By Valentine's Day. I made heart-shaped sugar cookies with pink frosting because I am a preschool teacher at heart, figuratively, and because Owen and Nora are one year old and I wanted them to have a pink cookie on Valentine's Day even though they will not remember it, because the photographs will show them at their highchairs with pink frosting on their faces and that is the photo I want to exist.
Ryan was on shift on Valentine's Day. He texted from the firehouse at 7 AM: Happy Valentine's Day, I love you, give the kids a kiss from me. This is the text I got on our second Valentine's Day when he was also on shift, and our fourth, and now our ninth as a couple. Some years he is home and we go to dinner. Some years he is not home and I have cookies. Both are fine. Both are ours.
Patty called at 7:15, as always, and said "happy Valentine's Day, any plans?" I said I was going to eat a pink cookie over my babies' heads and she said "that sounds perfect" with the particular warmth she reserves for things she means completely. She is right. It was perfect. It was exactly the Valentine's Day this February called for.
I have been thinking about what comes next, cooking-wise. The twins are one and I am going to start introducing table food more seriously, which means I need to think about the blog in a new way, about what parents of one-year-olds actually need. The one-handed cooking era is technically ending. The toddler-food era is beginning, which has its own challenges: everything must be soft enough, small enough, not a choking hazard, and ideally not orange, because Owen has decided he does not like orange foods. He has been eating orange purees happily for months. One year old and suddenly: opinions.
The heart-shaped sugar cookies I made that morning were exactly right for the moment — but let me be honest: I was working with a sleeping-twins window and absolutely no time to spare. That’s where these Two-Minute Cookies come in, because sometimes the magic is less about the recipe and more about the result: pink frosting on two tiny faces and a photograph I will keep forever. This is the kind of cookie that belongs in a preschool-teacher-at-heart’s back pocket, for every Valentine’s Day Ryan is on shift and I am outnumbered, sugared, and completely happy about it.
Two-Minute Cookies
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 2 minutes | Total Time: 7 minutes | Servings: 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter for nut-free)
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or sprinkles
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Pink frosting or powdered sugar glaze, for decorating (optional)
Instructions
- Combine. In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir together the peanut butter and honey until smooth and well combined.
- Microwave. Microwave the mixture on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through, until the mixture is warm, slightly bubbly, and cohesive.
- Mix in oats. Immediately stir in the rolled oats, vanilla extract, salt, and chocolate chips or sprinkles until everything is evenly coated.
- Shape. Drop spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate. Press gently into rounds — or use a heart-shaped cookie cutter for Valentine’s Day.
- Set. Let cookies cool at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 3 to 5 minutes until firm.
- Decorate. Drizzle or spread with pink frosting or a simple powdered sugar glaze if desired. Add sprinkles while frosting is still wet.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 118 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 45mg