Here’s my very own House of Creativity, all decked out for Valentine’s Day! Wouldn’t it be great if I could make smoke rings in the shape of white hearts come from the chimney? (Someone should invent a Valentine heart chimney insert!). Right now, snow is pouring down outside my window, big heavy flakes, a little bit heart-shaped, filling the sky . . . Of course, there is perfect music for this . . .
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
See my windows full of hearts? Our house is at the end of a long street; people come to a stop sign here and face my house, just like this. Because of all the one-way streets, pretty soon everyone has to pass this stop sign in order to get where they’re going on this island. ♥ I feel a certain responsibility to provide a some entertainment for people when they get here; it’s perfect for the short attention span! So I decorated my windows with leftover spray snow from Christmas. I made heart templates, little and big, from a piece of clear acetate. I’ve also made templates from cardboard, but they get a little soggy after about the twentieth heart! You could probably do it all faster with heart doilies!
We got a Valentine from a very special person yesterday! She knows who she is! (Thank you 1000 times ♥) Here it is, on our kitchen wall this morning, before the sun came up. This will be here from now on, every Valentine’s Day, forever! ♥ I love it!
What, I asked myself, can I give the girls this snowy Saturday that has it All? It needs to be sweet and Valentiney, it needs to include chocolate (yes, of course it does), it needs to be delicious enough to give away to someone they love, but simple enough so it’s not a lifetime in the kitchen; it needs to look good on a tea table; it needs to make the kitchen smell good; and it would be very handy if the ingredients were in my cupboard NOW. I thought about my chewy, bendy chocolaty Brownies (so here’s the recipe for those, particularly appreciated by kids, in case you are so inclined ♥) but I was looking for the true Valentine coup de grace, I wanted something heart-shaped. And, so, Voila!
ORANGE and CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA BISCUITS!
I love the flavor of orange with chocolate . . . this is an easy-to-make heart-shaped tea biscuit with melty chocolate chips, the perfect little thing to put on a saucer next to a cup of tea.
Here’s how it’s done; a concise recipe will be waiting for you at the bottom of this post, (if you make it through this whole thing 🙂 and actually, that’s not all that’s waiting for you at the bottom!)
Preheat the oven to 400°; put softened unsalted butter and cream cheese into a deep bowl . . .
Add grated orange zest (P.S. I hope you have one of these wonderful zesters! They’re like razor blades you drag lightly across the fruit, easy, painlessly, gathering the zest in the tray; then pop into your recipe! Best new invention since a MacBook Pro!)
Excuse me, time out: Water came to a boil, need to stop and fill my cup!
OK, toss the orangy goodness into the bowl . . .
Use a hand mixer to beat everything together until smooth . . . mmm, cream cheese, butter and orange . . .
Scrape down the batter in the bowl . . .
Add sour cream for richness and tender crumb. BTW, Don’t you think that when the world lost Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald that an overall mistake was made? Don’t you want to say, please, put them back? They left us music divine.
♥ H E A V E N ♥
Stir in two tablespoons of granulated sugar . . .
Gradually beat in a little flour until well blended . . . Oh-oh, check out the top of the refrigerator, we have company . . .
Speaking of Valentine’s! ♥ ♥ ♥
More beating of the flour . . .
Add mini chocolate chips — if you like walnuts, which I do, you can add them here too . . . which I would if we hadn’t run out! Almost had all the ingredients; but trust me, with them or without them, the word is Y U M.
Stir well, my little darlings . . .
Put a heaping tsp. of dough into each cup of an ungreased miniature muffin pan (I took this photo to show you what a heaping tsp. looks like) . . . I used my black-iron heart muffin pan, which I’ve had for a hundred years — I’ve truly gotten my money’s worth out of it! When it’s not in use, it makes my pantry wall look cute by hanging there. I know a secret about this muffin pan, I’ll tell you at the end of this post!
You want to fill the cups completely down into the little points, around the curved tops, so you have good shapes, and level the surface of the dough.
And bake 15-17 minutes until light brown . . .
