Valentine's Day Strawberry snacks

Happy Valentine's Day! Hopefully today you feel extra loved. I was searching around for a quick Valentine's Day snack, and I came across this easy snack. It would be perfect for an after school snack for your loved ones. (and with the wheat bread and strawberries I'd like to think it's a little bit healthy!). I honestly can't remember where I saw this idea online and I forgot to bookmark it. So, if this little gem of a snack is your idea, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. Maybe after eating these snacks your loved ones will give you little chocolate kisses!

Ingredients:

Wheat bread

Nutella

strawberries

heart shaped cookie cutter (optional)

Directions:

Cut bread out into heart shapes. Or just cut the bread into four squares. You may wish to toast your bread first, but it's totally up to you.

Wash and dry the strawberries and cut off the tops. Slice either in half or into thinner slices. Cut into a heart shape. Have you ever noticed that strawberries are just naturally heart shaped?!

Spread a spoonful of Nutella onto your bread. And place strawberry in the middle.

Voila!. A super easy and somewhat healthy snack that your kids can help make. My three-year old gobbled it up. (and he had a lovely chocolate face afterwards!)

Happy Valentine's Day! Don't forget to tell someone you love that you love them.

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Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

Finally after approximately 4 billion experiments with different sugar cookie recipes, I've found it! The perfect recipe. Not too sweet to add frosting and sprinkles to and without any baking soda, they actually keep their shape during baking. So stop drooling and start cookie cutting!
















(My kids determine a holiday's worth by whether or not they get to make and decorate cookies to go with it. Anyone seen an Abraham Lincoln shaped cookie cutter?)

The ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2-1/2 cups flour

Using an electric mixer at medium-high speed, cream the butter, gradually add the sugar. Beat in the egg until evenly mixed, then blend in the vanilla extract and salt.

With a spoon, stir the flour into the creamed ingredients, about one third at a time until evenly blended. **LAZY ALERT--to heck with stirring by hand, I just mixed the flour in the mixer and it turned out just fine**.

Refrigerate dough 2-3 hours.

Cookie cut as desired. Bake at 350° for ~7 minutes.















For a fun variation on the normal sugar cookie try this:
















Cut a smaller shape out of each cookie, then place on a piece of parchment paper on baking sheet.

Place a Life Saver or two (depending on the size of the hole) into the cut-out shape.

Bake as usual. Allow liquid to set then remove from pan.















Voila! Stained glass cookies...guaranteed to be the most unique cookies at the party!

This also is particularly stunning as a star shaped cookie at Christmas time.

Enjoy!

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