is fresh, sweet strawberry jam that provides a burst of strawberry goodness. Strawberry cream cheese icing brings a bit of tang for contrast.

“So make these cupcakes and shhhh, don’t tell anyone about the jam in the middle.” says Lauryn. “Make it a surprise that’s sure to put a smile on everyone’s face.”

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY SURPRISE CUPCAKES

Ingredients

 
FOR THE ICING

A delicious surprise. Photo courtesy BellaBaker.com.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. BEAT butter at medium speed until creamy. Add sugar and beat about 3 minutes, until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition. Add 1 1/2 cups of strawberry puree.

2. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in food coloring.

3. PLACE in mini baking cups and bake 10-12 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool completely.

4. FILL the cupcakes: Cut cone shapes out of the top dome of each cupcake. Fill a Ziplock-type bag with fresh strawberry jam and snip the corner. Fill the hole in the cupcake to the top with jam then place the cone shape back on top.

5. MAKE THE ICING: In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter at medium-high speed with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth. Add strawberry preserves and vanilla, beating until well combined. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt, beating until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Garnish as desired.
  

Choose your snacks from 25 sweet or savory
mixes. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.

Sure, it’s easy to give a box of candy or cupcakes for Valentine’s Day.

But for anyone who can benefit from better snacking, how about something more healthful—and fun?

There are fruit gifts, of course, and delicious artisan nuts. There are portion-sized snacks like Peeled Snacks and GoBites.

GoBites is in the healthful snacking business, delivering portion-controlled snacks that are easily portable and plentiful in variety.

The nutrient-rich ingredients are 100% natural and USDA Certified Organic: the right ingredients and the right amount of them to please both snacker and nutritionist.

Note that not all so-called “healthy snacks” are that healthy. Read the labels to see if they are chock full of added sugar and artificial ingredients.

GoBites, on the other hand, are pure goodness: wholesome nuts, seeds, grains and fruits in creative blends.

A DIFFERENT SNACK EVERY TIME

There are some 27 choices. You can make your choices, or fill out a profile and have them selected for you (do you prefer sweet, savory, both, nuts, no nuts, etc.). A sample of the snacks:

 
You can make a single purchase or sign up for a no commitment subscription program that delivers each week’s worth: 14 packages.

Check out all the options at GoBites.com.

Updated July 2026

America loves its chicken wings, never more than on Super Bowl Sunday: 1.2 billion chicken wings will be consumed this weekend alone, enough to circle the globe twice!

Truth to tell, we’re not a fan of such messy finger food (we don’t do messy well). That’s why we took an immediate liking to this recipe from HungryGirl.com: Buffalo Chicken Parfaits.

Not only is it a scant 185 calories, but it’s eaten neatly, with a fork or spoon.

Using pre-cooked chicken breasts (Hungry Girl uses Tyson Grilled & Ready), the prep time is 10 minutes, and there’s no cook time.

 
 
BUFFALO CHICKEN PARFAIT RECIPE

Ingredients Per Serving

 
Preparation

1, MIX yogurt with ranch seasoning in a medium bowl. Stir in lettuce and blue cheese.

2. COAT the diced chicken breast with hot sauce in a medium bowl.

3. LAYER half of each ingredient in a tall glass, sundae or parfait dish: lettuce mixture, carrots, celery and sauced chicken. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Serve with a fork or spoon.

[2] Mix ranch seasoning into Greek yogurt (photo: The Nibble).

Buffalo wings were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. Co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried the wings, covered them in her own hot sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery—because that’s what she had available. Here’s the full history of buffalo wings.

Many popular dishes, including Caesar salad and Cobb salad, were created because “that’s what was in the fridge.”
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Danny’s Macaroons update the classic
coconut macaroon to 21st century flavors.
Photo courtesy Danny Macaroons.

We grew up loving Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars, but as our palate for better chocolate grew, we switched to chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons made by artisan bakers. Ah, sweet addiction!

A brief history of macaroons: Coconut macaroons exist mostly because of Passover, the Jewish holiday that proscribes leavened baked goods, among other foods.

The original macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s amaretti, with a crisp crust and a soft interior, made from egg whites and almond paste. While details are unclear, some historians believe they were first made by Italian monks in the late 15th century.

Benedictine nuns brought the recipe to France in 1533, where the baked treat later evolved into the ganache-filled sandwich cookies—macarons—that we know and love today.

Meanwhile, back in Italy, Jews adopted the cookie because it had no flour or leavening and could be enjoyed during the eight-day observation of Passover. The recipe was introduced to other European Jews and became popular as a year-round sweet. Over time, coconut was added to the ground almonds and, in certain recipes, replaced them.

Coconut macaroons have remained popular in the U.S. and the U.K., where they appear on cookie platters year-round. Here’s the full history of macaroons and macarons.

Dan Cohen, the founder of Danny Macaroons, learned his craft 10 years ago, baking macaroons for Passover and tweaking his recipe over time. Unlike commercial varieties, the centers of Danny Macaroons are soft and moist, while the exteriors are appropriately crisp.

Following the flavor zeitgeist, Danny developed 45 different flavors, which are available in rotation. Currently on the menu: plain macaroons plus Black Chocolate Stout, Baileys McRoons, Bourbon, Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Dipped, Guava, Maple Pecan Pie, Red Velvet and Salted Caramel.

Buy them online at DannyMacaroons.com. The macaroons cost from $12 to $18 per half dozen, depending on flavor.

Are they an appropriate Valentine gift? Absolutely!

FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE COOKIES AND COOKIE RECIPES.

Fans can watch the reruns with a pint of Liz Lemon frozen yogurt, the latest flavor from Ben & Jerry’s. A refreshing Greek frozen yogurt in lemon with a blueberry lavender swirl, the flavor promises to be as sweet and tart as Liz Lemon herself.

Liz Lemon, the flavor, is now launching in Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops and pints will hit grocers’ freezer cases by the end of the month.

In syndication and in the freezer, Liz Lemon lives on.

Ben & Jerry’s launched their Greek frozen yogurt line a year ago. It’s a favorite of everyone at THE NIBBLE. Here’s our original review.

*The show was loosely based on Fey’s experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live.