It's Cookie Time

I love cooking. And baking. And eating. I haven't done a big Christmas cookie smash for several years, though, and I decided it was time. There were some hits and some duds, so I thought I'd share.

Peanut butter cookies - with only 3 ingredients, it seemed a great idea. I don't know what I could have done wrong, but even the dog didn't want to eat them. The reviews sounded good...

Snickerdoodles- Alex likes this kind of cookie but I've never made it before. This recipe seemed reasonable, so I tried it. Rolling them in the sugar becomes a little tedious, but the end result was very tasty. He was pleased, so mission accomplished.

White chocolate chip Oatmeal Cranberry cookies - Alex had a friend visiting who requested macadamia and white chocolate cookies. I didn't have macadamia nuts, so this was the compromise. Even slightly overbaked, these were really good.

Hello Dollies - I don't know about the name, but these will make you sit up and take notice! Golly, these are good. I used cinnamon graham crackers, and added a handful of white chocolate chips (left over from previous recipe) plus some dried cranberries. I would have added some peanuts or pistachios for some non-sweet items, but we'd eaten them all. I definitely recommend using the 8x8 pan rather than the 9x13.

Potato Candy - I don't know about this one. There are a bunch of recipes for it, the one I started with said to use two small potatoes. You can feed the US army with as much candy as that makes! This link uses a smaller portion of potatoes. Don't worry, there's no potato flavor after all that sugar is added. I unfortunately didn't have as much peanut butter as I thought As soon as I get more peanut butter, I will try smashing out the remaining candies, layer additional peanut butter, and re-roll it. I think the peanut butter does cut the sweetness factor, so hopefully adding more will make this a nice idea. Even the kids didn't eat much of this because it was just too sweet.

Butter Toffee - How easy is this? Put it in a pan, boil it until it is the color of peanut butter, then pour it out and let it cool. It's really yummy. I did not melt the chocolate in a separate bowl, but rather just put the Ghirardelli chocolate chips directly onto the hot toffee. They melted right away, and it worked out great. This really makes a lot; I used two sheet pans. I did not coat both sides, and it was sufficiently chocolate. I also only needed 1/3 of the crushed peppermint quantities she listed. Next time I need something different to take for a party or gift, I know what to make!