Add Some Sparkle: Fairy Lights on the Patio

I finally convinced darling husband to let me put fairy lights up on our patio. Sparse, but pretty; a fair compromise.

Spring Cookies

We had a spring service at church so I made these cookies for the potluck lunch. I got the idea and recipe off this blog. They are so cute, and relatively easy.  I just found it a bit time consuming to make sure the flowers were perfect. They get a pretty awestruck reaction too (apart from the people like my Dad who aren't that keen on eating flowers! ;) ).  

The flowers were fresh from my garden. Of course, they need a quick rinse to make sure they are edible. And they mustn't have had any nasty chemicals etc that might make them poisonous. I used violas (with one or two pansies) as that was what I had. But pansies do work well because they are bigger and take up more of the cookie. 

Leave them out to dry.

Bake shortbread cookies. Any recipe will do, but I like the original from the linked blog above.

Brush the cookies with egg white, then put the flowers on. Top with another layer of egg white and a sprinkle of sugar. 

Bake them again for a few minutes to set the egg white. I only baked them for 2 minutes, as I was worried about the flowers shrivelling too much.

Gently spread the flowers back out with your finger. while they are still hot. 

Let cool, then serve and enjoy the reactions of your guests!