Best Valentine's Day Cookie Recipe

Valentine's Day is probably not the holiday that conjures up the most childhood memories for people. But for me, it always reminds me of the special Valentine's Day cookies that my mom used to bake. They're still my favorite cookies, and if you feeling like baking a love-filled treat for your kids, give this recipe a try!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon McCormick's pure peppermint extract
red food coloring
1 cup rolled oats (long-cooking type)
powdered sugar
7 to 9 Hershey's milk chocolate bars (no nuts)
1 ½" Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter

DIRECTIONS:

Beat together butter and sugar.
Blend in egg and vanilla extract.
Sift flour and salt together and add to creamed mixture, mixing well.
Add peppermint and food coloring, creating a pink dough.
Stir in oats and mix well.
Divide dough in ½ and wrap in plastic wrap to chill in refrigerator a few hours.
Roll out dough on surface sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Cut with floured 1 ½ inch heart-shaped cookie cutter.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
When removed from oven, immediately place 1 ½ to 2 rectangles of chocolate bar on a hot cookie and press another cookie lightly onto the chocolate to create a sandwich cookie. Cool.

Makes about 40 cookies. Freezes well.