Cookie Exchange Parties...and a recipe!

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Do you get overwhelmed by the holiday stress?

Do you LOVE holiday cookies?
Do you HATE making 7-8-10-12 different kinds during the holiday season because you are so busy?

Trying to keep all the balls in the air can be a tough juggling job while working, taking care of little ones, maintaining a budget, decorating, visiting friends and family...the list could go on and on.

This is where a holiday cookie party comes in to help save some of your sanity!

You get a bunch of friends together.
You each make ONE kind of cookie.
You package them in either 6 cookie lots or 12 cookie lots.
You meet, sort and visit a little.

You end up with a variety of baked goods to use for host plates, gifts and/or surprise guests. How awesome is that?!

This makes great financial sense. We already talked about the increasing prices of items like Oscar Meyer bacon topping $6 a pound, butter over $4 a pound...simply insane!

If you are making only ONE kind of cookie - you can watch the sales and get ONLY those ingredients to make a double or triple batch of them. You have simplified what you buy, saved money on it, and saved your time.

While on an AMAZING Tupperware Director Training in Orlando, I remember a lesson about how we average $50 an hour, when we are working. Since then, I have looked at things and said to myself...is watching this rerun of Emergency for the eighth time really making me $50 an hour? NO? I better move on to something else...

Holiday baking like a maniac can be the straw that broke your back if you are the average American woman. We do just about everything to make the holiday special and have that "Martha Stewart" stress about it. Give yourself a break...create your own cookie exchange party!

My party has gone on for 9 years...no matter how many people come, every person only brings twelve packages of one dozen cookies. This means we all make 144 cookies to swap out and come home with twelve plates of different ones.

Everything from 7 layer bars to Peanut Blossoms have made an appearance at this party...in the past years I have made; Krumkake, braided candy canes, Andes Candy cookies, Egg Nog Cookies, decorated cut outs and Divinity.

This year, I am doing the Andes Candy Cookies again, as I have already gotten requests, LOL! Here is the recipe - I triple it to make 144 nice sized cookies for the swap and a batch for the family. They are SUPER yummy.
=)

ANDES CANDIES COOKIES
3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
12 oz. chocolate chips
2 (6 oz.) boxes Andes Creme de Menthe candies
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine butter, brown sugar, and water in a quart measuring cup suitable for the microwave. Microwave on High power 2 minutes. Stir, add chocolate chips, and stir again until chocolate chips are melted. Let stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, unwrap and halve each candy; set aside.

Beat eggs in mixer bowl. Add cooled chocolate mixture. Sift together flour, soda, and salt; add to mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until ingredients are just blended. Chill dough 1 1/2 hours. Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until cookies are done. Remove from oven and immediately place half a mint on each cookie. Let stand 2 minutes or until candy will spread. Spread chocolate over cookie. Remove cookie to a cooling rack. Makes 60-70 cookies.

What is YOUR favorite cookie recipe?

Comments

  1. thriftynonnaDecember 4, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    My favorite is Chocolate Caramel cookies! And this recipe is so easy because it uses a boxed cake mix!
    1 package devil's food cake mix
    1/4 cup water
    1 egg
    3 tablespoons vegetable oil
    38 rolo candies, unwrapped
    chopped pecans
    In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, egg and oil. Roll a rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Press a candy into each and reshape the ball. Dip tops into chopped pecans.
    Place 2 inches aprt on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until tops are cracked. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire cooling racks. Yields 3 dozen.
    If you have nut allergies simply omit the nuts and dip tops in sugar instead, I do this when I make these for a cookie exchange. Hope you enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

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