I may not get into Valentine’s Day as much as some people (meaning, I don’t decorate my apartment with pink heart garlands or expect my hubby to get me some big elaborate gift or plot what I’m going to wear on the 14th).
I DO, however, wholeheartedly support any holiday that gives me an excuse to bake some special little treats, especially if they’re RED VELVET special little treats.
So that is how yesterday, I came to looking like this:
Now, my frumpy outfit aside (I still haven’t adjusted to having my church meeting start at 7:30 AM, okay?), you have probably figured out by now that I really should wear an apron more often than I do.
My excuse for the above powdered sugar explosion is because I hate using dishes that are bigger than I think I need because they take up more room in the dishwasher, and y’all should know by now that I really hate doing dishes more than I absolutely have to.
So just maybe I kinda sorta misjudged how big of a bowl I really needed to make the cream cheese frosting on these puppies.
(Confession: my kitchen still looks almost exactly like that bottom left picture there because I have this weird thing about doing the dishes on Sundays. Basically, I conveniently take the “day of rest” commandment as a perfect excuse not to do housework of any kind. But somehow that umbrella statement doesn’t cover cooking itself. I know–my justification skills are astounding.)
But, sugar explosion and dirty bowls aside, I’ve gotta say:
I make a pretty wicked red velvet love cookie.
(see recipe below)
Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day treat or tradition?
Red Velvet Love Cookies
Cookies:
- 1 box red velvet cake mix
- 1/3 cup plus one spoonful shortening (so basically between 1/3 and 1/2 cup)
- 3 eggs
Frosting:
- 4 oz. low-fat cream cheese
- 1/4 stick butter (2 T)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a hand-beater or other mixer, mix all the cookie ingredients together until well-blended (the dough will be quite thick–almost like play-dough). With your hands, roll the dough into small balls, about 1″ in diameter. Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes.
For the frosting, mix all four ingredients together until frosting has the desired consistency. (Tip: I wouldn’t add all the sugar at once–instead, add about half of it at a time and work your way up until the frosting has the desired consistency. I often don’t use the full amount called for in the recipe).
When the cookies have cooled down sufficiently (or until you can’t wait any longer), go ahead and frost one of those babies and eat it with a big ol’ glass of milk. Or, if you want to do an Oreo thing, slap another cookie on top.
Yield: about 24
***Notes: I have substituted Devil’s Food Cake mix in for the Red Velvet with delectable results.
