Vanilla Cookies

It's almost Valentine's Day! I think a holiday to celebrate love is wonderful. Whether it's love for a significant other, yourself, family members or your friends, it's always important to celebrate those close to you and let them know that you appreciate them.

Valentine's is knows for all of the sweets and sugar involved. These aren't an exception, but they are small, so it makes it easier to eat one or two instead of a sugar cookie. Sugar cookies are a typical holiday treat. Even though I like them once-in-a-while, it's nice to have a break sometimes. These vanilla cookies somewhat mimic a sugar cookie, but they are a little more crumbly and not as incredibly sweet. They're a favorite of mine and they are handed down from my Grandma.

Pretty and Pink Cherry Chiffon Salad

This is the perfect salad to bring to a potluck or share with your family this Valentine's Day! It takes less than 10 minutes to make and everyone absolutely loves it!

We just had my younger brothers stay with us for the weekend and my eight-year-old brother thought it was great because of the marshmallows, you can always get kids to eat stuff with marshmallows haha! I had so much fun with them down here while my parents were at meetings in Las Vegas. We went swimming, hiking and made some pizza for National Pizza Day! And we watched movies and ate lots and lots of food. I wish that I didn't live over 3 hours away from them because whenever we leave it's not super fun. But, I get to see them the beginning of March, really looking forward to that! I loved sharing this dessert with them and it actually had quite a few leftovers, so you can definitely feed a lot of people with this dessert!

Valentine's Cupcakes: Chocolate Peanut Butter

One of my favorite homemade desserts right here! I’m not too much of a cupcake fan, but making these for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, gets my cupcake fix in for the year. They are chocolate (my favorite) with a peanut butter accent. They’re rich and have the perfect texture that’s not too crumbly. These are the cupcakes that children and adults will both enjoy! 

They are really great for any occasion, just by adding Valentine’s themed cupcake tins and hearts at the top, they are perfect for this holiday of love. You could simply color the frosting or add sprinkles to make them even more festive. This is definitely not a recipe for only two people since it makes 18 cupcakes. We saved some for ourselves and shared with friends and family! 

The original recipe from Baker By Nature calls for a peanut butter frosting-they're definately the Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes! That’s a little too much for me, so I opted for a plain chocolate frosting and added peanut butter cups on top! Num’s the Word had a great Rolo Cupcake recipe, and I loved their frosting, so I decided to try that with these and it was perfect!