Now look who showed up . . . Girl Kitty! Speaking of heaven!
We are complete: we have Beauty on the table, Beast is on the fridge, biscuits are in the oven, and all’s right with the world.
♥ ♥ ♥
Have a basket ready, line it with a clean tea towel . . . pop the biscuits right out of the pan into the basket, you don’t have to let them cool first.
Beautiful and delicious, they can bake as you put on the tea water, and be done by the time the tea has steeped . . . the orange is what you smell first, the chocolate melts on your tongue, and you are happy. ♥
I’m only tellin’ it how it is.
I tried them with this delicious new honey I put on everything these days (it came from Door County by the way, Pat, and all you others who know about and love that neck of the woods — you have the market cornered when it comes to butter burgers and honey!) — but I have to say, although it was delicious, it was gilding the lily; these tea biscuits are good just as they are, straight from the oven; you don’t need butter, you don’t need jam or syrup; you need nothing more. If you are looking for additional cuteness, and who isn’t, you can always sift over a little powdered sugar!
Serve one of these tea biscuits next to a cup of breakfast tea; put them in a basket for a tea party; or if you have a fun Valentine’s tin — they are a wonderful surprise, arranged on a lace doily and dropped by a friend’s house.
And, the secret I had about this muffin pan? Are you ready? OK, this pan, along with the heart-shaped Emma Bridgewater tin in the picture above — they are my Valentine gift to one of you. We’re having another drawing, and even though every one of you is totally deserving, one lucky girl is going to walk away with these two memories of Valentine’s Day 2012! Just leave a comment below (click on the tiny gray letters that say “comment” and you’ll be entered! I figure if I do this often enough and long enough, sooner or later, every one of you will win something with love from the heart of the home and me! That’s my plan.
♥ ♥ ♥
SATURDAY MORNING MARTHA’S VINEYARD
XXXXXOOOOO
Have you heard Paul McCartney’s new Valentine song? Go get a tissue, this is wonderful. I hear love for his new wife in this song, but I think I hear a bit of yearning for Linda too. ♥ Sad. 🙁 But Beautiful.
Bye for now girls . . . have a wonderful weekend!
ORANGE & CHOCOLATE CHIP TEA BISCUITS
- 1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 – 3oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
- grated zest of one orange
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 c. self-rising flour
- 1/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)
Preheat oven to 400°. In a deep, medium-sized bowl, using a hand mixer on slow speed, beat together butter, cream cheese, and zest until smooth. Scrape down the bowl, add sour cream and sugar and beat well. Gradually beat in flour until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Put a heaping tsp. of dough in each cup of an ungreased miniature muffin tin (heart-shaped if you have it, but just as delicious if it’s round), filling the space completely and leveling the surface of the dough. Bake 15-17 minutes until light brown. Pop biscuits out into a basket lined with a tea towel … cover to keep warm. Can be reheated. Makes a dozen tea biscuits. Make these for you and someone you love. ♥
Happy heart day, Susan! You encourage me to think creatively, and to stop and enjoy a steaming cup of tea along the way!
Did you say “pop” out the biscuits? Oh my, now what’s the secret to that? I’ve never been able to “pop” anything out of anything I bake. My mom taught me a secret – to line my baking pan with waxed paper. Only problem with that method is 1/2 the time I do that, while my cake is baking, I notice, sitting on the table, no, not kitty, the wax paper I cut out for my pan. The last time that happened, I put the round wax paper on my refrigerator with a magnet, and on it, I wrote in big letters with a black ink marker “This is to remind me that I’ve lost my mind”.
LOL! I promise, with this recipe, the biscuits will just fall out of the pan!
This pan is my “hearts” desire!!! Lol.
Well, another hyacinth for our souls! Your muffins look delicious and I think I can actually “smell them” 🙂 Your home is so pretty, warm and cozy. I love spending this time with you and the kitties.
I have several heart shaped cooking tools. I love to use them all year.
