Happy Valentine's Day!

I  must admit that Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  I'm a sucker for all of the red and pink and hearts and sweets and frogs wearing crowns and...did I say sweets already?  I made a batch of real Toll House chocolate chip cookies for Ian on Thursday night while he was at his soccer game.  I may have eaten so much cookie dough while waiting for each sheet to bake that I didn't have any room to eat actual cookies once they were done.  But don't worry...I still managed to stuff one (or two) of those goodies into my mouth before I went to bed with a stomach ache.  To add a special touch to the cookies, I used a tube of red decorating icing with a couple of different piping tips that I already had in my cabinet of baking supplies. 

Oh...and if you don't already have one, I highly recommend getting one or two of those silicone baking mats for cookie baking especially.  I baked one tray without the mat (because I was too impatient to wait for the other tray to bake first) and could really tell the difference in the texture and degree of "doneness" in the cookies.  The mats run around $15. Silpat is one brand and Bed Bath & Beyond has a brand of their own.  I added one to my wish list because clearly I'm too impulsive to have just one. 

More important than the baking tools is the love that you put into those sweets for the sweet.  Ian came home from his game and didn't even notice the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked cookies, but when he walked into the kitchen and saw this token of my affection, he swooned.  And then he ate one and swooned some more.  I'd say it was a good start to our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife.  Tonight, we're celebrating by exchanging gifts and going to dinner at The Wine Bar & Bistro, a romantic little hole in the wall in Albany.  I think I'll also try and persuade my valentine into watching The Time Traveler's Wife on pay-per-view.  I hope your Valentine's Day is full of the things you love.