If candy hearts aren’t your thing, and you’re too shy to ask your crush to be your Valentine, consider suggesting that you be “mug buddies” instead.

Mug Buddy Cookies – 3-D cookies that perch on the edge of your coffee or tea mug – are the creation of Biddeford native Märgen Soliman. At Christmas, she makes tiny gingerbread houses. For Valentine’s Day those houses have been transformed into “Luv Shaks” and “Be Mine Bungalows.” She also makes bouquets of roses that some people like to eat in “she loves me, she loves me not” fashion.

Soliman was working as an actress in New York City when she decided to open an Etsy.com shop to sell her little treats. Then Anthropologie came calling and asked her to make gingerbread house mug toppers for the Christmas season. This year, she made snowflake toppers for the company.

Now she’s back in Maine, and has transformed Mug Buddy Cookies into a full-blown business based in her hometown.

“For me,” she said, “it’s about more than just eating a delicious cookie. It’s about connecting with other people and taking a moment to enjoy the little things in life.”

The little toppers can be time-consuming to make, but Soliman has a crew that helps with mixing the dough, decorating the pieces and “gluing” them together. For spring, she’ll have butterflies and lighthouses.

Mug Buddies come in sets of two for $10. Three butterflies cost $12.50. They can be purchased on the Mug Buddy website, mybuddycookies.com, or in Maine at Gifts at 136 in Damariscotta and Farm + Table in Kennebunkport.