Cookie Exchange Recipe & Display Part Two

The evening prior to Cookie Exchange Party 2010 was a disaster. The cookies I had planned to make were a failure. I tried two different recipes and ended up throwing them both out. Unfortunately I did not discover that the second recipe was a flop until about 2 hours before I had to leave for the party. With time running out and a grocery store run imminent, I realized that homemade was simply no longer an option. I remembered seeing my beloved Pioneer Woman blog about a simple cookie she had made and was on board. Sometimes you just do what you have to do. And you know what? They were good.

Quick Candy Cookies

Ingredients:
Refrigerator Cookie Dough (I used sugar & gingerbread)
Miniature Chocolate Candies (I used Hershey Kisses)

Directions:
Slice the cookie dough into 1 to 1 ½ inch slices. Lay the slices on their side and cut them into quarters. Place each quarter into a greased mini-muffin tin. Peel the wrapper from as many pieces of candy as cookies you’re going to make. (Don’t be afraid to try different combinations of candies and dough.)

Bake the cookie dough in a 350-degree oven for just a few minutes, about 6 to 8 at the most. You’ll want to take them out just when they start to turn golden.

Almost as soon as you pull the warm cookies from the oven, begin lightly pressing one piece of candy into each cookie. The warmer the cookies, the better. They’ll grab onto the pieces of candy and work their magic, making the candy nice and soft and melty.

When they’re all done, carefully remove from muffin tins with a spoon.

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Thankfully I was prepared in the presentation department last year. I had purchased a plastic white cupcake tower at a craft store with a 40% off coupon. I then Mod Podged cocktail napkins (which I had cut into small pieces) directly onto the tower. Finally I trimmed each layer with ribbon and made a little ribbon topper as well.


In the end no one would have known about my baking disaster if I had not told them (which of course I did.) Lesson learned.