Hi Susan
Of course I would love to be the lucky one to recieve your wonderful Valentine gift. I love your blog and it truly makes my day when I see a new entry from you. Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Susan M
Wow! Love this blog again today. Thanks for the recipe AND the darling giveaway. Such a special V-Day gift to win for some blessed person!!! Love that Valentine gift that someone sent you, too. So sweet! Isn’t it wonderful to be much loved???? xoxo…kp
It is so wonderful there are no words for it, and to love back feels really good too!
Which Pat is it who lives near Door County? Pat Addison? Pat Mojfield? Just curious because so do I!!??
Pat Mojfeld!
Thanks, Susan! Just realized I butchered her name! So sorry, Pat. (We must be neighbors!)
That is the most darling muffin pan I’ve ever seen! If one doesn’t win, where can one buy one?
I have them in my web store — I always try to put my “finds” — things I use all the time, in my web store — I figure if I like them, someone else might too.
Oh I would love that pan! Thanks for the give-a-way.
No snow here, just cold….. Would love to have the heart shaped muffin tin! I always relate to what you write on your blog. Great job!
Forgot to say – how sad about Whitney Houston. She’s singing with the angels now. God Bless her sweet soul…..
Very sad.
My heart is all aflutter thinking about winner the muffin pan and Emma Bridgewater tin. What a treat for Valentines Day that would be!
Susan this is one of the best blogs around. Just love that you give us new recipes. I am going to make them for my hubby but with white chocolate chips,toffee chips and pecans,yummy. We have a friend here that works with honey and he spoils us with at least 4 bottles at a time. Yea I love the pan if we don’t win where can we buy one? I want to get one for my daughter she is having a rough day her 2 babies are very sick(under 3 years old(: ) It would be a special gift she just loves your books I bought for her and you signed in SLO in Oct. She so want to go but now lives in Hollister to far to go by herself with the babies. Have a great weekend<3
Sandy
Yes Sandy, I’m so in love with my pan, use it so much, I had to put it in our web store — you’ll find it there–the same one.
Love your music selections! This one this morning with Ella and Louis is fantastic. I had just finished my cup of tea but your post made me yearn for another so I’m back now after getting my refill. It’s just too bad I don’t already have one of your delicious biscuits waiting for me. 🙁
We have had snow about every other day here in my part of Colorado and should have more tomorrow, so I believe I’ll make the tea biscuits for our morning tea while we watch the snow fall. What better way to start a Sunday.
Actually, there would be a better way and that would be if I had your cute iron pan to make my biscuits in. 🙂 Either way though it will be a good morning.
Happy Sunday to you Susan and all the girlfriends out there!
Oh Susan, these biscuits sound heavenly! Yummy!! Winning the heart pan would be wonderful, but really spending time with you here on your blog is such a lovely gift for me already, thank you.
THANKS FOR YOUR BLOG TODAY. LOVE THOSE KITTYS. GONNA TRY TO MAKE THE BISCUITS. LOOKS DELICIOUS. TRYING TO FIND MY VALENTINE DECORATIONS.
My husband proposed to me on Valentine’s Day, 28 years ago, so it has always been one of my favorite days! Love all things with hearts! Tomorrow will start the beginning of my crazy work week for the holiday, so I will take this time to say Happy Valentine’s Day to you and all the girlfriends out there <3 ! I also love chocolate and orange, can't wait to make those tomorrow morning before work for my family, and will probably be dipping lots of oranges in chocolate at work, as well. Loved the music (as always) – very excited about Sir Paul's new cd -always been my favorite. I agree with you on the song, so sad and pretty at the same time! Just a wonderful new post all around – always makes my day! Head rubs from my Sophie to Jack and Girl Kitty, and as always, my heartfelt thanks for all you do and share with us – you are so generous! Lots of love to go around on this holiday!
Susan, you are so inspiring, you remind us to find joy in everything we do. I am sitting here with my tea in a snowman cup and I am thinking I will have to brave the cold tomorrow so I can get the ingredients for these delicious biscuits! Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!
