The way to Your Heart.........Writing in Chocolate

How do I know you love me......

.....you indulge me when I hop from one foot to another wearing two different shoes asking 'which one goes better'?

.....you cover me with a blanket when I fall asleep on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon

.....you wait at the finish line of the half marathon in the pouring rain proud, soakng wet holding my kit bag and cheering me on because you know how tired I will be

.....you will drive to the garage in your pyjamas to buy me Love Hearts because I am obsessed even though the man there clearly thinks you are a bit 'Little Britain'!

Last week I found myself looking for a way to say thank you for your unwavering support over a difficult few months and helping me find the answers......a heartfelt thank you that wasn't about spending money but doing something that took a little bit of my time and imagination to show you how I feel.  I took a leaf out of your book - why use 100 words when 5 will do - only I took it a step further and wrote it on a biscuit.....because love often needs very few words to be truly expressed.

Recipe for vanilla biscuits

110g unsalted butter (room temperature)
55g caster sugar
170g plain flour
1/2 vanilla essence


Preheat the over to 180 degrees and cream together the butter and sugar on a low setting on your mixer until a sandy texture is obtaining and the ingredients a thoroughly combined.  Stir in the flour and bring toegether into a soft ball.

Cover and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes and then roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface (making sure your flour the rolling pin as well).  Then using your heart shaped cutters stamp out as many biscuits and then re-roll out any remaining dough to stamp out a few extras!  You can either keep them all the same size or like me use a variety of sizes - just remember to keep an eye on them when cooking as some may need a little less time.

Pop onto a baking sheet and cook in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until just golden brown.  Remove and leave for a few minutes to cool slightly beofre transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Chocolate Writing

Now for the fun bit......decorating the biscuits.  I used a bar of Green & Blacks dark chocolate, break up into chunks and place in a disposable piping bag and roll over the top.  Then place this into a bowl of hot water to let the chocolate melt. 

Once ready to use snip a tiny piece of the end of the bag and then angle to bag down to write, gently flicking up each time you want to stop.  Practise first on a plate if easier and if the chocolate starts to harden at any point just pop it back in the bowl to soften.