Valentines treats...some with whole grains and some without...BOTH LOTS OF FUN!!!

The Valentines suckers and tart ideas I got from Family Fun Magazine. Here is the link:

http://familyfun.go.com/valentines-day/valentines-day-recipes/valentine-treats-gallery-838251/

My kids loved making both the tarts AND the suckers. However, the suckers were kind of hard. We didn't have mini candy canes leftover from Christmas, so we had to break big ones and put the pieces together to make REALLY BIG suckers. The kids, of course, loved that they were bigger.

For the tarts, I used my whole wheat pie crust recipe and strawberry jam. We rolled out the pie crust and then cut it with cookie cutters. Then, we spread on the jam and cut another, identical heart out of the pie crust to put on top of the first half. We sealed it with a fork and baked it at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Then, we spread on a little buttercream frosting, which I just made by whipping butter and adding powdered sugar until it tasted good and then a little bit of milk to make it runnier.

Here is the recipe for the pie crust:

Fabulous, Flaky Whole Wheat Pie Crust

1 C + 2 T finely ground and sifted whole wheat flour

1 tsp wheat germ (optional)

1⁄2 C shortening (substitute part or all with Butter Flavored Crisco...it is MUCH BETTER!)

1 T sugar (or to taste)

1 T cold water

1/8 tsp salt (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Sift whole wheat flour twice. Cut shortening, salt, sugar and wheat germ into flour. Add cold water and mix with hand. Put ball of dough between two large pieces of saran wrap and roll in a circle until about 1/8-1⁄4 in. thick. Pat dough into pie pan, and prick with fork every inch of sides and bottom. Bake for 10 minutes.

We've done a few more things that I'll post soon. Nothing major, just cute Valentines treats.