This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winner is Kelly Ann T. Congrats!

I have fond memories of baking cookies with my mom as a child.  Sometimes we’d bake from scratch…sometimes we would cheat and use the store-bought mixes.  Regardless of how we made those cookies, I still remember the way our house smelled while they were baking and the warm memories of our time together.

I’ve been baking with my son since he was old enough to grasp even a little bit of the concept. It started with him just observing me in the kitchen and now includes measuring and mixing.  If you’ve ever baked with children, you know how important it is to include them from start to finish.  If the recipe is too detailed or time-consuming, they’ll likely lose interest, which defeats the purpose of baking together.

Toll House recently introduced their new seasonal sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day. Valentine Friends features 12 different holiday designs on character or shaped sugar cookies like monkeys, bumble bees, bunnies, dogs, and teddy bears with fun Valentine sayings including U Rock, Bee Mine, Some Bunny Loves You and of course, Happy Valentine’s Day. The concept is adorable, given the colors and the shapes, and cookies can be paired with a Valentine’s Day card for a gift.  And for younger children, it’s an easy way to include them in the baking process when time is short.

We don’t typically purchase refrigerated cookie dough unless my son is away because most varieties include eggs and/or dairy.  And when we do have the dough in the house, most of the time only half of it gets baked because my husband and I are notorious for eating it (shh!).  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find these in our area (perhaps they’re sold out?) to determine if they do in fact contain eggs and/or dairy.  I’d love to know if you’ve found these at your local grocer.

In late February, Toll House will launch their Easter Buddies Sugar Cookies which will feature bunnies, chicks and Easter eggs in a variety of sugar cookie shapes.  Both varieties can be found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store and retail for $3.49.  If you visit their website, you’ll find a coupon for $1.00 off a package of Valentine Friends Sugar Cookies.  You can also visit their Facebook page for a chance to win $2,500 in their “Bake Some Love” sweepstakes.

If you’re looking for seasonal recipes you can bake at home with your children, just visit Very Best Baking.

Win It! One of you will win a Valentine’s Day Cookie Kit which will include a limited edition Toll House cookie tin, coupons for their holiday cookies, an activity book, and stickers.  Simply leave me a comment with a recipe you like from the site.  Comments will close on February 14th, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.  US Residents only.  Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

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No compensation was received for this post. Products for review and giveaway were supplied by the company.