Christmas Cookies

Every Christmas i find a new cookie recipe to try.  Some have been great, and others not so much...
The great ones get added to the OFFICIAL COOKIE LIST along with my dad's heirloom cookie recipes.  About 5 years ago, I found this recipe in Parents magazine and it was a HUGE hit so it now has a permanent residence on the COOKIE LIST.  In fact, sometimes we sneak it out in the middle of July and make them...they're THAT good!  http://www.parents.com/recipe/cookies/chocolate-malt-crinkles/

Chocolate Malt Crinkles

The baking season has officially commenced in our house.  And now my biggest challenge is to find a way to share all these cookies so that I don't gain 50 pounds between now and January.  

Luckily for me, I have a new friend, Karla, who happens to also be the local QUEEN of PARTIES! (well, she's actually a reacquainted old friend, who happens to live just 5 minutes away from me, who I found totally and completely by accident shortly after we moved here, but you know how I feel about accidents...and that story has nothing to do with cookies, so I'll save it for another post.)  

Karla has an ANNUAL COOKIE EXCHANGE, and guess what!...I am invited this year!!
Now this is NOT just a handful of girls getting together to trade a few dozen cookies.  This party has evolved over the years and has become so widely acclaimed that she has TWO SHIFTS of 14 people each, coming to her house tomorrow night!  I'm going to the first party (from 5:30 - 7:15)  And then she will somehow have to clear us all out so that she has the FULL 15 MINUTES to reset for the next party at 7:30!  I LOVE parties and I have attempted a few big ones in the past, but the thought of herding 30 people in and out of my house within 15 minutes makes my head spin!!  I'm so glad I'm ATTENDING this party and not HOSTING it.  All I have to do is make 85 of those yummy Chocolate Malt Crinkles and divide them up into 14 little bags...easy peasy, huh?  And then when I come home, I'll have 85 cookies (which doesn't exactly solve my original challenge, but Christmas cookies = BLISS, right, so I guess I'll just plan to exercise in January.)


I offered to go over to Karla's early tomorrow to help her decorate.  She thinks it's because I'm so nice, but actually it's because I'm hoping to "osmose" some of her "amazing-ness."  Mostly when I've been there in the past, I just stand there in her living room or in her kitchen or in her hallway and marvel at her clever ideas and gorgeous decorations.  Hopefully some of that talent is contagious.  Tomorrow we're hanging lanterns and snowflakes and little lights in her dining room.  Again, head spinning...  I never would have thought of that.  I would have just turned on the chandelier.  


I'm SO excited to go tomorrow night!  And I plan to take my camera so I can add pictures to my follow up post.  I'm sure it will be SPECTACULAR!!
    
Pictures from the party...(posted 12/16)