If you live on Earth, you’ve likely noticed the typical treats that are passed around for Valentine’s Day.  Pink and red and sugary and sticky.  Hearts and kisses and cherubs and teddy bears.  Not being a four-year-old girl, I can’t stand all that saccharine stuff.  However, I’m not a bitter, cold-hearted spinster, either, so I wanted to make some sweets for my sweetie, but I didn’t want them to look like shrapnel from Cupid exploding on a cookie sheet.  I decided a little heart-shaped twist on a classic cookie was the way to go.  Creamy milk and dark chocolate hearts take the place of traditional Kisses in these soft peanut-butter thumbprint cookies, for just the right amount of whimsy to show some love.  Of course, on non-Valentine’s days, you can use Kisses and still have a cookie you’ll love.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 bags of heart-shaped chocolates (I used Dove milk and dark chocolates)
• Silicone mats or parchment paper

Start out by preheating the oven to 375 and lining a couple of cookie sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Next, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set it aside.

Then, in a large bowl, (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for the whole recipe) cream together the butter and sugars.  Once the butter and sugars are creamy, mix in the peanut butter.  When the peanut butter is incorporated, add the eggs one at a time.

Now, slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl until you have a nice, soft dough.

With a 1-inch cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop out 1-inch balls of dough onto a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Roll each ball in your hands to smooth out the shape and then drop it onto the plate of sugar.  Roll each ball around to coat it with sugar and place them on the prepared cookie sheet about an inch and a half apart.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops are just slightly browning and the cookies are cracking.

Remove them from the oven and immediately press a chocolate into the top of each cookie.  Cool completely and pack them into a sealed container before presenting them to your Valentine.  They’re going to love them.

Note: I got about 45 cookies out of this recipe.  I didn’t want to make that many so I baked as many as I wanted and rolled the rest into balls, sugared them, and froze them.  Now I can make as many, or as few, as I want, anytime.

You might also want to make breakfast for your sweetie… how about this Strawberry Cream Cheese Baked French Toast?

~~~~~~~~~~