Saturday Snapshot: A Valentine

Date Heart Valentine Cookies

Remember when I tried to make date nut pin wheels, but totally messed up and ended up inventing a new cookie?  Yeah...

Well, this time, I got it right!  Only instead of making pinwheels, I turned them into little hearts.  Here's what you'll need to make your own:

• 2 1/4 cup pitted dates, chopped up
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 cup shortening
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the dates, white sugar, and water in a pot.  Cook over low heat until it is thickened.  Add the nuts, remove from the heat, and allow to cool.

Using a stand mixer, cream the shortening, brown sugar, and eggs.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well, then cover and chill thoroughly.

Once both the date mixture and the dough are chilled, divide the dough into two equal parts.

Roll one of the balls out to a quarter inch thick slab.  Cut the edges off to form a rectangle, then place the scraps on top and roll it out again to a quarter inch.  The idea is to have as rectangular a piece as possible.

Next, spread half of the date mixture on top.

Finally, gently roll each side in until they meet in the middle.

Repeat with the other mass of dough, and then wrap each piece in cling wrap.  Gently smoosh the sides of the rolls to make a heart shape.

Refrigerate the rolls overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Take one of the rolls out of the fridge, unwrap, and slice into quarter to half in slices.  You might need to reshape some of your hearts, and some may turn out better than others, but that's okay!  It's all about baking with love anyway, right?

Once you fill the baking sheet, pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes.  While they are baking, put the remainder of the roll back in the fridge to keep cool.

Cool the cookies on a wire rack and then try not to eat them all at once.

 

I hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day!  I'll be spending it in with my hubby, watching a movie and eating popcorn and malted milk balls for dinner :)

Bookmark Valentines

I made these bookmark valentines for my English education cohort (sorry for the spoiler, cohort friends!).  They're cute, functional, and super simple to put together.

You will need:

• Red paper
• Heart shaped cookie cutter or stencil
• Paper clips
• Ribbon (I used purple, but any valentine-type color would be great!)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Pen

First, trace your cookie cutter onto your paper and cut out as many hearts as you need.

Next, write a little note to your valentine: "You've left a (book)mark on my heart!"

Tie a piece of ribbon to the end of a paper clip, and attach it to your heart.

If you want, use a gold sharpie to write your valentine's name on the back of the heart.

Are you making any valentines this year?

Saturday Snapshot: Floral Flashback

I don't know about you all, but I sure miss seeing flowers around....

DIY Matchbox Valentines

Aren't these adorable?  I think they are great Valentines, but that they would be the cutest wedding favors! All you need is:

• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Matchboxes
• Valentine printable

Free printable PDF

It's my first free printable!  Pretty excited about that... Please let me know if you have any problems downloading or opening it!

Just print out this sheet, cut out along the lines, and glue it to the box!

If a little excess hangs over the edge, simply trim it off.

Ta da!  Totally doable, and super adorable! :)

February Book Club

Last month, I read Jackie After O.  It was very interesting to learn a lot of new things that I never knew about the Kennedys.

Also, this year I am trying to read an average of 1 book a week!  So, along with Jackie After O, I also read Park Lane by Frances Osborne, The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides, Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and reread Romeo and Juliet.  I really recommend The Marriage Plot- probably my favorite of the bunch!

This month, because it's near Valentine's Day and I want to keep reading more nonfiction, I chose Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni.  It's written by a neuroscientist who researched how the brain functions, specifically the mirror neurons that allow us to understand others.  It's very far out of my usual reads, so I'm really looking forward to reading this!

Saturday Snapshot: Around the House

Orchid roots

It has been WAY too cold to be out and about taking pictures.  I mean, school cancellation cold (which is saying something in Minnesota!).  So, I took my camera around the house and snapped some pictures just to play around a bit.

Amethyst

Jewelry

Jewelry

 I hope you're all enjoying a nice and relaxing weekend!