Valentine's Day Goodies!

I feel a little silly posting Valentine's Day Goodies the week after Valentine's Day, but here goes.  I wish I could give proper credit to someone for the Conversation Heart Cookies, but I took bits and pieces of various ideas and didn't keep track of what I found where.   I definitely don't want to take credit for other people's great ideas.  I will take better notes next time.

Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies

My cousin made adorable decorated sugar cookies for her sister's baby shower.  Thanks to the recipes and tips she shared with me I was fairly pleased with my results.  Her sugar cookie recipe is from her mother's old Betty Crocker cookbook.  Sometimes you just can't improve on the classics.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081219122103AASuZyg 

Her icing recipe is Wilton's Royal Icing.  I've tried Royal Icing before but never seemed to get the right consistency.   My cousin warned me to be very exact in my measurements...that seemed to help.  

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing 

I have to be honest this was a very time consuming project.  Cookies had to be baked.

Fresh from oven.

After they are completely cooled you can begin the icing process.  Start by piping an outline of the cookies shape.  This will make a barrier to prevent icing from dripping down the sides of the cookie.   For me this was probably the most difficult step because I don't have the most steady hand.  The end product is nicer if you can get a good smooth outline.  But as I am learning I can be happy with my creations even if they are not "perfect".

Next step is "flooding" the cookies.  I thinned the icing with water according to the recipe.  The idea is to get the icing thin enough that it spreads in a nice smooth layer.  Spoon icing into middle of cookie then tilt cookie to spread and use a toothpick to push it into the corners.  I am so glad my husband was helping me with this step or I might still be working on them.  He is so good at helping me sometimes I wonder if I am actually the "assistant" :) 

Once the cookies are flooded they need to sit for several hours...preferably overnight...for the icing to harden.  The final step is writing the messages.  I saw lots of ideas for lettering but settled on Wilton's Food Writers - Edible Color Markers.  I was a little hesitant because the online reviews were mixed...I thought they worked great.  Given I don't have the smoothest piping skills I think it was a much better idea than writing with icing.  

I googled Conversation Heart sayings.  I was a bit surprised to see "See ya" on Valentine candy, but it is an authentic saying so I used it.

I then packaged up a few cookies for friends.  

 


And a plateful for my wonderful husband.   Kept it sweet with the first layer...I might have been a little naughtier with the second layer :)

I had a good time making the cookies, but like I said they were time consuming.  For dessert on Valentine's Day I found a much less time consuming, but very yummy dessert.

Okay, I confess this picture is from the day after Valentine's when I figured out how to cut the Twinkies right.  Full disclosure...this is how it looked on Valentine's Day....

Driving to work the next morning it dawned on me that the Twinkies had to be cut on opposite angles to fit together in a heart. Since I still had ingredients left over we did a redo.  Super simple, cute and yummy. 

It doesn't have to be complicated to express love.

Do you have any special Valentine treat ideas?

Anna