Hearts from the Hearth

By Deborah S. Tukua
www.hollycreekbooks.com

Win the hearts of all the sweethearts in your house by serving heart themed foods this Valentine’s Day. Like some simple ways to express your love to your family? Since the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, we’ve been told, we’ll start with some creative food suggestions. With a small and a large heart shaped cookie cutter, you’ll be able to serve up these tasty hearts.

· Using a large heart cookie cutter cut heart shapes from pancakes or crepes. Serve topped with thick, red raspberry, black cherry or strawberry syrup.
· At lunch, cut large heart shaped sandwiches.
· Bake a cake using heart shaped cake pans. Or, top an iced cake with cherries or strawberries forming a heart. Fill the center with syrup.
· Muffins and Cupcakes can be suited for sweethearts by cutting a small heart indention in the tops with a tiny heart cookie cutter. Pipe red jelly or jam around the border. Place jelly in a sandwich bag, seal and snip one corner to pipe a line of jelly easily. Or, spoon out the inside of the heart pressed into the muffin top and fill the slightly, recessed area with lemon curd or your favorite jam.
· Heart shaped cookies can be made using your family’s favorite cookie recipe.
· Melt a bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels over very low heat, stirring constantly. Cover a tray with waxed paper. Lay heart shaped cookie cutters on the waxed paper. Spoon enough melted chocolate to fill the heart and repeat until you have the number of hearts needed. Allow the chocolate to cool on the wax paper before lifting and you’ll have homemade chocolate hearts to top cups of cappuccino, cupcakes, and pies at your heart’s desire!

Children can also join in the fun of preparing these heart treats. Empty nest? Invite the grandchildren or a few friends over and start a new tradition. Have an idea for making your family feel special this Valentine’s Day, share your delicious plan with us!

©Deborah S. Tukua is the author of Pearls of Kitchen Wisdom. If you too enjoy little helping hands in the kitchen, this book features a Children’s Cooking section filled with fun recipes, as well as a glossary of cooking terms and table etiquette. It is on sale now at the FATV shop. Pack a few heart treats into one of FATV’s lovely picnic baskets and have a romantic picnic in front of your fireplace.

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