Happy Valentine’s Day!!! I couldn’t think of a better day to post my first blog entry than on a day that is devoted to sharing love and chocolate! but first, I have to take a moment to soak in the fact that I have FINALLY created a blog…a few of my friends have been encouraging me to start one, and I always said I would, but never did. Well, that all changes now! A big thank you to my friends Jackie and Chelsea for promising me last week, while housing delicious crepes at our good friend’s christening for their beautiful little baby girl, that they would read what I have to say, and the biggest THANK YOU goes to my amazing bestie, Brittany. For without her, none of this would have been possible. She has been wanting me to do this for the longest time and answered all my crazy e-mails about creating and naming this blog. You will be hearing a lot more about these wonderful people in the course of my posting, but onto the whole reason I have this blog…the food! oh, and please bear with me as I try to figure out the inner workings of the blogging world…I’m learning…ok…cookie time…

For those of you that do not know, we here on the east coast have been having a rough winter. Yesterday we were hit with a  snow storm that dropped a little over a foot of snow, which meant a snow day for those of us in the education profession, yahoo!! For me a snow day = baking, cooking, and relaxing! In such an occasion, my mom always makes sure we have a pizza dough ready to go and that I have ingredients for some kind of baked goodie.  So, I took advantage of my (5th hehe) snow day and prepared Valentine’s Day treats to give out to some of my coworkers. To me, sharing home baked goods is my favorite part of baking. From packaging it up all special and then getting to see the recipients face light up upon delivering the sugary confection, it’s the best! I had saved a recipe on Pinterest that I knew would be perfect…Chocolate Kiss Cookies! I loved how the colored sprinkles pop on the chocolate cookies and since it is Valentine’s day what’s better than chocolate kisses? 😉 These cookies could surly be adapted for any occasion. Just change the sprinkles, or the flavor of the kisses, the sky is the limit! I have posted the recipe below and here is the cute website where I found these yummy delights… http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2013/01/chocolate-valentine-kiss-cookies.html 

Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
2 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 to 1 c. assorted Valentine sprinkles
25 to 30 Hershey Kisses or Hugs candies, unwrapped

Directions

• Combine flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture until just combined.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
• Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in sprinkles, completely covering the dough ball with sprinkles. Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. With your thumb, gently press down into the center of each ball just slightly to make a very small indentation. Chill the baking sheet of dough balls in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 12 minutes.
• After removing cookies from the oven, immediately place a Hershey Kiss or Hug in the center of each cookie. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, remove to a cooling rack to cool.

Makes approximately 25 to 30 cookies.

Here they are all ready to be delivered!

Cute, right? I encourage you to get in the kitchen and start cooking! These were super easy to make and delicious!

With Love and Sugar, Kristen xo.