Warm and Gooey Love

I shared this last February as a Simple Solutions project for When Creativity Knocks - but it was yummy enough to share again this year for those who missed it :0)

Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven……… or say the saying goes.  Last year, Ana shared here adorable big cookie heart project with our viewers.  I tried it, and it was a huge hit here too!    I've seen an assortment of very creative ideas for creating cupcakes, full sized cakes and more with a heart shaped theme in magazines and online, but wanted to try to find a "simple" way to create something special for my Valentines.  Our family loves hot chocolate chip pie – it’s our favorite treat for dessert when dining out.   My husband’s favorite home-baked treats are chocolate chip cookies and M&M cookies.  This thick mini-heart chocolate chip cookie with a warm, gooey center is a mixture of all three favorites!

 Instructions:

1. Begin by preparing your favorite home-made chocolate chip cookie dough (we like the original Toll-House Cookie recipe best).
2. Spray the inside area of a metal heart shaped cookie cutter with non-stick spray.
3. Place onto non-stick surface on baking sheet.
4. Use spoon to place approximately ½” of cookie dough to fill cookie cutter.
5. To make M&M heart on top, either freeform place candies to create  heart, or use a slightly smaller heart cookie cutter on top of the base cookie and place candies inside to create heart shape. Remove cutter before baking.
6. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Center will be soft when removed from oven.
7. Allow to cool on cookie sheet approximately 5 minutes. Gently lift cookie cutter and cookie “pie” will remain on baking sheet.
8. Place warm heart cookie pie onto small plate, sprinkle red & pink decorative sugars around it.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup. If desired, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve while still warm and watch while your valentine enjoys their treat (or join in the delicious fun!).