Will You Be My Valentine?

I have never been that into Valentine's Day. Well, that's not true. I am very into the day-after-Valentine's-day chocolate sales. And I have, in years past, been very into making myself sick from excessive boxed chocolates. All of them. I even eat the gross fruity-moussy ones eventually, when all the other good chocolates are long gone. But other than overdosing on Whitman's and See's, I am usually pretty ambivalent about February 14th.

Except..for some reason, this year I am all about Valentine's Day. I think it's because, for the first time I can recall, I actually have a valentine! And not like when I was in third grade when I got heart-covered cards from the boys in my class. Because in third grade everyone gave everyone valentines, and Valentine's Day was nothing more than an excuse for another class party. Nope, this year I have a real valentine! And it's got me all mushy and sappy and gag-worthy. The only sad part? We can't actually celebrate Valentine's Day this year. I have work all day tomorrow, and a trainer ride to plow through once I get home from work, and then by the time I'm done having a quick shower and some dinner, it'll be bed time. Because we are 80-year-olds at heart, and since when is 8:30pm not a legitimate bedtime for 20-somethings anyways?

So instead of celebrating this loving day with my lover, I have decided to share my enthusiasm with my new co-workers by bringing them valentine cookies. Yes, this could potentially be seen as bribery. But honestly it's not. It's an excuse to try out some recipes, rid the final results from my self-controlless hands, and spread some Valentine's cheer, all at the same time! It's win-win-win!

So in honor of Valentine's Day, and in honor of finally, actually having coworkers (and even better, coworkers I can pass off baked goods to!), I am baking Red Velvet Whoopie Pies courtesy of Annie's Eats, and another batch of my favorite snickerdoodles, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. The snickerdoodles will be rolled in red sugar, of course!

(Confession: I wasn't planning on making snickerdoodles for the office, but the red velvet recipe only yielded 10 sandwich cookies, plus one lone cookie. I know I made them too big, and if I hadn't run out of red food dye making the first batch, I would've made many more of these cookies. They turned out great! But since I can't think of anyone who doesn't like red, glittery snickerdoodles, they will be plumping up the cookie platter tomorrow.)

Happy Valentine's Day!