Oh Boy would I love to have your heart shape pan, how fun to bake in it and get to say “oh, this cute pan? It was a gift from my girlfriend Susan!” Hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentines Day Susan and Joe, and kitty family!!!
From my Home to Yours!
Judy and Gary! kitty and 3 dogs!
MMM the biscuits looked so tasty. I am always looking for a good biscuit recipe and I think I am going to have to try these. And Girl Kitty looked so pretty sitting there.
Happy Valentines Day! Thank you for your wonderful blog. I enjoy the music, recipes, pictures and your updates.
I can’t Wait to try this Tea Biscuit Recipe! it Sounds so good right now.. it is very very cold tonight a good hot cup of tea and these biscuits sound great! Bringing out my valentines day decor tomorrow :)! Stay Warm and Have a Happy Valentines Day!
I think I may try the biscuits with some cranberries-dried or fresh. I love orange and cranberries together! The heart pan is …well… just LOVEly. 🙂
I agree, Kristy! Cranberry and orange go together like pb and jelly…..I think I’ll try that variation, too! Perfect for Christmas morning tea!
For the way my day has been going so far with a hubby who went into hospital this afternoon, well I could use a pick me up for sure. Home baked biscuits for him when he comes home would be the bestes.
Laurel
Hope all is well Laurel!
*bestest
Thanks Susan, I hope so too.
I love heart shapes. Own a lot of heart shaped things but nothing as cute as the pan.
Love these biscuits and love the pictures of the kitties. You always entertain me!
Martha Stewart zests her oranges using the Microplane just as you illustrated, Susan! I’m sure those beautiful Tea Cakes will taste delicious no matter how the zest is grated. I can’t wait to bake a batch myself. You have inspired me to have a “Girlfriends Tea Party” on Valentine’s Day. I’m busy baking and decorating for the party. I bought each one of my three guests your book
Beauty and the Beast and biscuits, what a purrfect kitchen!
I’m in love with Jack, he’s such a beautiful boy! Those scones look wonderful! I’ll have to modify the recipie because I can’t have gluten, but I’m going to try them. The pictures of your house all decorated for each season inspire me to try new ideas in my house!
I absolutely love the thought of making those yummy tea biscuits in a regular muffin shape but, I just know that it will be even better if I could make them in “my” heart-shaped muffin tin. Thanks for all the Valentines you send in your blog all the time– the video of “your boy” Jack and the shoe is my currrent favorite!
Martha Stewart zests her oranges using the Microplane just as you illustrated, Susan! I’m sure those beautiful Tea Cakes will taste delicious no matter how the zest is grated. I can’t wait to bake a batch myself. You have inspired me to have a “Girlfriends Tea Party” on Valentine’s Day. I’m busy baking and decorating for the party. I bought each one of my three guests your book
It’s going to be a wonderful day!
Oh my gosh…that Jack is the CUTEST EVER! Thanks for the recipe…sounds perfect for tomorrow for breakfast. Thanks Sue!
What a super recipe! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂 Can’t wait to make them soon!
I can smell those wonderful biscuits all the way over here on the West Coast. YUM is right. Orange and Chocolate is such a wonderful combination. How I’d love the heart pan and tin. Thanks for another great drawing!
The end of a long day and with my cup of tea, I get to enjoy your blog filled with Love! How lucky to see the fun of your day with the kitties, music and the next recipe to be added to my favorites box! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!
Chocolate and orange are an unbeatable combo–and pure sweetness in your lovely heart pan! Once upon a time my grandfather and I always had a shared birthday celebration–we had our special days 5 days apart–and my grandmother always baked our chocolate cake in her special heart pan. That was the only time her heart pans were allowed to be used all year! I would certainly love to make your scones (along with other delicious treats) for my two sweethearts, and you can be sure I would digress from my grandma’s once a year tradition, because I love to bake! Thanks for the recipe!
I enjoy your blog so much. Your bright happy love of life is very inspirational. Thank you for sharing your joy with us . I would love a heart shaped pan!
That is the cutest muffin pan! I’d love to have it hanging on my kitchen wall when it’s not in the oven. Happy to have stumbled onto your website. Look forward to trying some of your recipes!
