Anniversary day treats

Even though Q and I celebrated our anniversary last weekend by going to see Fiddler on the Roof, I still wanted to do something special on our real anniversary day which was yesterday.

This bouquet of roses was given to us by a member in our church. The pot is sitting on our dining room table and it makes me smile. We hope to plant them outside soon.

I was trying to come up with a unique card for Q and this is what I came up with. I went a little "doodle crazy" with it! It is a scratch-art card. I colored on the front of the card using different colors of crayons. Then, I painted a few coats of black acrylic paint. I used scissors to make my design. I wrote, "Do you love me?" because it is the title of one of the songs from Fiddler on the Roof. 

On the inside of the card, I drew a heart with the words, "Yes, I love you" (again from Fiddler). However, when Q scratched this part, the words came out with it! I guess it would work if the words were written directly onto the card with the crayon, instead of on top of the other color. So, I wrote on it again for him to see my message. 

I made him this yummy dessert with some almond filling he bought a while back. This was the perfect day to make something out of it. I found the recipe for almond filled cookie cake on cooks.com. It is delicious! 

Here's the recipe for ya! Enjoy!:)

Almond Filled Cookie Cake

Crust:

2-2/3 cups flour

1-1/3 cups sugar

1-1/3 cups butter

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring

Filling:

1 cup grated or finely chopped almonds or 1 (12-1/2 oz) can Solo brand almond filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 egg, beaten (optional, if using Solo filling)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9 or 10-inch springform pan or glass cake pan.

In mixer bowl, blend all crust ingredients at low speed until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half and with floured hands shape into 2 balls. Place between waxed paper or plastic wrap. Press 1 ball flat to the size of the pan. Prepare the second ball in the same way or the top of the cake.

In a small bowl, blend all filling ingredients. Spread over crust to within 1/2 inch of sides of pan. If using Solo filling, make shallow impressions in the bottom crust to help hold the filling. Place second layer of dough over the filling. Remove paper. Garnish with almonds, if desired. Bake in preheated oven at 325 degrees for 60 minutes or until golden brown.

If using Solo filling, test center with a sharp knife to make sure the center is not liquid. If it is, bake 10 minutes more. Cool 15 minutes and remove from springform pan. If using a glass pan, use sharp knife to loosen cake sides from pan while still warm. Cool completely. Serves 24. Store covered in refrigerator. This tastes better after a day or two. Cut thin slices; it's very rich!

I'm thankful for four great years with Q. He is a special guy and I love him so much. I hope God gives us many more years together.