Valentine’s Plans? Here’s a few ideas…

With the ongoing global pandemic what sounds better than a cosy night in with your loved ones? That’s what I thought…sounds pretty good right! Get the fire lit, of course popping down to your local nearby store to grab firelighters and marshmallows to toast, can’t forget about the sweet treats! If you really want to ‘push the boat out’ what about picking up some chocolate and biscuits for s’mores…very romantic I know!

It’s not a night in without a movie and snacks but don’t worry here at nearby we have you covered! So, call in and pick up your snacks…popcorn, crisps, sweets chocolate, you name it we have it! 

For all the single pringles out there, just because you don’t have a partner doesn’t mean you should be missing out. Why don’t you get the girls together for a ‘Galentines’ night in? We’ve got your backs too from snacks, sweet treats and of course the essentials…mixers so you can have a cocktail or two… So, get your girl group together and pop into your nearest store to get all the essentials for a perfect night in!

To make your night that little bit more special here’s a delicious easy recipe for Valentine’s heart shaped biscuits. You could get your loved ones together and bake or even better have a baking competition, post your bakes on our Facebook or Instagram and tag nearby, we would love to see your creations!

Valentine’s heart shaped biscuits

(Makes 16-20)

Photo for illustration purposes only.

What you will need:

  • A heart shaped cookie cutter
  • 300g plain flour
  • 200g salted butter – cut into small chunks
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 120g golden caster sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Red or pink food colouring

Method:

 STEP 1

Add flour and sugar to a mixing bowl, either using a handheld whisk or food processor. Mix until it resembles fine crumbs. Next, add the sugar and yolks and mix until mixture is a smooth dough. Then, remove one third of the dough, wrap in cling film and leave at room temperature. Add vanilla to the rest of the dough in the bowl and mix. Then wrap this dough in clingfilm and leave to the side.

STEP 2

Put the first lot of the dough back into the mixing bowl and if using, add a drop of food colouring. You can add more drops of food colouring to achieve an intense colour if desired. If you find the dough has become too soft, add in a few spoonsful of flour until it is a similar consistently to the vanilla dough. Then, put the dough in the fridge, remembering to take it out half an hour before rolling out.

STEP 3

Roll out the coloured dough between baking parchment, keeping it quite thick.  Use a small heart cutter to cut out hearts, repeating the process until all the dough is used. Then, stack the hearts that you have just cut out on top of each other and press to form a cylinder. Lastly, wrap in cling film and freeze for 3 hours until they become solid.

STEP 4

When the heart dough is hard, roll the vanilla dough, using your hands into 3 cylinders the length of the heart stack. Stick one to each side of the hearts, pat together to form a fat cylinder, then roll gently until it surrounds the coloured dough, with the frozen heart dough hidden in the centre. Then put in the fridge for two hours.

STEP 5

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Use a sharp knife to slice the log into 1cm- thick disks. Place on baking trays that are lined with baking parchment. Remember don’t place them too close together, to allow space for spreading and bake for 20 mins. Allow to cool on wire racks.

Then enjoy, remember to tag us so we can see your creations.

nearby…never too far from home.     

    

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