Love the photo of your home with the decorated windows. A sweet gift to the townspeople. And I use a microplane just as you do and I like that technique. Thought the heart shaped scones were adorable and wondered where I could find a pan. Then you offer a giveaway. Fantastic. Hope it comes to make heart shaped scones at my house. I’m thinking cranberry orange would be nice.
That’s what’s so nice about that recipe, I think Cranberry orange would be great too!
Loved the heart decorations and the muffin tin. My daughter loved the video of Jack. The music is great too. The muffins look sooooooooo yummy. We’re wondering if it will be winter in Cali. It was 72 degrees. So jeolousn you’re getting all the snow. My daughter Emma said Jack looks like a neat kitten and that her dog Roxy ( white golden retriever) is mischeivous too and almost ate her Papa’s fish oil pills but she spit it out. Pets- our lives would be so boring without them. Have a lovely Sunday sleeping in, drinking tea, and watching old I love Lucy shows. I just love the blog. It always makes me smile.
I LOVE your blog, and BEAUTY and THE BEAST. LOL. Fingers crossed….pick me!!!
Those look lovely! Valentine’s Day is my favourite holiday – how nice to have a day to tell people you care for them. As for your comment about the loss of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – as I write this, the world is learning of the loss of another great voice – Whitney Houston. What a loss.
It’s morning here now, the same thing is on TV as it was when I went to bed, tributes to Whitney Houston. I WISH she could see it!!! They should do tributes to the people who’ve inspired us while they are still alive.
What a sweet, sweet offer! Count me in the lot of want-to-be winners…but the real sweet treat is reading your blog! ♥
What a yummy recipe! Thank you! Can’t wait to try it out on my girlfriends! You are too sweet! I got my BIG box of purchases from your California store a few weeks ago and will be giving out valentine heart shaped ice cube trays to my girlfriends this Tuesday. FUN! Thank you for you blog and your endearing videos which are so full of love and happiness. You brighten my day, and my sister’s day too. (My husband just came and gave me a kiss on the cheek and asked, “What is Susan Branch up to today?” He knows I am hooked and have to check the blog every couple of days.)
I would love to decorate my pantry wall with and bake with the heart shaped pan, and fill the adorable EB tin with yummy scones. 🙂 Thank you for the opportunity to win such lovely gift.
Happy Valentines Day to you all: Susan and Joe, Girl and Jack! I’ll bet that Girl secretly LOVES Jack and is soooo glad he is around to “spice up” her life. She just won’t admit it. 🙂
What a treat to get to see Girl Kitty as well as Jack! Thanks for the wonderful recipe–I don’t care for store bought muffins but these look very good–might have to try them! Hope you and your sweet husband have a wonderful Valentines Day. RIP Ella and Louis………irreplacable. Did you hear that Whitney Houston died today? So sad-so young.
I heard last night, so sad.
Another winning recipe! I baked these this afternoon and the family loves them. 🙂 ours were not heart-shaped, but they were yummy just the same. You seem to know just what my family likes…all the recipes of yours I have tried have been well-received. Keep ’em coming! 🙂 By the way, you also have impeccable timing…it was a dreary, rainy day here in So. Cal., so warm biscuits were definitely in order. Thank you!!
I love your snow pictures! I’m a Californian now-a-days but still an upstate New Yorker to the core and I miss the snow. We’re missing a lot of precipitation in these parts of Northern CA, so if you get tired of the snow, send us some, please.
This year we can barely get a handful — you probably need to take a run up to Yosemite, or Tahoe or Sequoia for the day!!
orange & chocolate—makes the mouth water just thinking about it! can’t wait to make your biscuits. & would love to use your pan!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! I would love to be making my muffins in your muffin pan!!!
Happy Heart Day Sue <3 Thanks for the recipe!! Love your blog!!
