All We Need is Love, Love is All We Need!

​​A couple years ago, my uncle was visiting with me and asked the “secret” to my baking.
I paused, …looked him in the eye, …and told him plainly, “I put a little bit of love in it.” 
He shook his head affirmatively, as if he already knew.
 
Since that time, I received a plaque as a gift from a friend, that tells everyone who enters my kitchen that “Love is the Secret Ingredient.”  A Love for family, friends, and anyone who enters my humble abode birthed Claire’s Bakehouse, and it is Love that keeps this little business going, and will nurture it, and help it grow. 
 
So this week, with a little bit of Love in the mix, I made more than 200 Valentine’s Day cookies.  Normally, baking cookies is a no-brainer, but when I’m making heart-shaped cookies specifically for Valentine’s Day I give each one not only a little bit of Love, but a lot of extra attention.   Each cookie was adorned carefully with marbled royal icing, sprinkles, edible gold leaf, and more sprinkles!  It was truly a labor of LOVE.  No two cookies were the same.  In fact, in my mind, they were  all little works of art – little Love letters, letting each recipient know that they are truly loved.
 
And that’s what Valentine’s Day is all about.  So don’t forget to put a little bit of love in the mix today, and let everyone you Love know it.