V-day Memories

Mark has gotten these from me every V-day for the last 14 years. The first time, I mailed a box of these to him in college in his last semester. We weren't dating, we were just friends - and I kind of wanted something more.

I told my aunt T about it, and she came over that day with a Martha Stewart recipe and a heart shaped cookie cutter. The recipe was pretty crazy - it had about 20 ingredients. It was exciting to bake these and send them to a guy I liked. I was such a giddy schoolgirl. I sent them - red m&m in the middle of each and all in a box that I decorated in special valentine paper.

After I mailed the box, a day or so later, Mark called to thank me for the brownies. To save myself from utter humiliation, I told him that I also mailed a box of them to our mutual friend Jen (LIE!!).

When we were moving our stuff to the other house 2 years ago, I was surprised and touched to see that Mark actually kept the box that I sent the brownies in. If he didn't like me, he would've just thrown the box away, right?

So every Valentines Day, I make these for my hubby. My Aunt T would ask me every year if I baked them - and of course the answer was always yes. When I bake them, I always think about her and her help in getting-the-guy. I think about how much fun we had baking them and how I had to run to the grocery store THREE times that afternoon!! I think about how excited I was to send them to Mark and how embarassed I was after he received them. I plan on making these every Valentines Day for the rest of my life.