Valentine treats for the ladies Bible study

Once a month, we have a ladies Bible study at our church. We take turns bringing in treats or sharing a lesson. I signed up to bring refreshments yesterday, and since it was just before Valentine's Day, I came up with a spread that revolved around the color red and hearts.

I bought a heart-themed bandana and placed the food on top. I brought in some heart candies, and Gloria brought some chocolate hearts to share. I mixed banana and strawberry slices in a crystal bowl for a healthy sweet treat. Also on the table was....

....this centerpiece filled with Scripture verses that talk about the heart or love. I placed some stickers on them, too.

I made this apple-blackberry cake which was a huge hit. If you'd like to try out the recipe, just click here. 

I bought some cheese and wheat crackers and placed them in these curved dishes. To make the cheese hearts, I sliced the block of cheese carefully, then cut out the hearts using two sizes of cookie cutters. 

These raspberry chocolate pastry bites were my own little concoction. A couple months back, I was looking for a way to use up some leftover pastry, and I came up with these. They are light, flaky and so delicious! All you do is cut out the pastry with the cookie cutter of your choice. Then, place a bit of raspberry jam on a cut-out, making sure you don't spread it all the way to the edge. I think each heart took about a teaspoon of jam. Then, I placed a few chocolate chips on top, then put another cut-out on top to sandwich it together. I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. You may want to keep checking them, because everyone's oven is different. You want the bottom to be a little brown, but the top to stay light but cooked all the way through. I made a powdered sugar glaze with vanilla and milk, then drizzled that on top of the hearts. If you want to add color to the glaze, just add a drop or two of food coloring. That's all there is to it! 

I had a great time putting this together for the ladies. They really liked the theme of it all and they enjoyed all the treats. I hope this gives you ideas for your next get-together. Almost any one of the treats can be adapted to fit any holiday or theme.

Happy Valentine's Day!