Piped Heart Shaped Butter Cookies - filled with rainbow jams

One of my favorite cookies are butter cookies.  So simple, delicate, and delish.  I even love those mass produced ones that come in the tins that your mom or grandma keeps thread and sewing stuff in!

I had the great idea of making butter cookies but in the shape of hearts for valentines day.

Mix up a simple butter cookie recipe, add it to a piping bag, and pipe some pretty hearts.  

Sounds easy enough right??

Can I tell you how HARD it is to pipe butter cookie dough?? Piping these hearts took like an hour and much forearm strength!

But if you can persevere through it you can fill them with a lot of jellies and jams in fun colors.

or use marmalade - what's the difference between jelly, jam, and marmalade? I'm too lazy to google it today.

I must be getting old because I love butter cookies ESPECIALLY with a thin layer of fruit flavor.  It kinda goes along with my love of bundt cakes as well.  Welcome to middle age!

The hearts were supposed to look like rose shaped icing that is super popular.  However, my kids saw these and asked me if these cookies were supposed to look messy.  I of course said yes because I was just happy to have gotten through the batch without throwing the entire thing in the garbage.

They tasted awesome no matter how they looked.  Tender butter cookie sandwiches made with real vanilla beans with a layer of jelly inside - SO YUM! And I love using the contrasting colors of the jams - even the mint - I've always wanted to try mint jelly!

Although they take a little muscle your Valentine will definitely appreciate the effort - and did I  mention they are super tasty?!

Piped Heart Shaped Butter Sandwich Cookies

by Michelle Clausen February 5 - 2017

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 vanilla bean
• Variety of jelly/jam/marmalades (blueberry, cranberry, mint, orange, lingonberry)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together.
3. Cream butter and sugar together until pale and creamy.
4. Add in egg and scraped vanilla bead seeds.
5. Add flour mixture 1 cup at a time until just mixed.
6. Pump some iron to build up arm strength then add dough to pastry bag and pipe heart shapes.
7. Bake until edges are just golden about 10-12 minutes.
8. Once cooled spread flat side of cookie with jelly and top with another cookie.

Prep time: 45 minutes Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

Fruit (Fig & Strawberry) Halloween Monster Pops

I'm adding to all the fun monster themed foods that will be showing up from now until Halloween!

How about some fruit pops. Meaning fruit on sticks!  

I've been on a fig kick lately.  I know that most people (KIDS) don't gravitate toward figs but I'm trying because I love them.  Aside from a fig newton my kiddos haven't really ever had fresh figs. Let's be honest they don't always look so yummy.  You don't peel them and you have to get past eating the skin.  And inside, they actually did remind me of a monster face.  Hence the monster pops. 

But how fun do these guys look??!  

Add some spooky eyes and a little melted candy and you've got a simple sweet treat.

I did also use strawberries too as I knew they would eat these guys.

You can find fresh figs so much easier now in grocery stores or you may find other varieties at your local farmer's market.

My favs are the black mission but I love the kadota too. 

They don't store for long so make them the day you plan to eat them.  They are so quick to put together so that's easy to do.

Create your own gang of fruit monster pops this Halloween 

AND they'd also be great as an after school healthy treat! 

My kids did try them but still preferred the strawberry pops - but it was at least a first step!

Thanks for stopping by and have great weekend!

Fig and Strawberry Monster Pops

by Michelle Clausen September-16-2016

Ingredients

• 6 strawberries; 6 figs 
• candy coated chocolate candy (like m and m's)
• candy eyes
• 1/2 cup vanilla/orange candy melts/wafers
• 24 pop sticks or straws

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry fruit.  Cut each into 1/2 lengthwise (as in photos)
2. Insert pop stick into bottom of fruit 
3. Melt candy wafers in quart sized freezer bag in 15 second intervals in microwave.  Snip an end and add some candy to pop stick to adhere to fruit.
4. Attach candy eyes with melted candy.
5. Add more detail with melted candy.  Let harden 10 minutes.
6. Serve the day the pops are made.

Prep time: 15 mins Yield: 24 monster pops

Mini Strawberry and Grape Fruit Cookie Cups

Hard to believe its mid July already! I feel like I haven't posted in ages, well maybe because I haven't.  My regular day job is super busy these days so I've been wiped when I come home from work.  And with 3 kids (an almost 12 year old and 9 year old twins) there is no down time anymore.  And when there is down time, like once everyone is in bed (which is later now that school is out) or late on the weekends - I kinda just want to veg and check my social media or watch a random show.  

