Love & Strawberry Oreos

Dear future 17 year old daughter,

You’re in love…

Oh, I know… No use denying it. I caught you smiling while pouring yourself a bowl of Lucky Charms last night. You gave your cereal this beautiful random smile that made your face just glow. Positively glow. Love has changed you, has made you much more fun to be around. Your teenage angst has diminished and I’ve seen you text so much your fingers are a blur. You’re in love – Don’t deny it. Those hearts and smiley faces aren’t for your best friend Gabby.

You even gave me two random hugs last week – And not because you wanted money to spend at the mall.

You’re in love with a boy…

Does he give you that funny feeling in your tummy?

He does, doesn’t he?

It feels like a plunge from the top of a rollercoaster ride; it’s exhilarating and fast and you just don’t want it to stop.

I know…

I’m going to be honest with you, future teenage daughter. I was dreading this day. It gave me anxiety attacks, and made me yearn for the days of chastity belts and chains. Oh, I knew someday you’d fall in love with a boy. I was just hoping you were 40, 45 when that happened. Watching you in love has given me mixed feelings.

Speaking of which, I wanted to apologize for walking into the living room holding a machete when your boyfriend came to visit the other day. I stared that boy down holding a weapon. That must have scared him.

I know it made you mad. It’s a knee-jerk reaction. My bad… I wasn’t going to hurt him. I was a sort of giving him a subtle warning…  You’re my little girl… I was just looking out for you. At least I didn’t chase him with it. I fought that… Give me some credit!

*Sigh*…

Admittedly I took it too far…

Let me make it up to you…

You see, I know things about boys… I was young once too. It’s hard to believe, but before I married your father we used to date.

Let me give you a dating pro tip:

Boys love it when a girl straps on an apron and gets down in the kitchen. It makes them feel special. It could be something as simple as a ham and cheese sandwich. Its all about the effort. Present a boy with something that shows effort, that fills the belly – And he’s yours.

This boy is clearly worth it, so I’m going to hook you up with my recipe for strawberry Oreo cookies. I didn’t mean to hold onto it this long. I was just waiting (ok, dreading) for the right boy to come along.

Impress this boy… With chocolate cookies filled with strawberry frosting. Bring back his childhood. Make him feel all nostalgic and whatnot. Boys also like to be reminded of their mothers.

Don’t ask…

Kick up the frosting flavor with fresh strawberry puree and some fruit powder. Give him cookies that bake in 11 minutes, but look and taste like you slaved for hours.

You know how… I’ve taught you well.

This Valentine’s Day wear a nice dress (not a slutty one, please. I don’t think my heart can take it), your glowing smile and surprise him with these cookies, a glass of milk and a cheesy movie.

He’ll love you for it… He’ll be yours…

Go get him, mama doll…

Happy Love Day…

Love,

Me…

P.S. Please keep the tonsil hockey to a minimum… Don’t make me have to break out the machete.

: Strawberry Oreo Cookies

Adapted from: Annie’s Eats

You can easily make strawberry puree by combining strawberries and a bit of sugar in a small pot and simmering until the strawberries have softenend. You can either puree the strawberries with an immersion blender or a food processor. In addition to fresh strawberry puree, strawberry fruit powder gives the frosting an additional burst of flavor. You can find strawberry fruit powder here.

For the cookies:

• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 10 tbsp. (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 4 tbsp. (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup strawberry puree
• 2 tablespoons strawberry fruit powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix briefly on medium speed to combine. Add the butter to the bowl and mix briefly to incorporate. Addthe egg and vanilla extract. Mix until the dough forms a cohesive mass. The dough should clump together when pinched
3. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop batter onto the baking sheet, spacing the balls of dough a couple of inches apart. With moistened fingers, gently press down on the dough balls to flatten slightly.
4. Bake for 9-11 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to a wire rack and let cool completely until the cookies are firm and set. Be sure the cookies are completely cooled before filling.
5. To make the filling – Combine the butter, shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until fully combined. Add strawberry puree and fruit powder and beat for about 15 seconds. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the confectioners’ sugar to the bowl mixing
6. until just incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the vanilla extract. You will notice the frosting will be a bit soft. This is because of the strawberry
7. puree. Remove the bowl from the mixer and chill in the frosting in freezer, bowl and all for about 15 minutes.
8. To assemble the cookies, pair them up by size. Use a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip(or whichever tip you can find) to pipe a swirl of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. If you don’t own a pastry
9. bag, you can use a small offset spatula or a butter knife to spread the filling onto each cookie. Sandwich together with the remaining cookie and press down so that the filling reaches the edges.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 11 minute(s)