Your heart shaped cast iron muffin tin is inspiring me to get ready for Valentine’s Day. Thank you for another wonderful post. – Lorraine
That Jack is a hoot, and so cute!! He is going to have a blast outside, once he is old enough to scoot out there. And being a boy kitty, he won’t want to come back in with all the exploring he has to do! =) Girl Kitty looked so happy to get her turn in a video for all of us to see. I am so glad your cats add so much love and humor to your lives!! xo And I LOVE that Valentine made just for you and Joe! It is a special treasure to save for sure!! =)
Thank you for such an inspirational posting on this busy Saturday in California!~ I always love reading your BLOG Sue, and I have to try that new recipe soon!!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe!! xoxo
Thanks Bonnie! I can’t wait to take him out, he’s so excited every time we open the door! I want to show him the world!
Love your snowy heart photos. I am hoping we get some of your snow. We had just a few flurries last nite, but they are saying we might get up to 3″ Mon. I hope & I am hoping for a Snow Day. I really like scones, one of my favorites is White Chocolate/Cranberry. Would love to win the tin & muffin pan, would enjoy them both. Thanks for having the giveaway. Your post are a bright spot in my day.
How darling and how sweet of you to give away a cherished pan!
Thanks a bunch!
Saw your comment on missing the wonderful music of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald just now … so sad to hear of the loss Whitney Houston today. Love to listen to her music, too.
Terrible loss! But I feel like we lost her such a long time ago. 🙁
I love the picture of your snowy white love hearts on your windows for the drivers that happen to stop at the intersection! Mmmm, the chocolatey orange tea muffins look delicious too! Happy Day~
Love the kitty on the fridge…
My heart is aflutter……I am so in love with your kitties, Beauty and The Beast! (Cute, and perfect, aka names!) Orange and chocolate, love for the tummy and talk about lovin’ from the oven with that heart shaped muffin pan! I love it all…..BIG! Happy Valentine’s Day to The House of Creativity and to all of it’s lovely, lovable inhabitants!
What a yummy sounding recipe! Thanks for the giveaway; hoping I will be the lucky winner! I so enjoy your sweet blog.
Susan;
Loving all that “heart-y”<3 goodness! <3 The hearts on the windows are darling & the heart shaped scones are making me rethink my "Does chocolate really go with orange?!" attitude, because now my mouth is watering & my tummy's rumbling! Sounds perfect to go with tea. And the hearts on the windows are the perfect public Valentine!I would drive by the long way if needed just to see them. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!!
I will definitely try this recipe….it sounds fabulous and I love the combination of orange and chocolate. The pan, however, makes all the difference. It just cute-i-fies it all up!!!
King Arthur Flour has an essence that contains vanilla and orange that I’m going to add to this recipe—it’s good in almost everything. It’s so yummy!!
OK….I sure wish a certain someone in our family was NOT allergic to cats; Jack and Girl Kitty REALLY make me want another kitty….. so enjoy them for me; they are precious. I can see how you become easily distracted by their cuteness!!!
xo
Joann
Wouldn’t I love to make these tea biscuits in that darling iron muffin pan! You are so thoughtful. Love spending time with you on your blog. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I was just going to ignore Valentines Day this year, but between Louis and Ella, the heart cast-iron pan, the Emma heart-shaped tin , the darling heart biscuits, your house looking all Valentiney, and Paul McCartney singing his Valentine song, I’m going to give it a shot! Thanks!
Why not, what’s to lose? 🙂
Jack’s mustache always makes me smile! Thanks for the recipe!
Got a stomach bug today so I’ve been resting all day and Pinteresting my little heart out. Pinned lots of valentine hearts and would so love to win a heart shaped pan to make those delicious looking tea biscuits. Thanks Susan. Btw, like Paul’s new Valentine song too. He’s always been my favorite Beatle. Why couldn’t he have married me? He he.
I think there was such a long line! The poor boy, so many girls, so little time!
