SWEET HEART COOKIES

Are you stuck for a Valentine present for that special someone?  Look no further!  Here is an easy way to make a sweet treat for your valentine.

Inspired of course by my kidlets favourites, Love Hearts.

Ingredients

This recipe is taken from Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen
Mix together the butter and sugar until creamed.  Add the egg and then the flour. Mix and then knead slightly to make a firm dough.
  You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla essence if you wish or swap 50g of flour for cocoa powder to make chocolate cookies.

Then roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick and cut out your circles.

 

Chill again for 30 mins.

Then cook in a pre-heated oven 180 for 10-12 mins

Colour your fondant, I use SugarFlair paste colours.  Use a tooth pick and put a small prick of colour on your fondant, it is better to have to use more than put too much at the begining.

Cut out the fondant into circles and glue it to the cookie with brushed on boiled water or mix some gum trag with water.

 Mix some  pink lustre dust with water and brush it onto a heart cookie cutter.  I used the wrong side of the cutter (if you know what I mean) as it is thicker. Then press it into the fondant, if the line isn't quite strong enough you can always touch it up with a paint brush.

I then used a small clean stamping kit to stamp the words on.

 

Apparantly this year 'Love Hearts' have added a new phrase.  

Can you guess which one it is? (answer at the bottom) 

You could deliver your Valentine goodies wrapped in cellophane with a suitable label.

 

I downloaded these two free fonts, wm valentine and  love letters  to make mine.  I cannot tell you enough how much I love free fonts, I bored friends and family for weeks when I discovered them.  You can then personalise your own label or click here and you can download my version. Thanks to Heartfelt Handmade for the technical advice and the felt heart.

 

Have a very sweet Valentines day!

MORE VALENTINES

I know it's hard but somebody has got to do it!  So I have dedicated myself to discovering all things fabulous for Valentines.  Hope you enjoy!

This is the most gorgeous paper cut, don't ya think!  Made by Julene.

And I love this print from alicebgardens .

Finally always at the top of my list for beautiful inspiration, anything from KnockKnocking

WE LIKE MARCHING

I run a toddler group for my Church and it is celebrating its 25th Anniversary tonight.  So I offered to bring a cake!

At the end of every session we sing some songs and 'We Like Marching' is always a favourite.

Once again I have been inspired by Lucie Attwell.  I wanted the figures on the top to mirror the illustrations so they are mostly painted as well.

VALENTINE INSPIRATION

As valentines fast approaches I have searched for some delicious items to inspire you.


This is such a beautiful object from Artmind.

I love this poster from Bubbo-Tubbo and check out her shop it's full of graphic (in a good way) goodies!

And who could resist this little slice of sweetness by Be Cheery.


This would be the perfect card for gamer geek Mr Lemon Drizzle.  It's by anemonelettepress.



Finally I couldn't resist this cute little fella from the fabulous Heartfelt Handmade.

BUTTERSCOTCH CUPCAKES

A few years ago I made myself a birthday cake, which did not go down well with Mr Lemon Drizzle as he had already bought me a cake, which while incredibly generous and thoughtful.was a SHOP BOUGHT CAKE!!!
Last year I did not make a cake so as not to rain on his parade, and of course no cake arrived.
This year I made the first strike and actually asked if there was to be a cake.
"I'll buy you one" he said
"I will not have a SHOP BOUGHT CAKE for my birthday!!!! Are you prepared to make me a cake?"
"No I am not"
So I let it be known to my family that I will make myself a birthday cake.  However as they are suffering from cake fatigue I decided to go with cupcakes.
I have adapted this recipe from a Nigella cake to make 12 cupcakes.

Beat the butter and sugars together until creamy.  Add the eggs and then sift in the flour and mix together. Mix in 2-3 tablespoons of cream until a soft dropping consistancy is achieved.  Divide between 12 cupcake cases.

Cook in a pre-heated oven 175 fan for 15-20mins, until golden brown and springy to touch.

For the frosting disolve the sugar in the water by heating gently, do not stir as this crystalises it.  Once disolved boil until it becomes a dark golden caramel.  (I use a sugar thermometer as it stops me worrying about temperatures.)  Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the cream, then leave to cool.

Beat the cream cheese and a third to a half of the caramel.  You may need to leave it to harden a bit before you top the cupcakes.

For a little extra naughtiness drizzle some of the caramel onto the cakes!

Enjoy!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

Tomorrow is my birthday, so I thought I would make myself a virtual wish list, just to treat myself!

 I love graphic prints and this would make me very 'Happy Happy' in these dark winter months.  It is by farouche.

I thought I would need a little glamour to look good on my special day so this knecklace from Made With Love  would definately do the trick.

Then to feel extra cosy something beautiful for my house, so I'd need this gorgeous cushion (you can never have too many cushions!) from Helkatdesign on folksy.

Finally I am so in love with Agnes woolen wreaths, I love her colour sense and the quirky objects she finds, so I would definately love to treat myself to one of these!

Homemade Christmas part two....

Yes I know, Christmas seems very distant now, but the snow and a couple of big orders have really put me behind!  Anyway as promised here are some of the homemade presents I received from my family.

My Mum made damson gin from their own fruit and then covered the gin soaked damsons in dark chocolate for a double whammy!

 

My sister-in-law always makes us a rich fruit Christmas cake, this year my eight year old niece took care of the decorations.

My brother is a keen chutney and pickle maker so we received these welcome treats from him along with some gorgeous unpastaurised cheese from here.
We were also given a huge pottery shell from my Dad which is covered in snow at the moment, I will post some pictures after the 'Big Thaw'!