Monday, February 6, 2012

A lil bit of Valentine Sugar for the SWEETEST MONTH


 


I've been putting my HOUSEWIFE on and spending some sweet time in the kitchen making pretty sugars for Valentine's Day. I recently attended a Girls Jammie and Cookie Exchange Valentine Party! How cool is that?! I'm a party-lover and that concept is brilliant.  I've never heard of a pajama exchange before and it is an extra fun idea for girls.  I'm sharing with you some of the cookies I brought along.  I came home with SO many delicious treats, cookies, and a cozy pair of pink jammies too.  Valentine's Day pampering for sure. 


I took classic, round, crackle-topped, sugar-covered, peanut butter bites and topped them with
M & Ms.  Topping with the various pink candies is such a quick way to transform a classic cookie into a festive treat.


Cute as a button!



I used the bowl of leftover M&Ms to make tiny baby treats of candy for friends.



One of my all-time favorite cookies are Cherry Chocolate Kisses.  If you're a forever reader of my blog, I'm sure you've seen them here before.  For Valentine's Day I pushed a chocolate heart into the middle of the cherry goodness instead of the traditional chocolate kiss.  
Same cookie, different holiday.  ;)  



For Cherry Chocolate Kiss cookie recipe SEE previous post HERE.



I amped up the pink food coloring to yield HOT PINK cookies...some sassy and sophisticated glam for these little bites. 





I was excited to try a new cookie this year as well:
Butter Almond Shortbread with Raspberry Jam


Valentine Thumbprint Cookies
(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)
Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.
Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.




 Before baking, do a double thumbprint to form an adorable sweet heart of raspberry jam.






Just a little bit of sugar in your cup of tea...


The last sweet treat is a sophisticated dessert that would fit perfectly for a romantic Valentine's Night dinner: Rich Chocolate Kahlua Tart.  I immediately stole this recipe from one of my {most loved} baking websites, Bake at 350.  



I poured sprinkles of gold over the top to make it super special, because this dessert deserves to have extra sparkles. It is extremely rich and one bite is satisfying enough!  




For more Valentine sweet treats, view archives below:


archives
 




little loves
tea time
sugar
 hearts
Happy Sweetest Month!






This post is linked to:   Under the Table & Dreamin, Think Pink Sundays, Seasonal SundaysMet Monday, Making the World Cuter, Tuesday Tutorials and Tips, HOMEWORK: Be Inspired, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, DIY Design, Works for Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Organize and Decorate Everything, Transformation Thursday, House of H, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff,   Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up  DIY by Design  

19 comments:

Judy@cutest-little-things.blogspot.com said...

Cute!

Judy@cutest-little-things.blogspot.com

Rebecca said...

Wow, yum is not even the word! Im hungry now! And i so want to make all of these!

Anonymous said...

What a cute idea for a cookie exchange..
They all look so delicious..

Sugarr2518 said...

They all look soo yummy! Thanks for sharing:)

b. said...

Cookies were delicious and of course too cute!!

I loved the party idea!!

Cindy Rippe said...

The cookies looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the sweetness.

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

LOVE jam and LOVE cookies...Definitely a winning recipe!

annies home said...

what a sweet array of goodies all look lovely
come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper said...

Great assortment of cookies! Yummy.
I hope you will link this post up to my I Heart Projects Linky Party if you haven't done so already.
www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

Miller Racing Family said...

Wow these cookies all look amazing. I love the m&m cookies and the pink/chocolate cookies. Thanks for sharing these great recipes. Have a fabulous day.

Natasha Mairs - Serenity You said...

Yum

Natasha xx

http://www.serenityyou.blogspot.com

Charlene Juliani said...

These all look so delicious!! I would love to invite you to link this post to my crafty (and baking) weekend show and share link party on my blog.

http://adventures-in-mommy-land.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentines-day-edition-of-weekend-show.html

DesignDazzle.blogspot.com said...

Awesome! They just all look delicious!

Holly Lefevre said...

That was a dangerous post...sweet goodness!

Anonymous said...

Awesome.This all cookies are look so yummy.It really very testy.Thanx to share with us this beautiful informations.Chocolate flavors cookies are look so testy.


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caveman said...

You mentioned Oreo Truffles again…

Oh to have an Oreo truffle:
I would do the truffle shuffle.
A glorious chocolate confection,
that is absolute perfection.
My wife made you, just for me.
But having one right now is not to be.
I won't forget you, oh tasty friend.
I will beg to taste you again and again.

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