Jam Heart Cookies for Valentine’s Day 💖 (Reblog) ~ Fun Recipe for Cooking with Kids

Every once in a while, I stumble across a recipe that’s so charming it deserves a little spotlight of its own. These jam heart cookies are exactly that — sweet, simple, and perfect for Valentine’s Day baking.

• Image created using free AI art tool

This recipe comes from Haley at If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen, a blog I discovered accidentally, while browsing for fun foodie recipes.  It looks like you can find a lot of well-tested baking recipes on this site. Haley's jam heart cookies are a buttery shortbread-style cookie, shaped into hearts and filled with bright raspberry jam. They’re festive without being fussy, and the ingredient list is refreshingly simple.

Newbie cooks or bakers will especially appreciate how clearly this recipe is explained. Haley walks through shaping the dough, filling the cookies cleanly, and baking them so they hold their shape and stay tender. These are the kind of homemade cookies that look impressive on a plate but are totally doable for home bakers.

A little cookie history.  DID YOU KNOW?

Jam-filled cookies like these are cousins of traditional thumbprint cookies, which have roots in Scandinavian baking (you might know them as hallongrotta, or “raspberry caves”). Over time, bakers have adapted the shape and flavors, and turned them into hearts, which feels like a natural evolution for Valentine’s Day.

If you’re looking for a thoughtful homemade treat, a baking project to share with kids, or just an excuse to work jam into dessert (always a good idea), bookmark this.

💖Find full recipe, tips, and step-by-step instructions here: Jam Heart Cookies from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen

Happy baking — and happy Valentine’s season?💖

A cute, hands‑on Sweet DIY Valentine’s Day Treat!
❤️ https://t.co/qxk2uYejFE
Fun #DIY Cookie Decorating Kit:
🍪 Two heart‑shaped cookies
🎨 Red & white frosting tubes
✨ Heart sprinkles💘 pic.twitter.com/ivqBJ5mnQz

— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) January 31, 2026

My Favorite Two (2) Fruit Teas: Cranberry and Black Cherry

According to available information, tea was discovered accidentally. It seems that some guy in China was preparing a meal and had a pot of water boiling. It was a windy day, and leaves were blown into the pot of hot water. To the cook’s surprise, the water turned into an amazing drink. That’s how brewing tea began.

The versions of this story or legend vary, but it sounds believable to me. Weren’t many of the wonderful things we enjoy in life discovered accidentally?  Everybody knows tea is delicious and has great medicinal value. I want to talk about two of my favorite fruit-flavored teas: cranberry and black cherry.

AI_Generated Art Created With DreamUp, a free tool

Why cranberry tea?

A nurse once told me cranberry juice would restore the vitamins and minerals I had lost during childbirth. So I thought to myself: ‘If cranberry juice is good, cranberry tea is probably good too.’ Cranberry tea has lots of minerals and Vitamins C, K, and E. There are numerous health benefits, but what I mainly like about it is that it is good for weight loss. It helps burn fat and flushes toxins out of your body. It is considered a detox tea.

Why black cherry tea?

Black cherry juice and black cherry tea are in high demand. I discovered the health benefits accidentally. My late husband had a problem with his big toe. Turns out that it was gout, and eating black cherries helped. Cherry juice is kind of expensive. But the tea is reasonably priced. Cherry tea helps reduce inflammation, eases muscle pain, and decreases pain from gout, arthritis, and headaches. Maybe this is why a lot of medicine comes in cherry flavor. You think? Black cherry tea is also used for detoxification.

Thanks for reading.

Winter Fun! (or Summer) Let's Have a Party! Who Wants Soup?

It's party time!  Bring a board game and your favorite soup!

A soup party?  Probably never thought of it. Right? But it's a great idea!

January may be National Soup Month, but people start celebrating as soon as the autumn season arrives.  A soup party is great fun!  Especially if you live in places where you get to experience the changes of the seasons. That means you don't live in Florida, Texas, or Hawaii, or other places with a tropical climate. The climate in these places really doesn't get you in the mood to savor a hearty bowl of steaming hot soup. 

But if you're in Maryland or Virginia and the winter season comes, there's that chilly nip in the air that makes you feel frisky. There's also a light dusting of snow on the ground outside, and inside is nice and warm and cozy because you decided it's cold enough to get a fire started in the fireplace. The only thing you need to complete this idyllic scene is the aroma of a tasty pot of soup coming from the kitchen. My late spouse says that if you grew up in a tropical environment, snow and cold weather can cause depression. There is some truth to that, but it does not have to be like that. The winter season seems to make a lot of people cheerful, and they get even happier when their insatiable craving for soup is satisfied.

