Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just had to show you this last homemade Valentine card. This one is for my teenage son.(Shhh! don't tell him.) I made this one humorous because he would hate a mushy one. Two new Sizzix die cutters made the envelope and card with cut-outs so simple. I love that the die cutters have openings into which you can place magnetic smaller die cutters to change the type and postion of the openings. On the envelope I used a square die and on the card a flower shaped one. (See photo. Click to enlarge.) The Fluffles cat, bug, and word rubber stamps are from Stampendous. I decorated the card with watercolor pencils, glaze pens, and mica glitter. The words on the envelope are rub-ons from American Crafts. I put acetate behind the envelope window so that I could put confetti in it and it would be a shaker envelope. Even though it is too late for you to make this card for Valentine's Day, the Sizzix die cutters are a good investment for future gift enclosure cards and envelopes because they are basic shapes that can be made fancy with the magnetic dies.

The following scone recipe is adapted from a biscuit recipe. The heart shaped scones are a special breakfast treat for my family. I forgot to sprinkle on deorative sugar before baking them so I applied Wilson cookie icing after the scones were cool. I don't think the decoration will harden like royal icing so you probably should draw the heart just before serving.

Valentine Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (or Multi-grain)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (! stick) butter (chilled , cut up)
1/2 cup dried cherries (chop if pieces are too large)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
fine sanding or coarse sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together first five dry ingredients and cut in butter until the texture is like coarse meal. Add in cherries and chocolate chips (if desired). Mix eggs, buttermilk, and extracts in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix until loosely combined. On a lightly floured surface (can be done on the parchment lined baking sheet) pat the dough into a round about 3/4" thick. Cut the round into 8 wedges, spread them apart (on the parchment lined baking sheet). Shape the top of each wedge to form a heart. Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake scones for 15-20 minutes until the tops are lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

Besides the recipe, I decided to give you two humorous stories for Valentine's Day. Story #1: Recently, I tried a new face cream and was pleasantly surprised that it seemed to improve my complexion.......until I went to the eye doctor and discovered that I needed stronger glasses AND now my windows need to be cleaned! Story #2: I heard that your waist measurement should be half of your height.......so I'm working on growing 10 inches! Well, maybe the recipe is a better gift than my humor. Have a great Valentine's Day!

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