A Valentine Goody

Although I have never been one to go crazy over Valentine’s Day, I have been part of some great traditions with friends over the years.  When I think about those late nights delivering surprise valentines, it makes me smile.   This year, I decided to embrace the holiday. I added few decorations around the house - even a burlap wreath with a metal heart ornament for the front door.   Since we were hosting the senior high half of our youth group this past Sunday night for their monthly devotional, I wanted to have some Valentine-themed candies and cookies for them.   I have a rule that I do not try new recipes on folks that are going to be in my home for the first time, but I kinda broke that rule this time.  I was very pleased with my variation of this Red Velvet Cookie recipe that I found online.

This is my version:

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp oil (I used safflower because it is what I had on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix well.  Dump all of the dough onto Saran Wrap or Press n Seal and wrap it up good and tight. Put in a ziploc type bag.  The original recipe says to chill 2 hours.  Because of my schedule, I had to chill the dough for a couple of days.  They were fine, but be sure to allow time for the dough to warm up to be malleable the day you bake them.  I had to let my dough sit out for almost an hour before I could work with it.

Next mix the following:

4 oz. (1/2 pkg) cream cheese

1 Tbsp butter softened

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

Dump the cream cheese mixture onto a separate piece of Saran Wrap or Press n Seal and wrap tightly.  The original recipe said to freeze this, but I just put in the fridge with the cookie dough since it was going to have to wait a couple of days.  It has to be scoopable consistency.

When ready to bake, roll the cookie dough into a 2" ball.  For me, the dough was sticking to my hands, so I put on some disposable gloves.   The rolling went much better after that.

Flatten the ball a little and press in the middle to make a well.   Put in 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the cream cheese mixture.   Pinch the cookie around it and roll again into a ball.   Place on a cookie sheet about 2" apart.   I did not use all of the cream cheese mixture at this point, but that is okay.  Hold onto it for later in the cookie process. 

Bake the cookies at 350F for 11-13 minutes or until done.   Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then move to cooling racks until completely cool.   

I then moved the cookies to wax paper, and with the leftover cream cheese filling, I added a splash of milk to thin it out and used it to drizzle over the cookies.   Let the cookies sit until the drizzled icing has hardened, maybe thirty minutes.  I was able to get 20 cookies from this recipe.

Happy Valentine's Day!