Christmas Cookie Exchange and a Recipe

Last Thursday we had our first Ladies Group Cookie Exchange. We met at a member's house and assembled baskets to be given to church members that were having some life struggles. We wanted to show our love for them and let them know that we are there for them through this difficult time of the year. My church has such loving members. I have only been here at our church for about 5 months, but I instantly felt enveloped by these loving people the minute I walked through the doors. They have been such a blessing in my life. They are always looking for ways to reach out to others within the church and our new Ladies Group is going to be a way to reach out to our community as well. I am very excited about the future of our little congregation. We are a very small church right now. We meet in a Recreation Center right now but we are just about to break ground at our new location. It is very exciting to watch our new church buliding go up and watch our family grow.

At our meeting we were to each bring 3 dozen of our favorite cookies to share. I have never made these cookies before, but they sounded good so I decided to give them a try. I was not disappointed - they are delicious! I got the recipe from this magazine. I would love to share it with you. The recipe is kind of labor intensive though - not too bad, but you need to follow the directions exactly.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Makes 4 1/2 dozen

3/4 cup butter

4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet baking chocolate, chopped

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (11 ounce) package white chocolate morsels

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Crushed peppermint candy

In a medium bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted and smooth (about 1 1/2 minutes total). Let cool slightly.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, Beat in chocolate mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until combined; dough will be very sticky. Cover dough with heavy duty plastic wrap; freeze for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place dough 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a flat-bottomed glass dipped in sugar, flatten cookies to 1/4 inch thickness. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack on top. Let cool on pan for 2 minutes. Remove and cool completely on wire racks. In a medium bowl, combine white chocolate morsels and vegetable shortening. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. (about 1 minute total). Dip half of each cookie in white chocolate mixture, allowing excess to drain. Place cookies on waxed paper, and sprinkle white chocolate half of cookie with crushed peppermint. Let stand for 1 hour, or until white chocolate is set.

I am telling you - these cookies are scrumptious!

The reason why I am saying to follow the cookie recipe closely, is because I put the cookies in the refrigerator to chill instead of the freezer. The cookie batter is very sticky and gets all over your hands when you try to roll them into balls. If you put the dough in the freezer, it is easier to roll them and not as messy. Parchment paper helps them so they don't stick to the pan.

Here is my lame attempt at taking a picture of the finished result. Yummy!

They were a big hit at our gathering. Everyone brought enough cookies to share so that all could take a cookie plate home . I am going to make Christmas cookies for my kids so there will be too many cookies at my house, so I didn't take any home. I definitely don't need any more padding on my hips!

Here are the finished baskets. We had so much fun putting these together - we will definitely do this again next year!