You will thank me later: Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Heeellllllo? Hellllllooooooo? Is anyone out there?

For a girl who picks up and drops things as quickly as hot potatoes, I gotta say I'm proud that I am continuing to update - even if I'm not sure anyone is reading. So shoot me a comment if you are!

Although, according to my Blogger data, someone was referred to this blog because they searched "depressing valentine's day cards" on Google.. I hope you found what you were looking for!

I am still working on my valentine's day packages and had really high hopes of making all sorts of different cookies to send to friends - I even purchased enough baking ingredients to make three different types of cookies. Then, I made these and it was all over. Done. I don't think I will ever make anything else again. And we are eating most of them so very few friends are getting them this go-around. :-/ I am all about life being easy and these could not get easier! And if you love peanut butter and chocolate, especially together, you'll be in heaven. Thank me later. :)

One batch makes about 24, so I made one batch and then immediately made a second batch. Here is the recipe for one batch, but feel free to double or triple accordingly

You will need: 1 cup smooth peanut butter (1/2 of a jar), 1 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 24 Hershey kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and peanut butter until creamy and fluffy ("It's so fluffy, I could die!!" from Despicable Me always comes to mind).

Add egg and vanilla, and mix until you get a soft dough.

Roll 1 and 1/4 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Unwrap the 24 (or so) Hershey kisses that you will be using.

When you take them out of the oven, immediately press a Hershey kiss into the center, leave to cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Oh my gosh, so ridiculously yummy, and they are best the night that you make them as the chocolate is incredibly soft. Enjoy.

Ode to the heart: DIY Valentine's Day Cards

I have been wondering if I should unleash my "show your love, people" rant since Valentine's Day is coming up.. and I have decided that I will - in moderation.

Listen people, we, as a society, don't show enough love. It seems like hand-written notes are a thing of the past, gifts are only for Christmas (or Hanukkah, heeeey Jewish friends) and we only know it's someone's birthday because facebook tells us so. Don't get me started on rude people and folks who don't smile back when you both make eye contact and you smile! Even just a turn of the sides of the mouth is appreciated.

I don't know a lot about our purpose on earth, but I know one thing to be true - one of our jobs is to show love, to give love, to make others feel beautiful and special, and then, in turn, to receive love. I am a HUGE fan of sending greeting cards (who does not love getting a personalized piece of mail? See below), finding the perfect gift for someone (that fits the receiver's personality, not the giver!), and letting special people know you love them - just because! 



So this brings me to my adoration of Valentine's Day. Not necessarily the history of Valentine's Day (interesting article found here: http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day) because it's quite gruesome and depressing, but the modern interpretation of Valentine's Day is to SHOW LOVE. How could this be bad? If you peel away the "I hate the commercialization, you-have-to-have-a-boyfriend, remind-me-I'm-single-why-don't-you"ness, the true meaning of Valentine's Day is for us to stop and take a moment to really think about those that we love. So whether this means sending an email to a faraway friend, or calling your mom, or making or buying a card for someone - it is important to stop and think of those we love.

Myth: "You have to have a significant other." 
My verdict: FALSE. Some of my favorite (and let's be clear, most of my) Valentine's Days have been spent with girlfriends - having a potluck dinner, watching horribly wonderful chick flicks, or having a "pamper ourselves" night. Those nights were lovely, and ones that I remember forever.

Myth: Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark holiday. 
My verdict: TRUE/FALSE - Yes, Hallmark makes a ton off of Valentine's Day, but you don't have to buy into that! I started making holiday cards during my first stint with unemployment (oh boy, this makes me look good). I didn't have a lot of money but I did have a lot of time. I used fabric from my favorite shirt (that had just ripped due to shotty craftsmanship) and spent hours making hand-made Christmas cards. That was two years ago and I have been making my holiday cards ever since.

Since I happen to have a lot of time on my hands this year (wow, surprised!) - I have made Valentine's Day cards for about 15 loved ones, that I will be sending with some other goodies that I am going to make this week (blog posts to follow, youbetcha!)


Here's what I did for my cards, but really, as long as you have some crafty paper and a pen, you can do anything you like! Even finger paint hearts is fun and easy. See below for links to other great Do It Yourself Valentine's Day Cards.

I found at Papersource:

20 paper hearts (already pre-cut but super easy to do yourself)

Ribbon tape (great alternative to ribbon since you don't have to mess with glue)

Small notecards that read "My favorite thing about you is" and "the best thing about you is".

And I went to town! Decorating each heart with ribbon to reflect the person that I was sending it to (remember - designing the gift for the receiver).. I then attached my card and wrote one to two favorite things about the person I am sending it to.

Not only was this a fun craft project, but I am hoping that these cards will bring a moment of happiness to my mom and girlfriends (and even some guy friends), they'll also appreciate the effort as well as the love. :)

Stay tuned for Valentine's Day cookies (homemade of course) and home made gifts / care packages!

Other great resources:

http://offbeatmama.com/2012/02/diy-valentines-cards

http://lifesacraftproject.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/diy-valentines-day-cards/

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

http://www.hellolucky.com/wordpress/

http://www.heartyappletite.com/2012/01/diy-valentines-day-card.html

http://thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com/2012/02/diy-valentines-day-cards.html