That's How the Cookie Crumbles

It's almost Valentine's Day, and I love all the fun baked goods and silly cards that come with it. Last year I made a four layer cake with a cake heart hidden inside, and this year, too, I wanted to tackle something that I've always been afraid to try. I wanted to use royal icing, and I wanted to make realistic flowers. I spent some time at Sweet Sugar Belle's website, and that's where you can go for recipes and in-depth tutorials.

First, I mixed up a small batch of royal icing. Royal icing differs from standard icing by incorporating meringue powder. It hardens overnight and you can stack your cookies without fear of icing smudge...a big benefit when you're mailing or giving away packages of cookies.

Royal icing is beaten until it's very stiff.

I took a portion of the completed icing and added some color. Be sure to cover the royal icing you aren't using...it dries quickly!

I put my icing in a Pampered Chef squeeze bottle and used a tip that was wide at one end and narrow at the other.

The directions for making icing roses called for this odd, flat tool that came in my Wilton decorating kit. Ah...so that's what it's for!

Place a dot of royal icing in the center of the tool and press a small square of wax paper onto the top.

Squeeze out a dab of icing, and then use your fingers to twirl the tool in a clockwise motion, simultaneously pushing out a steady stream of icing. Voila! A tiny bud.

Pick a random spot on the side of the bud and lay your tool against it, narrow edge up. Continue twirling and pushing out frosting. Soon, unbelievably, you'll have a rose.

I made pink roses. I made yellow roses. I made blue roses. I made more roses that I could possibly use...but they were so fun and easy to make, I couldn't stop!

Let your roses dry for at least 4 hours. Meanwhile, bake your sugar cookies. Take some royal icing and give the shape a nice outline.

Now you need to water down the icing for the next part. Just enough to give it a "shampoo" consistency. "Flood" the center of your design and use a toothpick to spread out the frosting to the edge. Your edge piping has already hardened and will hold the fluid frosting in nicely.

I was a little stingy with my flooding, because I was afraid that I'd run out. However, I had plenty. Fill in all your cookies and let them dry at least 4 hours. If the icing is really thick, let them sit out overnight.

I decided to try a lace technique with some of the cookies, in addition to the roses.

It didn't turn out like I'd hoped, so I decided to do random designs.

I think they look very festive!

Especially, I love how the roses turned out. I used a dot of royal icing to affix them to the cookies and piped on some leaves.

The big hearts had three roses, but the smaller hearts had just one.

Even the teeny tiny hearts got roses!

My original intention was to make a huge batch of cookies last week, so I could mail them to friends and family who lived out of town. However, with the new dog, my schedule was a bit off, so I had to be content with making a few boxes up for local friends. They looked so pretty, all boxed up.

I stamped a quick greeting (WalMart...$1!)...

...and tied up the boxes with yarn.

It was so fun to do and I'm really happy with the results!

Google Calendar reminded me in early January to start thinking about Todd's Valentine's Day gift. I'd seen a really creative idea online and decided to try it. I'd read about Artist Trading Cards before - decks of cards utilized to make miniature works of art. It went hand-in-hand with the idea I'd read about, which was using a deck of cards to list 52 things that you love and appreciate about your significant other.

I knew this was going to be a time-intensive project, but I had no idea that it would take five weeks to complete! It was a labor of love, though.

I hole-punched each playing card and used a different color of scrapbook paper to cover the face of each one. Two metal rings held the whole thing together. It is one big book!

Each card is a different "work of art"...and I use that term loosely! Sometimes I used magazine clippings to praise an attribute in a silly way, like when I made a card for "your bristly ears"...

...or "your beautiful eyes".

This alligator was made for laughing!

I loved having the chance to tell him how I appreciated the little things, like his dedication to his work...

...or how he did little things for me that I am always grateful for, like making trips to the post office for me.

I complimented his brain...

...and his love of board games.

How could I forget his love of road trips, which I also share?

It was fun to use the little scrapbook things I've picked up over the past year, like this ticket that I made "ADMIT ONE" letters for.

Many cards had free-swinging parts.

And how could I forget Spock?

I made sure to give thanks for his help with the animals...


And so on, and so on. Fifty two cards! The last card, of course, says it all. What else do I love about him?

I am so grateful for him and I appreciate everything he does for me on a daily basis. I never imagined that I'd have such a wonderful husband and I was happy to have the opportunity to let him know exactly how I feel, and how much I love him!

You don't have time to make this for Valentine's Day this year, of course, but this could be a great birthday present! Pick up a pack of cards this week and get started. Have a great Valentine's Day!

New Life

I was determined, this year, to force growth out of the little amaryllis I bought to commemorate my grandfather's death a few years ago. I haven't had much luck in the past, so I spent some time reading up on the subject. I learned that a well cared-for amaryllis can last up to forty years. Forty years? That sounds like a challenge to me!

The first recommendation, after the required 6 - 8 weeks of "quiet, dark time", was to soak the roots (but not the bulb itself) in warm water for several hours.

Next, plant the bulb, leaving a third of it above the soil level. Water it once, really well, and then let it dry out between waterings. Set it in a sunny place and cross your fingers.

I put mine in the sun room, which gets plenty of sun but also is terribly cold at night and on cold winter days. I worried that it was too cold to force growth and that I would rot the bulb by watering it in such cold weather. But, my worries were for naught. About a month after I planted the bulb, I was rewarded with beautiful green growth.

I also planted some Christmas paperwhite bulbs. There were a couple of anxious weeks as I checked the bulbs for signs of rot. One of the beauties of paperwhites, though, is that you don't need soil. You just need a container with rocks or pebbles to support the bulbs. Fill your container with water, making sure that the bottom half of the bulbs are submerged. After a few weeks, new life.

The blossoms were light green at first and then gradually turned white.

They hesitated to open at first...

Just a peek...
But one sunny day, they opened in all their glory.

They're so beautiful, and the blooms last for about two weeks. There's also a light fragrance. I'm going to grow these every spring! It's so nice to see fresh flowers.

And their roots are delightfully octopus-like.

There's other new life in our household. We adopted a little dog and named her Borga. The name is Norse and the sheltie part of her originates from that area (she's part corgi as well). We also chose the name because of its Star Trek ties...the Borg are our favorite Federation enemies.

The first week of dog ownership knocked me flat.

I was unprepared for the doggy neediness and the schedule disruption. She's had a few accidents, too, and is totally untrained. I'm used to cats, and lazy ones at that. It's good, I think, that Borga pushes me out of my comfort zone...I think.

When I'm feeling anxious and overwhelmed, I need comfort food. Good thing I found this scone recipe. I've continued my love affair with the scone this year, making up for lost time. For so long I thought scones were dry and tasteless. Now I know the truth. This is another Smitten Kitchen recipe involving my new favorite fruit add-in...the cranberry.

Lemon and Cranberry Scones
Slightly modified from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
Zest from two lemons (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, sliced
1 1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped or whole
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 cup heavy cream or milk

Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, 1/2 sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest into a bowl. Cut in the butter until you're down to pea-sized pieces. In a separate bowl, mix cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir into flour mixture.

In a small bowl, beat egg and yolk slightly and stir in cream or milk. Add to the flour mixture and mix very lightly, until just combined. This is the secret to tender scones!

Pat mixture onto pizza stone, or into a greased cookie sheet, and press to 1 inch thickness.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden.

I topped mine with a simple cream cheese/powdered sugar/milk glaze.

They are so bright and soft. I highly recommend them...what better way to get your fruit?

Have a great week!