Cookie Exchange Time!

One Saturday I had a cookie swap with LB and her friends (and the moms being my friends as well) and the next Saturday I got to go to another cookie swap with some of my friends from church.  I was so excited! Rules were the same - bring 3 dozen cookies to share!  We ate and ate and ate and laughed and laughed and laughed! It was so much fun!

Peanut Butter Shortbread

(brought by Leah Shull)

1 stick, (1/2 c.) unsalted butter, room temp

1/3 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour (she used whole wheat)

1/4 c. confectioner's sugar

scant 1/2 t. sea salt

3/4 c. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.  Cream the butter and peanut butter together with a mixer or wooden spoon.  Beat in the vanilla.  Whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture.  Mix until dough comes together.  Stir in the chips and turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper.  Gently pull the dough together and form it into a log.  If it is still crumbly, work it with your hands until it holds together smoothly.  Roll it up in the paper, smoothing the shape as you go.  Twist the ends securely and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.  Slice the log into slices with a sharp knife. Slices should be 1/3 of an inch thick.  If a slice crumbles, just smoosh the dough back together.  Bake at 325 for about 12-14 minutes.  The cookies will not be browned and they may look undone, but don't over bake.  Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on pan before transferring to a rack.  Makes about 21 small cookies.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

(brought by Chelsea Culberson)

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/3 c. cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add food coloring until you reach the desired color.  Add the egg, vanilla and mix until combined.  Add the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the white chocolate chips.  Using a cookie scoop, place the dough 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Gently flatten with the bottom of a measuring cup.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Congo Squares

(brought by Allison Cross)

1 box light brown sugar (2 1/3 c.)

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

2 3/4 c. self rising flour

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 package of chocolate chips (12 oz)

1 c. nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time.  Slowly add flour.  Batter will be very thick.  Add vanilla, nuts and chocolate chips.  Spread into greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Graham Cracker Heath Bars

(brought by Ashli Rogers)

Graham Crackers

2 sticks real butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped pecans

milk chocolate or chocolate almond bark

white chocolate or white almond bark

Preheat oven to 350.  Cover bottom of 11x15 cookie sheet (with a lip) with crackers separated into fourths.  In a small sauce pan, boil butter and sugar for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and pecans.  Mix well.  Spoon mixture over graham crackers evenly and bake 10-12 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Melt chocolate in microwave separately and drizzle over cooled bars with a slotted spoon. Allow chocolate to harden. (You can put it into the refrigerator for awhile.) Break into pieces and serve.

Rocky Road Fudge

(brought by Ashley Deffenbaugh)

12 oz. NESTLE TOLL HOUSE semi-sweet chocolate morsels

14 oz. NESTLE CARNATION Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 t. vanilla extract

3 c. miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 c. coarsley chopped walnuts

Line 9x13 baking pan with foil and grease lightly.  Microwave morsels and milk in large, microwave-safe bowl on high power for 1 minute; stir.  Microwave at additional 10-20 second intervals; stirring until smooth.  Stir in vanilla extract.  Fold in marshmallows and nuts.  Press mixture into prepared baking pan.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.

Chocolate Crinkles

(brought by Hannah Burkhart)

1/2 c. oil

3 squares unsweet chocolate - melted

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

confection sugar

Mix and heat oil, chocolate and sugar.  In a large bowl, put oil mixture and beat in one egg at a time until well mixed.  Add vanilla.  Put in flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix well.  Chill several hours or overnight.  Drop rolled tsp. dough into powder sugar on well-greased pan.  Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes.

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

(brought by Becky Welch because my truffels were HORRIBLE!)

1 box strawberry cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together.  Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

by Kristen Hicks

Ingredients

For the bars:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp. baking powder

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. orange extract

1 c. dried cranberries

1 c. white chocolate chips

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp.

2 c. confectioners sugar, sifted

2 tsp. finely minced orange zest

1 tsp. orange extract

1/2 c. dried cranberries

8 oz. white chocolate chips, divided

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray (or line with parchment paper) a 10x15 jellyroll

pan.

-In a medium bowl, mix together the first 5 dry ingredients. Set aside.

-Melt butter; mix with sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time,

and mix into butter/sugar. Add orange extract and stir. Incorporate dry ingredients,

about a third at a time, so they don’t splash back out. Pour in dried cranberries and

white chocolate chips and mix gently. Spread into jellyroll pan.

-Bake for about 20 minutes, until slightly browned on the top, but be careful not to

overbake. Let bars completely cool while you make the frosting.

-Mix cream cheese and butter; add confectioners sugar, orange zest, and orange

extract and mix again.

-Gently melt 4 oz. of the white chocolate chips and stir into the frosting.

-When bars are cool, frost them with the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle dried

cranberries on top.

-Melt remaining 4 oz. of white chocolate and drizzle over the bars.

-Put in fridge to harden. Cut into squares and then triangles.

Chocolate-Cherry-Walnut Thumbprints

by Keli Tripp

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate pieces

2 Tbsp shortening

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp instant espresso coffee powder

1/2 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts

3/4 cup cherry pie filling (with 36 to 40 cherries)

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

-In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the chocolate pieces and 1 tablespoon of the

shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

-In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until

fluffy. Beat in cooled chocolate mixture. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Beat until

combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder.

Beat on low speed until just combined.

-Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in chopped walnuts. Place balls 1 inch

apart on prepared cookie sheet. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center

of each cookie.

-Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer

cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

-Spoon a cherry with some of the sauce into cookie centers. In the same small

saucepan, heat and stir remaining chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until

chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

-Drizzle chocolate mixture over tops of cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set. Makes

36 to 40 cookies.

We had a wonderful time and I hate I did not get any pictures of the girls who were there.  Did anyone do that?  We were more taken with the food!!!!