Hazelnut Hearts - Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's day and if you were expecting something red on my blog today, well...sorry to disappoint! Instead, I'll share my recipe of these delicious nutty and chocolate-y heart-shaped muffins! Since I know Sharla loves hearts this blogpost is also my entry for my Etsy team BBA February challenge brought to us by Sharla @BeadedTail . Sharla creates beautiful handmade jewelry for animal lovers (like myself) and 50% of ALL sales proceeds benefiting animal awareness causes!

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Heute ist Valentinstag und einige von Euch haben vielleicht etwas Rotes auf meinem Blog vermutet...diesmal nicht! Anstatt dessen gibt es heute ein nussiges, schokoladiges Rezept für herzförmige Muffins!

How to:

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F). Butter a heart-shaped muffin pan. In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients well. In another medium bowl whisk softened butter, egg and milk until smooth. Add to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Spoon into muffin molds and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. About 15 minutes. Remove pan, cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan onto a rack to cool completely. Chop a bar of dark chocolate in a small pan and melt on low heat. Drizzle over muffins and sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top. Makes 8 medium sized muffins. Enjoy!

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Und so geht's:
Ofen auf 180°C vorheizen. Ein "Herzform" - Muffinblech einfetten (oder Silikonform benutzen). In einer Schüssel trockene Zutaten mischen. In einer zweiten Schüssel die weiche Butter, Ei und Milch cremig rühren und zu den trockenen Zutaten geben. Gut umrühren. Der Teig sollte zähflüssig sein. In die Muffinform geben und ca. 15 Minuten backen - mit einem Holzspieß prüfen, ob die Muffins durch sind (es sollte kein Teig drankleben). 10 Minuten abkühlen lassen. Dann aus der Form lösen und auf einem Gitter vollständig auskühlen lassen. Eine Tafel dunkle Schokolade zerstückeln, in einen kleinen Topf geben und bei sehr niedriger Temperatur schmelzen, über die Muffins träufeln und gehackte Haselnüsse darüber streuen. Macht 8 mittelgroße Muffins. Guten Appetit!

BLOOM 2

Just added this make up bag to my shop listing! You'll love the fabric - large, cream peonies interspersed with tan and red leaves on a suger pink background. The lining is a medium-weight cotton in matching pink. Remember, all my bags are unique in that I don't make the same twice! If I use the same fabric, I alter the shape of the bag. And I go for quality rather than quantity! The bag measures approx. 15 x 14 x 7 cm or 6 x 5.5 x 2.7 inches. It is lightly padded for stability and embellished with a tiny gold heart ♥

Heart'n'Dots

Long time ago I bought this lovely ruffle and I wanted to make use of it on one of my bags. I have to admit, while sewing this pouch it was pretty tricky catching the ruffle in between the layers accurately. The result is quite pretty. I appliquéd a cute heart on the front - the same pink check fabric used on the lining. Unfortunately, we're having a bit of a rainy spell at the moment, so the photo didn't turn out that well, even though I've brightened it with photoshop. I could've done without the shadows...oh well. Still learning to make nice shots.