I couldn’t let a holiday go by without making something themed!

As I was thinking about making something for Valentine’s Day, it occurred to me that it was around this time last year that I started my blog. My first recipe was Valentine’s Day Popcorn Mix. When I went to check the exact day that I started the blog, I was so sad to realize that I totally missed my blog’s birthday! February 10, 2011 was my first blog post, so we’re over a year old now!

Seems crazy that it’s been that long already! 186 posts, and almost as many recipes! We rarely ate the same thing twice this year, and I discovered lots of fun new recipes. Check out my best of 2011 post for my favorites!

Anyways, back to V-Day! I’m not going to lie, red velvet kind of creeps me out. The amount of dye used cannot possibly be good for you. But, it’s delicious nonetheless and I’m willing to risk death by Red #40 once a year to be festive! This recipe uses boxed cake mix, not something in my normal repertoire, but it makes it super easy and pretty foolproof. Convenience is nice sometimes.

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

(from Two Peas and Their Pod)

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

So pretty and matching!

Scoop 1 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar until fully coated. Place cookie dough balls on baking sheets lined with parchment or silpat.

Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are set and cookies begin to crack. (The cookies with look puffed up, but they’ll deflate as they cool).

Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Serve them to your Valentine with a tall glass of milk, or eat them all yourself with a big bottle of wine. 😉 Your decision!