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Growing up my mother always made sure I had something that made me feel special on Valentines Day. In my mind it was always top notch. Looking back, it was second only to Christmas. My mother laughs when I tell her this. She says they were always a smallish something or other but we were always so grateful to get whatever it was. It is this very comment from my mother that has me thinking. All you really need is small inexpensive ideas that will let you family know that they mean the world to you. Something special and sweet so your children will look back and think about how awesome their parents were to them on the holidays (like mine).
Im working on a bunch ideas for myself and wanted to share what I have so far.
Candy Cane Heart Pops: I don't know about you, but I have TONS of leftover candy cane's from Christmas. Even if you do not, you can still purchase them for a dollar. I found this awesome idea in the Disney Family Fun magazine. It is as simple as shape candy into hearts, bake at 235 for 10 minutes, insert stick and allow to cool. Melted chocolate optional! :-).
Candy Bouquet: OK this is a really lousy picture so allow me to explain. This was a very eye catching little gift on display at the floral department of our local grocery store. I GASPED at the price of $25. Expensive considering you only get 3 pieces of candy in all. So I headed right to the dollar store and purchased the little rounded glass flower bowl, the tissue in Valentine colors, the balloon on a stick and even the foam insert. So for $5 in supplies i can easily make this myself.
Conversation Heart Cookies: Annie's Eats proposed this idea last year. My little sweetheart can not eat the actual candy conversation hearts because of her Wheat/Gluten thing. SO.....I am going to bake her up TONS of these tiny little shortbread cookies and top them with royal icing and sweet expressions. This batch is the "trial run". They were at HIT at the Kindergarten table at lunch.
Marshmallow Heart Bouquet: A pack of Marshmallow hearts, leftover bud vase from a previous occasion, some gum drops and a hand full of bamboo skewers and you have all you need to create something edible and special for your loved ones. Wrap your bamboo skewers in green floral tape, cut the sticks in various heights. Want to make them extra decadent? Dunk them in chocolate as seen here. I originally saw this idea in the Delicious Designs book I purchased some years back. But HERE is a great how to tutorial if you are interested.
Sundae Center Piece: Gotta Sundae cup handy? Between Naps on the Porch is walking you though how to make this wonderful idea. This is another idea I have read about before in my book, "Candy Bouquets by Delicious Designs". In the book they add a few bits of candy on the bottom along with shredded paper around the circular shaped piece of foam in the middle. T pins hold your candy to the foam. I love this idea and would have never thought to make it for Valentines.
Candy Cakes: I found this idea over at Sweetapolita. I have seen this similar idea done by Bakerella with her cake pops previously. How creative are they?!?! I would have never even considered doing it myself until I seen Rosie's post it over at her blog. She is baking a sheet cake and using her cookie cutters. Butter cream frosting will hold it all together. She is also using fondant which i would not attempt just yet but why not try a poured fondant coating? Wrap an old box with nice paper and use those tiny cupcake liners to complete the look.
I will be posting the gluten free cookie recipe later this week. If you are looking for great ideas with regular cookie dough, I highly recommend you visit Loren over at The Baking Sheet. She is my cookie baking hero!
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