Did you forget about Valentine's Day? Had you promised to make Valentine cookies for your child's school? Well, no worries. Just grab some frozen chocolate chip cookie dough balls out of your freezer, thaw and bake. While they are still hot, press a few pink and red M&Ms on top and you're all ready to go. Valentine’s Day has been saved!
This is one of those plan-ahead cookie projects that could save you from a forgotten promise to provide cookies for an event, no matter what the holiday. I always have at least a full batch or two of chocolate chip cookies or another favorite recipe in my freezer. It’s called planning ahead for any type of problem.
I take the time to mix up a couple of cookie recipes for freezing. Roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them on a parchment paper lined pan for about an hour or so. After they’re frozen, place them all into sealable plastic bags, label them with baking instructions and toss them back in the freezer. Mine last for a month or two in the freezer. When I bake them, they are nice and fresh, just like the day I mixed up the recipe.
To bake, put a few on a parchment paper line baking sheet and thaw for 20-30 minutes. Bake according to the instructions on the plastic bag.
Once they are baked, and still quite warm, place red and pink M&Ms or Valentine sprinkles on top and press in a little. If you bake them the night before, just leave the cooled and decorated cookies in an airtight container and send them to school or have them ready on the counter for Valentine’s Day splurging.
To make this project even quicker, pick up your favorite frozen or refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough at your local grocery store. Bake according to package instructions. After you take them out of the oven, press a few red, pink and white M&Ms on top of each one while they're still very warm. Valentine's Day saved again!
This recipe makes about 3 dozen larger cookies or 5 dozen smaller cookies.
Preheat your oven to 375F degrees a few minutes before you’re ready to bake.
Prepare your baking pans:
Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. It helps keep the cleanup to a minimum.
Gather up your Ingredients or your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe or use my recipe, below. My Hubby loves this recipe:
1 C Butter, soft
½ C Shortening, white at room temp
1 ¼ C Sugar
1 ½ C Brown Sugar
1 T Vanilla extract
3 Eggs, room temperature
4 C Flour, separated
1 ½ t Baking soda
¾ t Salt
1 T Cornstarch
2 1/2 C Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C Semi-sweet chocolate chips for garnish
Mix it up:
- With an electric stand mixer, beat the butter, shortening and sugars together until creamy.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs and beat until well combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl whisk together 3 ½ cups of the flour with the baking powder, salt and corn starch. Or put them in a sieve and shake into the web mix.
- Stir the wet and dry mixtures slowly until well combined. I usually beat them together, on low, in the stand mixer for a minute or so, scraping down the sides a couple of times.
- If you feel the dough is too soft or thin, add the last ½ cup of flour a little at a time until it comes to the texture you like.
- Add the 2 ½ cups chocolate chips and stir in completely.
NOTE: To save and freeze them for baking on another day, roll the dough into balls. Place them on a parchment paper lined pan and freeze for 1 hour or so. Then save them in sealable plastic bags. Label the bags with baking instructions. To bake, thaw the dough balls for 20-30 minutes before baking. If I bake the dough balls before they are room temperature and softer, I will bake them at 350 for the duration and even a couple of extra minutes. I keep them in the freezer for up to a month or so before baking.
Directions if you bake the cookies right after you make mix the dough without Valentine M&Ms:
- A few minutes before you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 375F degrees.
- Using a 2-3 tablespoon scoop for the larger cookies, scoop out a generous rounded dough ball.
- Before you plop the dough ball onto the baking sheet, press it into the cup of chocolate chips so the top half has extra chips on it.
- When you plop the dough ball onto the cookie sheet, press it down a little so the chips stay on top of.
- Repeat for the other cookie dough balls placing them 2-3” apart.
- Bake at 375F degrees for 9-11 minutes. I usually check them at the 8-minute mark and rotate the pan 180 degrees since my oven tends to bake a little hotter on one side than the other.
- Don’t be afraid to do a half minute extra. The first time I developed this recipe, I baked them for a total of 10 and a half minutes. Just right for Hubby.
These cookies will spread a little just like my hubby likes. So, they bake up flat, chewy and moist – not crispy. Just the way he likes them. Of course, I like them too, since I’ve never met a chocolate chip cookie I haven’t liked.
Hide the cookies, er, I mean, Store the cookies:
- Really, this is about storing these delicious chocolate chip cookies. But, sometimes you have to hide them in order to store and save them for a special event.
- They can be kept on the counter in an airtight container for a few days...if they last that long.
- For the freezer they can be stored in an airtight container for a month or so.
I like a challenge when it comes to chocolate chip cookies since there are soooo many different ways to make them and such a variety of ways that people like their chip cookies. That's why I have more than one recipe on my website, AngelsBakingMemories.com, and blog. I personally like thicker, chewy chocolate chip cookies, crispy outside and chewy inside.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe makes a wonderful last minute Valentine Cookie with seasonal M&Ms or Red, pink and white sprinkles on top. Enjoy them with family and friends, and “Bake your own Memories!”