by Miss Shannon

When you think of Valentines, what comes to mind? For me, the first thing that I think of is paper hearts or store bought cards. While very sweet when coming from a loved one, giving them yourself can often get monotonous: every year giving the same thing; however, it does not have to be that way! There are so many creative ways to give Valentines; ones that are not only made from card paper, but fabric, clay, paper mache, or even food. Here is an idea for creative and cute Valentines to give to your family and friends this Valentine’s Day.

Be Mine,

Edible Valentines

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

5 cups flour

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup milk

Step 1: Combine salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour; set aside.

Step 2: Cream together shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs, vanilla and nutmeg. Add milk alternately with dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Step 3: Using a 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll our on floured surface and cut with heart shaped cookie cutters. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven.

Step 4: When cooled, frost with Vanilla Frosting. Frost the cookies with a layer of pink or red frosting, and then pipe on a message with  white icing.  You could do messages like “I love you” or “Be Mine”; you could even do personalized ones by piping on names.

To make a quick piping bag:

~Fill a resealable plastic bag with icing

~Snip a tiny  piece off the corner of the bag with some scissors

Vanilla Frosting:

1/3 cup shortening

1 tablespoon margarine

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

3 tablespoons cream or milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat all ingredients together. Can be divided to make several different colors with food coloring.

Miss Shannon is a home school junior who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and is striving to follow Him more and more. She blogs at Below the Plateau.

by Miss Shannon

I can’t help it; whenever I have scones and tea for breakfast, I always have the desire to curl up in a chair with a warm blanket and read Pride and Prejudice. These flaky cranberry scones along with the sweet citrus flavor of the black tea are sure to become a new breakfast favorite for you too!

Cranberry Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar, plus sugar for sprinkling

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 10 pieces

3/4 cup dried cranberries

2 large eggs, well beaten

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and the salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Add butter and work into flour mixture with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries and toss.
3. Make a well in the flour and add eggs and ½ cup of the cream. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough begins to clump together, then knead in the bowl for about 30 seconds. Do not overwork the dough, or else the butter will start to get warm.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and halve. For each half into a ball and flatten to form a circle about ¾ inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Cut each circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges, or use a cookie cutter to cut into desired shape.
5. Place wedges about 1 inch apart on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Baking in the center of the over for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on the top. (You do not want them to be brown on the bottom.)

Serve warm with jam.

Orange Tea:

Ingredients:

4 cups of water

3 tea bags, Black Tea

the zest from half an orange

the juice from the orange

Sugar to taste

1. Put the water, tea bags and orange zest in a tea pot, and place over medium-high heat. Simmer for 1 minute, and then turn the heat down to low. Allow to steep for 3 minutes.
2. Pour the tea into a mug, straining the tea as you pour. Squeeze some of the juice from the orange into the tea, and sweeten with sugar to taste.

Miss Shannon is a home school junior who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and is striving to follow Him more and more. She blogs at Below the Plateau.

Lady Jess is a teen lady who is homeschooled along with her siblings. She assists her mother in teaching her younger siblings, sings in a local choir, and is in training to be a homeschooling parent herself one day.