My kids were invited to a cookie exchange down the street. I LOVE cookie exchanges, and apparently my kids have inherited this trait (crazy as it seems--who likes cookies?!?), because they were all excited to participate--from the toddler to the teenager.
Then it dawned on me, I would be making A LOT of cookies for this event. It is no secret that I enjoy baking. But this has been a busy week, and having the required 160 cookies (4 different kinds) ready was causing me a bit of stress....
But then while walking through Costco yesterday, I had a light bulb appear above my head, along with a mysterious "Ding!"
Costco is currently carrying boxes of Annas Ginger Swedish Thins. Each box costs about $7 and has over 260 cookies. And they are melt-in-your mouth yummy. I decided to buy these and just dress them up a bit!
All you need for this delicious cookie exchange hack is:
- Annas Ginger Swedish Thins
- Candy for dipping (I used Ghiradelli's White Chocolate, Hershey's Cinnamon Chips, and Ghiradelli's Semi-sweet Chocolate chips)
- Household Paraffin (optional--It helped with the Cinnamon Chips not getting thick when they were melting).
- Toppings to sprinkle on the dipped cookies while still hot: crushed candy canes, chopped roasted pecans, sliced almonds, coconut, candy sprinkles
- Wax paper
Directions:
1. Follow the directions for melting on the candy coating you are using's package. I have the most luck with the double-boiler method, but I've used the microwave as well (with mixed results--the microwave seems to go from under- to over-cooked in less than 3 seconds).
2. Dip cookies one at a time in the melted coating. Set on wax paper and sprinkle immediately with topping. Cool. Store in air-tight container.
Here are the white chocolate with crushed candy cane variety. I crushed about 4 candy canes (which was more than enough). After unwrapping, I broke the candy canes up in a glass bowl. Then I used the bottom of a small, sturdy glass jar to crush them in the bowl (like a mortar and pestle).
I had cookies made for two of my kids (the other two were covered) to bring to the exchange in less than an hour. And they even helped! I even made extra to put away for our Christmas festivities!
These are the ones I dipped in melted cinnamon chips. They are sprinkled with roasted, salted pecans. Mmmm...
