Heart on a Stick

Yes it is well past Valentine's Day, but I couldn't resist posting this little baking adventure. 

I am a HUGE fan of baking and crafting projects for holidays. And since the fastest way to someone's heart is through their stomach, I decided to make heart cookie pops for everyone. (These are a great idea for any holiday or occasion...just change the shape of the cookie.)

Now I have never made cookie pops before this, so I did some reading and found a few different tasty recipes.

The cookie pop sticks we're fairly easy to work with, however I did add a bit of dough to the back of each cookie to really hold the stick in. It was also really helpful to put all of the cookies into the freezer for 15 minutes before baking, this really helps the cookies keep their perfect heart shape.

Here are the cookie recipes I used...

http://www.marthastewart.com/317610/conversation-heart-cookies

{sugar cookie recipe}

http://www.marthastewart.com/315628/gingerbread-snowflakes?czone=food/holiday-cookies-center/holiday-cookies-recipes&center=276951&gallery=274873&slide=260551

{gingerbread cookie recipe}

I wanted a really simple recipe for the icing and found this great royal icing recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/283925/royal-icing

{royal icing recipe...sooo good with the fresh lemon!}

You can decorate the cookies with just about anything you want, I chose my favorite day-glow sprinkles, some mint chocolate, and coconut (which was by far the best combination with the lemon icing.) The best part is that I was able to have fun with decorating and personalizing these sweet treats for my co-workers!

{I think they were pretty pleased with their cookie pop bouquets!}

tiny holiday shirts for the little ones...

I LOVE making baby gifts! So it is really great that so many of my friends have babies now.

A friend of mine asked me to make an "I heart Latkahs" shirt for her son awhile back. That may not have happened yet, but I surprised her with something even better...a HAMENTASHEN shirt! (I was inspired while baking.)

Now I would obviously love to have access to a print studio to screen print shirts to my little heart's desire, who wouldn't. But, since I don't, I decided to hand paint these shirts using acrylic paint. 

The solid tees came from American Apparel, which means they are SUPER soft and come in great colors for any occasion.

{a little Irish luck for the little ones} 

Can't wait to give the shirts to the boys this weekend! (Stay tuned for some pictures.)

Happy Purim!

Purim is my FAVORITE Jewish holiday, and it's all thanks to a little triangle cookie...the Hamentashen. This is the very first thing that I learned how to bake with my mom, and have been making them every year ever since...(24 years to be exact)! So, I figured it was very fitting that this be the very first post for my new blog. Here is my great-grandmother's Hamentashen recipe...I promise you won't be disappointed. 

{me, age 3, making Hamentashen with my mom}

HAMENTASHEN RECIPE:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

favorite jams or preserves for filling

MAKING THE DOUGH

In a bowl beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together. Mix in the flour and salt until fully blended. Place the dough in the fridge overnight. (The dough will keep in for a few days if refrigerated.)

FORMING THE COOKIES

Preheat the over to 350F. On a lightly floured surface (I usually tape down some wax paper to make my rolling surface) roll out the dough so that it is about 1/4" thick. With either a round glass or cookie cutter, cut circles in the rolled dough. The dough can get sticky so make sure to keep it, as well as the surface a roller, lightly floured.

Drop a small amount of your chosen jam in the center of the cookie and pinch the dough to form a triangle. I like to really pinch or press the dough together so that it doesn't fall back open while baking. Traditional Hamentashen flavors to try are prune, cherry, strawberry, apricot, etc. I really love to try new combinations to see what works...recently I have made them with key lime, strawberry rhubarb, and chocolate peanut butter. All equally amazing.

Once you have filled a baking tray (leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each cookie), bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn a golden brown. You can adjust depending on how crunchy or chewy you like your Hamentashen! 

ENJOY!