Valentine's Traditions: Part II

Sinfully Delicious Sweets!

I love cooking and baking, and when I think of any holiday I think of sweets made from scratch. I always make more than I think I can possibly share, and then before you know it we have none left!

Truffles

This year we made Chocolate Balsamic Truffles courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. I substituted Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips for the dark chocolate and made sure to fully chill the chocolate mixture. In addition to rolling them in cocoa powder, I also chopped some almonds super-fine and coated 1/2 the truffles in the nuts too. Remember, the smaller the truffles the better. They really are very rich.

Cupcakes

Cupcakes are the perfect gift, and in addition to making some for our neighbors and Home & Visiting Teaching families, we also made some for Isabella's second grade class.

These beauties were a cinch to make. Especially considering you can use a from-scratch or box method for the cupcakes and frosting. The real star of the show is the flashy extras: Melted chocolate and Maraschino cherries!

After your cupcake frosting is set, melt 1/3 c. of chocolate chips in the microwave (for 2 dz. cupcakes). Using a fork, drizzle the melted chocolate before placing a dollop in the center. Then nestle your cherry right in (making sure your cherries are thoroughly drained), and in an hour the chocolate will have set and you have a spectacular dessert!

Isabella was thrilled when her cupcakes were voted "THE BEST" by all her classmates!

Valentine's Traditions: Part I

Messy, Messy Valentines!

The Thursday before Valentine's Day I had a Valentine Activity Day for the kiddies at home. I knew Isabella and Ava would be coming home from school bearing all kinds of goodies from their class parties, so I wanted to make sure these little ones had a chance to join in the fun too.

Way to go Owen! He never gets a hold of markers-can you guess why? So he really made the most of this opportunity!

They were so funny about the placement of their heart confetti. It took them forever to get them "just right". They also made hearts and figures out of pink salt dough, which I baked later in the afternoon.

Happy Valentines Day!