Cinnamon-Applesauce Hearts

Republished from 2/21

Years ago, my mom delivered a Valentine's package with a deliciously scented heart ornament dangling from the bow.

It was a cinnamon heart, strung with a satin ribbon - and even after the scent had gone, it hung from a kitchen cabinet handle for many more years delighting me with fond memories.

This old recipe, requiring only two ingredients - ground cinnamon and applesauce - might traditionally be used to make Christmas ornaments, but since my mom pressed it into heart shapes, in my mind, it's best suited to Valentine decor.

You won’t believe the incredible cinnamon smell that fills your home while these are baking - and how lovely it will be for days (weeks) to come when you walk into a room where one of them is on display!

Cinnamon can be expensive if purchased in those tiny containers at the grocery, but if you have a big-box store like Costco, WinCo or Cash & Carry nearby, you can pick it up a large container relatively inexpensively. Increase or decrease the recipe depending on how many hearts you want to make, using a 1:1 ratio.

Ingredients:
(makes about a dozen cookie cutter hearts)

• 1 cup Cinnamon

• 1 cup Applesauce

• Thin ribbon or twine

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly mix the cinnamon and applesauce together in bowl. It should have a thick, paste-like consistency and hold together well - not too dry, not too wet.

2. Place between two pieces of parchment or waxed paper, and roll out to about a 1/4 inch thickness. It will break if too thin, and will take longer to bake if too thick.

3. Take the top layer of paper off and use cookie cutters to cut into shape.

4. Use toothpicks to decorate and a straw to make the hole for hanging.

5. Move hearts onto a cookie sheet.

6. Bake at 200 degrees for about two and a half hours, until they feel dry and hard.

7. Once cooled, thread ribbon or twine through the hole and make a loop.

Dangle from a Valentine’s package, gift a grandparent, teacher, friend, or hang in your home for some Valentine’s love, some winter cheer, and a fantastic cinnamon scent!

And yes, go ahead and use the recipe during other seasons and cut out other shapes - acorns and leaves in the fall, snowmen and snowflakes for your Christmas tree… it’s all fair game!

Heartstrings | Craft Idea

Republished from 1/22

Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? My mother always did when I was growing up, and once I had a home of my own, I continued the tradition.

Back when I was young, my mom would bring out the same red tagboard cutouts of bow toting cupids and hearts of various sizes. They were probably purchased at a Payless Drug Store about 1961 and used year after year right up until the last kid was out of the house (who knows, maybe longer!)

I’m guessing about the year of purchase, because it would have been my first birthday. Had I arrived a day earlier, the name you’d hear on the radio wouldn’t be Delilah… it would be Valerie. I think I dodged a bullet there (or maybe Cupid’s arrow!) Yet even though my birth came on the 15th of February, every birthday celebration was a red and white themed extravaganza.

Perhaps we did Valentine’s up a bit bigger than most families, but if so, I’m glad! That’s probably why I don’t necessarily equate the “holiday” with romantic love. It was a time of family celebration, of dinners that included grandparents bringing all their home-made specialties, and little gifts for everyone around the table.

My sibling and I always make a bit of a fuss over Valentine’s Day, treating our kids to heart-shaped foods, chocolates and conversation hearts, and other little gestures. I hope you do the same for your kids, or friends, yourself!. Romantic love is fantastic, but not as shelf-stable as the love of family and community.

Don’t have any tagboard Valentine’s décor? That’s ok. Do what a friend did here, cut out hearts from any sturdy paper (or in this case, thin cardboard) and string it along for a cute garland!

Materials Needed:

• card stock or card board

• pencil

• scissors

• punch (such as a skewer)

• twine

Directions:

1. Use a templet or draw a heart free-hand on sturdy paper or card stock, then cut out to make a templet.

2. Trace 24 hearts onto card stock of your choice. Use the same color or mix it up and use multiple colors.

3. Cut out all traced hearts

4. Now punch a hole near the “valley” of each heart. A shish-ka-bob skewer worked here. (It needs to be big enough to string the twine through.)

5. Measure out a length of twine about 5 - 6 feet long and cut from roll.

6. Pinch the twine about 6” in from the end, and push a loop through the hole that has been punched in the heart shape. Pull the loop through until it is large enough to reach the bottom of the heart. Now slip the heart through the loop and pull the string taught again.

7. Repeat this process stringing the hearts evenly (about every 6”) over the length of your twine.

8. Admire your handiwork and hang!

Happy Valentine’s Day!