I had grand intentions of posting this stuff BEFORE the 14th, that way if anyone was inclined they could make their own… but we all know that that was a little ambitious. So you’ll just have to file this away for next year!
My mom and I always say that we will start the cookie process earlier, so that we aren’t up until 2am cutting out little hearts but we never seem to make that happen. Though this year I did plan ahead a little. I spent Wednesday night mixing up doughs to place in the refrigerator overnight, gluing little strips of paper to clothespins and cutting out little hearts. I still had quite a bit to do Thursday night… and Friday morning before work, but the chaos was under more control than usual.
This years goodies consisted of the same sugar cookies that my mom and I have been making for the past 20+ years, and the most amazing chocolate cookies ever. The recipe for the chocolate cookies came from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. They were advertised as the perfect balance of chocolate and chewiness and they did not disappoint. A sidenote : it appears that the website requires you too sign up for a free 14 day trail to view the recipe. I did however see this recipe while I was on there and I think these will have to be tested!
As for packaging, which I think is equally if not more important then the sweets inside, I found some great paper bags over at Nashville Wraps. You can’t beat 500 bags for under $20. And their “Value Double Faced Satin Ribbon” is amazing, especially for the price. If you have any pretty packaging needs I recommend requesting a catalog. As for closing the bags I was unsure of what I wanted to do. Then I remembered that I had a HUGE bag of clothes pins I had bought for another project. So I cut strips of paper and glued them to the pins and put a coat of Mod Podge on top to seal them. I used coordinating papers to make tags and label the contents of each bag.
I didn’t get as many cookies made as I had hoped, things are tricky when you’ve got an 8-5 job! Maybe next time I will plan a little better… maybe!