Remember Valentine’s Day? I know – it was such a long time ago. The memory is still fresh for me because I still have a bit of lingering carpal tunnel from cutting out approximately eight thousand hearts. Don’t get me wrong – I love love love making valentines with the kids. It’s one of my favorite things. In fact, I like doing it so much that I get a little over-invested and consequently never get my own finished. If you’re still waiting for one, it should probably arrive just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day.
For the teachers this year, we decided to make some bags of chocolate cookies.
We made Hershey’s chocolate cookies from an original 1980’s recipe clipped from… ah yes – Seventeen Magazine.
It all began one afternoon when I was hanging out with my friend Cindy, flipping through her Seventeen, and we came across this recipe. She jumped up and said, “Let’s make these!!” and I thought, “You can do that?” I guess I must have started baking a bit at home by then, but I can’t really remember a time when I saw a recipe and thought – “I’m going to make this right now.” I thought she was wild! (Don’t even get me started about the time my friend Meredith decided we should make pecan pie for dessert one night at her house. Just the memory of it still makes me a little lightheaded.) I might have been just the slightest bit timid back then.
So this recipe has been with me since high school, but I don’t break it out very often. Not because I don’t like them. I like them too much. Anyone who knows me could quickly tell you I’m not squeamish about sweets. But these guys – I have to give them all away, pronto, or I will eat them. I will eat every one of them, and it’s embarrassing.
On Valentine’s day, we started out the day with breakfast at the Dipsea.
This cafe is right on the water, and the morning was grey and rainy – the perfect cozy breakfast stop. It’s also right across the street from the studio where I take ballet, and I was able to hit class after our breakfast. Heaven.
Later in the morning, two of our west coast godchildren came over to play and then sleep over. We had such a great time! One of them had mentioned off-handedly the weekend before that he would like to try chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream made with chocolate instead of vanilla ice cream. Now that’s my kind of wish! Let’s face it – he’s ten, and I’m occasionally concerned that my fairy godmother powers will wane when he becomes a teenager. I’m hoping to stay helpful to him just by sheer love, but it’s always nice when you can grant a tangible wish. I love this egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough from the days when egg was still on Hot Wheels’ no fly list, and it was just the thing to use. We all got to mash up our chocolate ice cream with frozen cookie dough, and it was ahhhmazing.