The tea biscuits look divine! I can almost taste them from here! I love lemon and orange zest. Thank you for the recipe. I will have to make those soon…after I find a heart shaped pan. You have snow and it is a sunny 70 degrees in California. Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours…
I love the heart shaped muffin pan, Girl Kitty, whom doesn’t appear to have fallen for that mustached man yet (I’m smitten), and the homey squeak in your screen door (takes me back to the late 50’s…Grandma and Grandpa’s little house in San Juan Bautista. Sigh.) Happy Valentine’s Day!
I love your blog, it always sets me in the right frame of mind! I can’t wait for your new fabric, I’m so inspired!! Thanks
This recipe’s perfect for my girl and me. I’m going to try it with my heart-shaped cookie cutter, as I don’t have a cool pan like you–yet! 🙂
No way! You are such a generous person. I hope that your generosity makes YOU as happy as it makes those of us who read and enjoy your blog. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself in your words.
I opened up your blog and enjoyed another wonderful gift from you. Your house, the recipe and the music of Paul McCartney. All of it was delightful. My small farm is near Mt. Rainier, about an hour from Seattle. It is raining here. Shock! But a little warm and at night all the frogs in the pastures are beginning to warm up for their big spring bash! Life is beautiful and your blog makes it even more so. Happy Valentine’s day!
PS, I made your onion pudding recipe. Wonderful!
If I am lucky to win this heart-shaped pan I’ll have to leave it out all the time for everyone to admire. Thanks for the chance to win these sweet things:)
OMGoodness! A chance to win your heart pan! You’re the best! ♥ I must try your tea biscuit recipe. I just finished drying the last teacup after my Valentine tea party this afternoon for my girlfriends. I baked and decorated myself into a tizzy and followed your “does it look good, smell good, sound good” etc. tip. It makes all the difference! I had my friends each bring a little framed picture of a loved one to help decorate the tea table, so we had old photos of grandmas, aunts, nephews and dads all around the table which made it even more special. When I find that I can look a scone in the face again, I will promptly make your tea biscuits. Thank you for the inspiration and Happy Valentine’s Day!! ♥ ♥ ♥
Loved that . . . what a nice party! So full of detail, full of love! Thanks for telling us about it!!
Love the biscuts! My sweetheart is allergic to chocolate so I think I’ll substitue white chocolate chips, those and a tall vanilla late for valentines breakfast…now that says LOVE! Thank you Susan for the wonderfull words, great food and beautiful art!
Thank you for the yummy recipe! I don’t have a heart shaped pan to bake them in, but I’m thinking I can shape them into a round and cut into wedges like I do with other scones. MMMMMmmmmm. Teaparty!
Yummy! The orange & chocolate chip tea biscuits look delicious and so charming in the shape of hearts. Thank you for sharing your recipe; I’m excited to try it (and I can already imagine their heavenly aroma!)
I love reading your blogs … you bring sunshine to my day. Oh, I too wouldn’t mind some of your snow being sent my way! Give Jack and Girl Kitty a hug from me and Stüka! I Love the ‘Beauty & Beast’ line :o)
Oh Susan, I would so love to win you muffin pan and tin to make these delicious
looking tea biscuits. I too am a fan of orange and chocolate, a great pairing!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Joe!
I love hearing from you and your corner of the world. Why is it some people only give Love away on Feb. 14th? Everytime you give love away, more is put in its place.
My mother had (now I have) heart shaped cake pans. This was the traditional shape of everyone’s birthday cake. It always said love no matter what flavor of cake.
Thanks for another delicious sounding recipe. I’ll give it a try.
Oh my gosh, I can almost smell the deliciousness from here! Love the heart-shaped pan. Especially love your feline family!
What an awesome pan would love to win this and the tin.
I gave your tea muffin recipe a try last night Sue! They turned out wonderful. What a nice biscuit to serve to the girls for tea. The recipe whipped up quick and I did have everything in either the fridge or closet. I didn’t have the heart shaped muffin tins so I used my mini tin and it worked out great. Although I must admit, I ate three of them with my cup of tea. I strongly suggest the “girlfriends” give this recipe a try. FOSB 4~Ever! ~ Doreen ~
Thanks Doreen!
The biscuits look wonderful – thanks for sharing!