 
So! Do you want to get together on the weekend with a group of friends and play board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Chess, or A Game of Thrones for hours and hours? Invite them to a soup party! 

You prepare your favorite soup. Tell your friends to bring theirs, as if it's a potluck celebration. Make sure there's lots of warm bread or rolls, plenty of salad, and a never-ending supply of tea or lemonade.

Soup party not your idea of a good time? OK. Giving credit where credit is due, it wasn't my original idea either. Got it from a cookbook called Entertaining With Ease. For me, it is fun! Also, this would be great for me because domestic diva/goddess and perfect party hostess, I am not! This book is a Better Homes and Gardens® publication, and the copyright is 1984. For decades, it has been my Go-To guide for recipes, cooking tips, and entertaining.   For Your Information:  My fave soup recipe must include seasoned chunky chicken thigh pieces, sliced links of a spicy Italian turkey sausage, diced potatoes AND beans (red, black, no matter) OR peas (black-eyed peas, purple hull peas, crowder peas), and a green leafy vegetable; preferably kale, but mixed greens, spinach, or bok choy are all acceptable substitutes (the greener the leaf, the better). The rolls and salad are optional. There's a recipe in the cookbook for a hot and hearty sausage soup, which I varied slightly and made my own.


By the way, you can also use this idea for summer fun.  Do you like cold soups like vichyssoise and gazpacho?

Image credit:  glitter-graphics.com

Do you have a favorite soup recipe?

KOVOT Set of 4 Speckled Ceramic Soup Bowls With Spoons - 22-Oz Each
 

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Habee's 6 Unique and Delicious BBQ Sauce Recipes

Per HubPages Contributor Holle Abee (habee), once you know her Basic Barbecue Sauce Recipe, you can make scores of different versions. So she has provided the basic recipe and 5 variations.  You should see her variations!  WHOA!  White BBQ Sauce???

There's also: 

• Orange-Tangerine BBQ Sauce

• Teriyaki-Peach BBQ Sauce Recipe

• Cherry - Chipotle BBQ Sauce

• Mesquite BBQ Sauce

And??  Oh yeah!  The basic recipe for plain old barbecue sauce! 

GO TO:  6 Unique BBQ Sauce Recipes - Delicious!

Before you go, allow me to share some fun food history about barbecue sauce.

According to the "Frugal Gourmet" (an old cooking TV show I used to watch), the Chinese get full credit for inventing barbecue.  The chef said he wasn't surprised because the Chinese invented just about the best way to cook everything!  LOL.  But!  Did they invent barbecue sauce?

Barbecue sauce has deep roots in the early practices of cooking and seasoning meat that long predate the modern bottled condiments familiar today. The term barbecue itself comes from barbacoa, a Caribbean word describing a method of slow‐cooking meat over a wooden framework—a technique Indigenous peoples used before European contact. Early sauces likely began as simple acidic bastes combining lime or citrus juices and spices to flavor and tenderize meat, with similar approaches found in Africa and the Caribbean, reflecting a blending of culinary traditions. (TastingTable)

In America, the first recorded mentions of sauces for barbecued meat appear in 17th- and 18th-century English and French writings. For example, Nouveaux Voyages aux Isles d’Amerique (1693) describes a barbecued hog basted with melted butter, cayenne, and herbs. Early Southern cooks also used vinegar-, salt-, and pepper-based sauces, especially in the Carolinas. (The Association for Dressings & Sauces)

Regional variations developed over time: South Carolina’s mustard barbecue sauce grew out of German settler traditions mixing mustard with vinegar and spices, while Kansas City-style sauces became thick, sweet, tomato-based blends. These styles eventually influenced the nationwide flavor profile of barbecue sauce. (Flavor 365)

Commercial production of barbecue sauce began in the early 20th century. The Georgia Barbecue Sauce Company advertised bottled sauce as early as 1909, and by the mid-20th century, major food companies like Heinz were selling barbecue sauce nationally. The inclusion of sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce in the 1920s and beyond helped shape the sweeter, more complex sauces that dominate today’s market. (Smokin'Ts)