Plus I haven't had any good food ideas in ages and baking/cooking is just not calling my name right now.  I hear all bloggers go through phases like this and that it comes in waves.  I was posting weekly for a long long time so I guess it caught up with me!

BUT I did make some treats around the 4th of July to bring to a parties including these fun little fruit cups.  Awhile back I made this strawberry and kiwi fruit pizza by Hungry Happenings and loved the way it turned out.  

It's a cookie crust with kiwi and strawberry cut up and arranged to look like watermelon! It was so simple and fun that I tried to make a mini version.

I always like to speed things up so I used store bought sugar cookie dough.  Add a square to a mini bundt pan and spread to cover the bottom of each section. 

(Be sure to spray your pan with non stick spray!)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 mins or until edges just start to brown.

Frost cups with your favorite frosting.  I used cream cheese frosting.  Cut up strawberries and grapes into small pieces.  I used grapes because I'm allergic to kiwi but you can use either.

Add grapes around edges and strawberries in the center.

I sprinkled with some black sesame seeds (to resemble watermelon seeds) but you could use mini chocolate chips too.

I'm not sure they look like watermelon but they definitely were tasty and a great refreshing dessert for a party! 

What are you doing this summer? Have you caught the Pokemon Go craze? That's the app phenomena thats taking over the world! It combines augmented reality, gamification, and EXERCISE!! No for real exercise because you need to get outside and go find Pokemon characters! It's actually a fun activity that I can do with the kids - especially the older one.  We go for walks with the dog, catch Pokemon and have some really great mom-son conversation.  #winnerwinnerchickendinner!

Pic of our dog wondering what the heck we are doing! (Catching a Nidoran Pokemon of course!)

Mini Strawberry and Grape Fruit Cookie Cups

by Michelle Clausen July-13-2016

Ingredients

• 1 package of sugar cookie dough (ready to bake)
• 1 can cream cheese frosting
• 2 cup of cut green grapes
• 4 cups of cut strawberries (red parts only)
• black sesame seeds (or mini chocolate chips)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray mini bundt pan with non stick spray.  
3. Add ready to bake cookie to each section of a mini bundt pan and spread dough slightly to fill bundt section.
4. Bake for 8 minutes or until cookies just start to brown.  Let cool.
5. Spread cookie with frosting.
6. Arrange green grapes slices around edge of cookies.

7. Add sliced strawberries in center of cookies.
8. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (or mini chocolate chips)

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 20-24

Valentines Day Iced Gingerbread Cookies with dried fruits

Hey there! Valentines Day is just around the corner so I thought I'd share some fun cookies.  They are gingerbread too.  I know gingerbread is usually saved for the holiday season, but why? 

My kiddos all love gingerbread so I make them cookies throughout the year in this flavor.  

These cookies are extra special because they have heart cut outs and are topped with a variety of toppings.  I love all the flavors of freeze dried fruits available and they are simple to sprinkle on top of still wet royal icing.  

The freeze dried fruits crush really easily and give an nice concentrated fruit flavor (and awesome color too!).  

I also added some other fun stuff I had in the cupboard like dried blueberries, candied ginger, goji berries, lavender, and pistachios.The taste was great with all the flavors and the gingerbread together.

I'll admit the kids went for the plain iced gingerbread cookies of course, but they did make super pretty gifts for the past holiday season (and for cookies for Santa!).

What are you making for Valentines Day? Do you go for a special savory dish or something sweet or BOTH? (I'm the later!).  Thanks for swinging by, have a great weekend!

How to Make Valentines Day Gingerbread Cookies (makes 2 dozen)

• 1 roll of refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough or boxed mix (follow directions on mix)
• 2 cups of royal icing 
• 1/2 cup of dried or freeze dried fruit (such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, pumpkin, goji berries)
• 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
• 2 Tablespoons dried lavender (food grade)
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Roll out dough and cut out circle shapes.  Use smaller heart cutter to cut out shapes in the center of each cookie.
3. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until just slightly browned
4. Ice cookies with royal icing
5. While icing is still wet, sprinkle with crushed freeze dried fruits and other toppings.  
6. Let cookies set until icing is dried to the touch.  
7. Enjoy!

Pea Pods made from Fruit

Summer is in full swing around here! The kids are in a few day camps, the days are 90+ degrees and humid, the cicadas are singing their hot summer songs - and I'm loving it all.  It's hard to believe it's nearly the end of July - only one full month of summer left so I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

And I have a really easy healthy treat for you this time.  Well relatively healthy when you compare it to the rest of the sugary sweets that you usually find here.  Cute little pea pods - made from fruit.  