Oh, what a beautiful post, and just what I needed to read this morning! Those tea biscuits look gorgeous. This year I made your coffee cake recipe from the Christmas book and it is still talked about as being the best cake we’ve had for years!
Ohhhh, thank you!!
Ooh, your tea muffins look so good and the way you described them I could almost taste them! Yum! Wishing you, your husband and your kitties a Happy Valentine’s Day!
Absolutelt perfect! I can almost taste those tea biscuits. Willard, your website, your blog – fill my days with such beauty, great ideas, and, most of all, fun.
No better flavor combo for me than chocolate (especially DARK chocolate) + zesty Orange = Swoon worthy deliciousness. Going to mix up a batch today, put on the tea, get wrapped in a flannel blanket plus two cats for leg warmers and crochet while we watch the snow showers expected today. Jack is looking like a big boy adolescent now as opposed to being a little fluff ball of kitten-ness. Soon he will be a man cat, oh they do grow up so fast. Your house looks so pretty and full of love too! Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration…
Oh please, pick me, pick me! Hahahahha 🙂 I was hoping the surprise was that you were selling heart shaped muffin tins like this on your website. So if I don’t win, then please consider doing so ~ they would be a big seller!
We do! If you click on the words on the blog, it’s a link — the heart pans will come up!
Thanks for the love post!
The biscuits are too cute!
xo
Thanks for another recipe, Susan! I love the heart shaped pan. Reminds me of when my mom used to bake us a heart shaped cake every Valentine’s Day. It was a double layer white cake with strawberries as the filling and whipped cream (the real stuff) as icing. I wonder whatever happened to that pan. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Your recipe for the tea biscuits looks wonderful. I have to say that you inspire me. You just seem to enjoy life so much. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and thanks for the chance to win the muffin pan.
If I wasn’t in the mood for Valentine’s already, (I’ve had the house decorated for a month now!) this would have done it. Someday, I hope to have that Valentine teapot to top everything off. Those scones will be perfect for breakfast Sunday morning before church. Thanks Susan. Happy Valentines Day! ♥
Oh…I know a little girl who would go wild for heart shaped anything. Thank you for the chance to make her day.
Nicole
Love the recipe! Can’t wait to make them myself. Although, I don’t have a cat to supervise me from the top of the fridge, so I don’t know if they will come out as well. 🙂
When I see you have a new post up a smile hit’s my face! Just put’s me in a good mood.
Hello Susan,
Thanks for a glimpse of your snowy day! We were supposed to get a few inches here in CT but when we woke up yesterday, were SO disappointed to see only a few flakes on the ground. So thanks for the “snow” and the kitties, I always love to see what shenanigans Jack is up to! I made your lemon-pepper tea biscuits from Where Women Cook Celebrate and they were delicious, so looking forward to trying the orange chocolate combo, perfect with a cup of tea on a cold Sunday.
Love your Valentine’s decorations, you have inspired me to get my own decorations up, after all, it’s only two days away! Thanks for your wonderful blog, always look forward to your next posting. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I know! Sneaking up on us fast!
Thank-you for sharing the recipe…I have been looking for something new to make for the family for Valentine’s Day! This will be perfect. Love the kitty on the fridge….I have one that sits high on top like the ruler of the kitchen…too cute.
I love how you feel that you need to entertain all those people stopping at your STOP sign – I bet there are many that come your way, from time to time, just to see what you are offering, and going away with a smile.
I frequently drive past a house (has to be at night) in my area that displays colored lights. Each month the display changes…February – red and hearts, March – green and shamrocks…you get the picture. I love it!
Thanks to those who add a bit of cheer to all who pass your home!
I’m sort of in show business is what I think :-)! Real little, like almost a radio show!
The heart biscuits look so cute and sound yummy! Might have to make some for my honey..smile..Have a wonderful Sunday! Warm Blessings!~Amy
These biscuits look divine! Chocolate and orange – who can resist?! Headed to the market when they open at 8 to purchase sour cream so we can have these for breakfast. Yum!
They’re going to love you!