I saw this recipe on hershey.com and just had to post it because the chocolate cookie pops look like an easy, low-cost way to celebrate Valentine's Day. The recipe makes 12 cookies and is recommended by Hershey website as suitable for beginners. I couldn't resist the cute toppings that you can add to these super easy cookies.

Things You'll Need:

• 2/3 cup of softened butter or margarine
• 1 to ¼ cups of granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 to ½ cups of flour (all-purpose)
• ½ cup of Hershey’s Special Dark or regular Hershey's cocoa
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
• 12 ice cream sticks (wooden)
• White and pink frosting
• Decorations of your choice (sugar, colored sprinkles)

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, water and vanilla in a large bowl, using the medium speed on your mixer, until the ingredients are blended well. Add your eggs and beat thoroughly.
2. Pour the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda into the mixture for your chocolate cookie pop dough. Add the sugar into the rest of the ingredients, using a low speed, until mixed.
3. Roll ¼ cup of dough into a ball and place it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place 3 cookies for each sheet that you use because the they will spread while baking and you want to leave enough room for them to do so. Take the wooden ice cream stick and insert it ¾ of the way into the side of each of your ball and lightly flatten it.
4. Bake the chocolate cookie pops for 13 to 15 minutes or until you see that the outsides are firm and the center doesn't appear doughy. Let the cookies cool and then transfer them to a wire rack.
5. Add decorative toppings to the tops of your cookies with white, pink sprinkles or any of your choice that represent Valentine's Day. Write cute V-Day sayings with red, white or pink frosting.