I spotted these Joray brand fruit rolls in the food store the other day.  Joray makes all kinds of flavors of fruit rolls, but I had never seen an all apple green fruit roll.  (ps if you look for them, I found them in the Kosher section of my local Shop Rite food store).

I thought they'd make great pea pods with some green grapes as the "peas".

They are really super easy to make too.  Cut out a leaf shape from the fruit roll.  Add your grapes (2 or 3 "pea" clusters) and wrap the fruit roll around the grapes.  

Twist the ends a bit and that's pretty much it.

Very cute as is or you can up your cute factor by adding some smiley faces.   Faces added with an edible food writer.

Smiling pea pods - try not to smile yourself!

Make them for your veggie averse peeps.  I was thinking they'd also make a super cute addition to a twin or triplet baby shower or maybe a fun April Fool's Day prank.  So many options!

Thanks as always for stopping by.  Have a GREAT week!

Fresh Fruit Rainbow Cake

Is there anything prettier than a rainbow? OK - maybe there are prettier things, but I really love rainbows in all shapes and sizes.  (As if you haven't guessed that by now!) And I especially love all those rainbow treats and cakes all over the place these days - they always make me smile.   That said, I also like to experiment with getting pretty colors au natural.  Fruit works great for that in so many ways - and bonus it's way healthier than cake!   

So I made a rainbow layered "cake" from fresh fruit.  An all natural rainbow, that's pretty and tasty too.  Try it as an alternative to cake, or in addition to cake!

Check out the tutorial over at SheKnows!

PS. You can also make fruit "cupcakes"!

Cantaloupe Shaped and Flavored Cake Bites

It's melon season! Woo! And although I love love (love) watermelon aka the king of summer fruits, I also kinda feel bad for cantaloupe.  It's the work horse of the melons.  It's always in fruit salads, piles of them in food stores, and most people love it but there just doesn't seem like there are as many treats with it.

Well there some, like I made these triple cantaloupe cupcakes awhile back (cantaloupe in the cake, frosting and filling!) 

And one of the glazes in these cupcakes is cantaloupe!

But watermelon still always seems to take center stage.  So thought I'd add some cake bites to add to the cantaloupe treat mix.

See more on the how to over at SheKnows! 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookies

Um, did you know Valentines Day is this Friday? I know right, how the heck is that possible?? I mean there are hearts and red velvet stuff galore all over other blogs and Pinterest, but I still keep thinking that it's a couple weeks away.  Well less than a week away now.  

And the hubster is leaving us for sunny Florida for a trip this week.  I'm just hoping it doesn't snow anymore because I'm so not handy around the house, especially with things like gas powered snow blowers.   Thanks for deserting us hon - Enjoy your dumb sun!  

So to make us feel better I made some cookies.  Shaped like strawberries.  And dipped in chocolate.  Like chocolate covered strawberries.  My blogging friend Sue from Munchkin Munchies has made 3D sugar cookies before like these little apples and these strawberries! So adorable.  I knew I wanted to try making them so decided on doing some strawberries.

I also have a little confession.  I am not a huge fan of chocolate covered strawberries.  I mean I love strawberries on their own, and chocolate on it's own, just not so much put together.  In general I don't really like chocolate with my fruit.  I know some people LOVE it.  There are businesses dedicated to adding chocolate to fruit and fruit to chocolate, which is cool - its just not my favorite.  

But I do like the look of chocolate covered strawberries, and these happen to be really easy to make.  Start with a store bought sugar cookie mix (you could use homemade too of course).  Mix as directed plus 1 tablespoon more flour.  Tint red.  You could even add strawberry flavor/extract if you wanted.  I didn't because I just wanted the look, not taste of strawberries here.  Then shape the dough in tablespoonfuls like strawberries.

Add sesame seeds to look like strawberry seeds.  And the most important part FREEZE them for at least a few hours.  Overnight would probably be great if you have the time.  Then bake the cookies directly from the freezer at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.  They will flatten too much if you bake for longer or don't freeze them well.  

You can see they still flattened a little once baked 

Once cooled, dip in good dark chocolate.  And add stem/leaves with some melted candy wafers.  I used dark green mixed with a little of the chocolate.  Pipe leaves and stems onto parchment and once hardened add to the cookies with more melted candy wafers.

And you get some pretend chocolate covered strawberries.  For anyone that doesn't like chocolate and fruit (like me!).  Just in time for Valentines Day!

Wishing you all a great week and a special Valentines Day for you and your special ones! 

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