Wow! It's been exactly a month since I last posted! And what a month it has been… Non-stop homework, essays, tests, volunteer stuff, etc. This has been one of the most difficult quarters of my college careers. Right when I finish doing something I have to start again. It's been… fun. So that's why I haven't been on the blog :( I started the year out hoping to post more recipes, but as most yearly goals, i failed (except I didn't fail my sugar-free January goal, if you were wondering). This last month has flown by so fast and looking back, I realized I barely cooked or baked at all! CRAZY! Because I love to cook and I am a big advocate for at-home cooking :)

I have finally found a free minute. Well not really. I have 2 tests and a long essay due next week. Oh and another huge research paper, and another project, and then another test after that. College life. It sucks. I don't exactly have a free minute, but I do have motivation today. And that motivator is… *drumroll*… Valentine's Day! Yep you guessed it! I have a lovely fiancé who I love very much. And what do I do when I love someone? Bake them treats of course!!! (Sorry to everyone who I don't bake treats for… I still love you….) I was originally planning to make Vitali a cake, but because I literally have NO TIME, i decided to make some simple cookies.

And the cookies I decided to make are Jam Filled Thumbprint cookies. I have been making these for years. I believe since 9th or 10th grade (and I'm a junior in college now), so yeah, a pretty long time. I found the recipe in my first cookbook, Taste of Home, but you can find the recipe here. You will notice that I changed it quite a bit. I tried making them look like split log cookies, but they would just take too much time and effort and wouldn't look as cute. I think rolling them into balls is much easier!

These wonderful cookies are a sweet vanilla shortbread cookie filled with jam (duh). I usually do raspberry and apricot, but today I decided to go with strawberry (because it's what I had.. And I felt it was Valentine's Day appropriate). I also decided to be fancy today and drizzle them with melted chocolate :)

Ok and here comes the disclaimer …  Because I am SO scatterbrained, and SO tired, and SO stressed out, I accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder. I know. Awful! The cookies are supposed to be little and compact and cute. Instead they spread out and flattened in the oven. So they didn't turn out very cute. Still incredibly delicious though! (I will post new and better pictures as soon as I make them again, but for now you'll see these awkward cookies.)

I hope everyone gives these a try! Especially if you're like me, who left all the Valentine's Day gifts for Valentine's Day… Hurry, you still have a few hours left before V-Day ends! lol. Oh, I forgot to mention, I make these cookies almost every year for Christmas. They are that delicious! Enjoy! :)

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup jam*

• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Beat in egg and vanilla
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well
• Make dough into 1 inch balls, placing them on a greased baking sheet
• With your finger, make a depression in the middle of cookie, and fill with jam*
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min or until lightly browned, remove to wire racks to cool