A Love Letter to My Daughter and Her Friends, and Peanut Butter Heart Cookies
Dear Every Girl My Daughter’s Age, including her Friends and Herself:
I feel like there are some things you need to hear and I mean HEAR. Like, in your soul and REMEMBER. Because, this world is crazy, and sometimes ugly. It shoves images and expectations at you, and even though it is a new age and there are so many more opportunities and glass ceilings are shattering…there is still some rampant crappola the world is sending your way.
- You are perfection. You aren’t perfect and that is OK. No one is. But you, and all you are, is exactly who and what you were supposed to be. Glorious and resplendent in all of your ways. Every smile, every laugh, every brilliant thing that comes out of your mouth (and even the not so brilliant things) make you you. And wow, is the world lucky to have you.
- You may not love your body. But start now. She’s been with you so far, and if you realize it early enough, she is your champion. She will get you to places and do things you haven’t thought of yet. Your body, whatever size, whatever shape, is perfection. Don’t let it define where you belong in this world. You belong. Period. Please don’t waste one more second listening to a culture that wants you hating on yourself. It’s a tragedy.
- Your mind is amazing. You are SMART. Your opinions matter. Your thoughts matter. Your creative ideas matter. Your decisions matter. For those of you who think bigger than the space your body takes up, keep being bigger. If they are worthy of you, they will get you and love it about you.
- Your heart is bigger and stronger than you imagine. You may have navigated the hard things already. You may not have had any bumps in the road. Life will teach you lessons and one of them, amazingly enough, is that YOUR HEART IS STRONGER than you know. It will survive. You will survive. You will be better for it.
- And lastly, no Mom on this earth, whether it be your biological one or adopted one or grafted in one or decided one along the way would ever, ever want you to settle. In any capacity. Do not sell yourself short. Do not accept a “less than” when you are worthy of so much more. You deserve to be successful, loved, and cherished in every capacity. Especially by yourself.
This is my abbreviated and not all inclusive Valentine’s wish for you, but for today, it will have to do.
All the love my heart can hold,
Chrissy (Mom)
(OK, and then there are these cookies. Which are little peanut butter puffs which then have a chocolate candy smooshed in when done baking. 🙂 Listen, every blog can’t be emotional, and every blog can’t be about the recipe. I recommend this cookie if you have a peanut butter lover in your life. Because they are amazing.)
Peanut Butter Heart Cookies
This recipe is originally from www.sallysbakingaddiction.com This recipe makes a light, pillowy soft dough that gets refrigerated for up to a day, and then topped with a chocolate heart of your choice. I used two different types of candies for this, a solid chocolate heart, and a peanut butter filled heart. It is hard to tell which were enjoyed more, because they both disappeared rather quickly! This recipe yields 2 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
· 1 stick (½ cup) Butter (room temperature)
· 1 Large Egg
· ¾ Cup Peanut Butter
· 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
· ½ Cup White Sugar
· ½ Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
· ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
· ¼ Teaspoon Salt
· 1 ¼ Cups Flour
· Chocolate Heart Candies (Dove, Lindt, Reese’s all work)
Instructions
1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda together.
2. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment beat butter until fluffy. Add sugars and cream together until smooth.
3. Add in peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Combine until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the combined dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly on a lower speed.
5. Roll out dough into balls using a cookie scoop or tablespoon measure and chill. OR Chill dough as a whole for at least half an hour up to a day. The longer you chill, you may need to let the dough sit for a little bit before rolling out into balls. *this is why I roll them before I chill them
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
7. Place dough balls evenly spaced on cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Allow cookies to cook for a few minutes, then press chocolate candy into each cookie.
9. Allow cookies to cool completely, unless the idea of a melty chocolate heart is your thing (it’s my thing).
10. Cookies stay fresh in an air-tight container for up to a week. They won’t last that long. 😉