***
Sources:

“History of BBQ Sauce.” Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, 28 Sept. 2022, dickeys.com/press/blog/history‐of‐bbq‐sauce. (Dickey'sBarbecue Pit)

“Origins of BBQ Sauce.” Smokin’ Ts, Smokints.com, accessed 12 Jan. 2026. (Smokin'Ts)

“What Is Barbecue Sauce?” The Association for Dressings & Sauces, dressings-sauces.org/what-is-barbecue-sauce, accessed 12 Jan. 2026. (The Association for Dressings & Sauces)

“Where Did Mustard BBQ Sauce Originate?” Flavor365.com, accessed 12 Jan. 2026. (Flavor365)

Who Invented Barbecue Sauce? Chef’s Resource, chefsresource.com/who-invented-barbecue-sauce, accessed 12 Jan. 2026. (Chef's Resource)

EES shares recipes, cooking tips and all things foodie!

ThermoPro Digital Cooking Thermometer.✨https://t.co/CY35Z3F2E7
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— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) January 19, 2026

Cuisinart Deluxe 20 Piece Grill Tool Set
20 essential stainless steel tools for flipping, slicing, skewering, basting, and cleaning ~ https://t.co/qQ86MFyz6g
Perfect gift for grill lovers — backyard BBQs to campsite feasts #cooking #cookout #giftideas #FathersDay #MothersDay pic.twitter.com/AX5SZEMuyM

— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) January 19, 2026

Spice Spotlight : Capsicum Annuum (Peppers)

My late sister liked bell peppers. Me? I never paid any attention. It was an ingredient in a recipe. Fine! If it wasn’t in the recipe, I never missed it. To me, if I had celery, why did I need a bell pepper? Moved from Florida to Texas, and in this state, particularly in two cities where I lived (El Paso and Austin), the folks love their fajitas, which are made with small pieces of meat (chicken, beef, or pork), and chunks of veggies, mainly onions and bell peppers. Bell peppers in all different colors. I must say they make the dish pretty.

Anyway! I like fajitas. If it weren’t for this dish, I don’t think I would have even realized that different color peppers exist and also have different flavors. For example, the red bell pepper actually tastes sweeter than the green bell pepper. The green pepper, if you put too much in a recipe, can taste kind of bitter. I blame my ignorance on a family tradition. My mom only bought green bell peppers. My sister only bought green bell peppers. So? I only bought green bell peppers. I learned by example. It’s not my fault! I watch a lot of cooking shows, and once heard one of the TV chefs say that a red bell pepper has more vitamin C than an orange. Did you know that? Coming from Florida, I was inclined not to believe that. But even though it’s true, I would still rather have an orange. Wouldn’t you?

I also recently discovered that there was such a thing as a purple bell pepper. There is a website called johnnyseeds.com. There is even a sweet chocolate organic pepper. I’m not sure I want to try it. But if you’re brave enough, go for it!

There seems to be a little confusion over the use of the word capsicum. In my mind, that is. I always thought capsicum was the word used for a hot red pepper. But I was watching an Indian chef on TV and she used the word “capsicum” for the dish she was preparing, however, she was talking about bell pepper. I was confused but an Indian guy on a Q&A site called Quora clarified the difference between the bell pepper and capsicum. It turns out that we are both right!

I am not really a huge fan of bell peppers. But I can live with them. So if a recipe calls for the ingredient, I prefer to use RED.

What about you?
♦ ♦ ♦

Vegetarian Singapore noodles - quick and easy!

Recipe uses bell peppers, bean sprouts, snow peas, tumeric + curry powder. Follow the recipe here >> https://t.co/gv5x5UTdLO#vegetarian #recipe pic.twitter.com/zesbccX17H

— Louisa Clements (@Living_Lou) August 13, 2018

The secret to this #Japanese Style Grilled Bell Peppers #recipe is a dressing that is both sweet and savory - and plenty of katsuobushi!
RECIPE >> https://t.co/GbXmltkUSB pic.twitter.com/uROEb7dapQ

— Pickled Plum Food and Drinks (@misspickledplum) August 8, 2018

● Herb and Spice Spotlight: Capsicum (Red Pepper) https://t.co/zsmV9DtqDM @EverydaySpices #foodanddrink #veggies

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) June 17, 2020

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Grocery Shopping on Amazon ~
The Best Fresh Peppers in Best Sellers.