Christmas Cookies 2012

Here they are... the Cookies that took me a week and a half to make, shape and decorate...  It is a labor of love...and a stress reliever... and fun...


My very favorite are the heart santas.  Thanks to Foose Cookie Cutters website for the idea...

 Thanks to Lizy B Bakes for the santa pants idea.  I love theses as well... So cute!

 If I could buy royal icing already colored and in the perfect consistency I needed- I would, but I can't... so I struggle to make it...

 Santa's Pants during the decorating process...

My workstation...

I also made about 25 Snowman and Christmas trees.  These were treats for my friends at work. I didn't get real good pictures before I gave them away....

These are the cookies that I have left.  I'm tired and ran out of time... These will be for New Years! :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Blogger Cookie Swap 2012

I was super excited to find out about the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2012 http://www.fbcookieswap.com and participated for the first time this year.  

Here’s what we did:
I received the names, websites, and addresses of three awesome food bloggers. I sent a dozen  Chocolate Caramel Cookies to each blogger, hoping that they would travel well and not be a gooey mess once they traveled across the country.  This year, the registration fee for the cookie exchange is being donated to Cookies for Kids' Cancer-a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer. As a gift for registering OXO sent us all a "be a good cookie" spatula. Awesome... 

Who did I send cookies to?

• Anne from Bakin' Friends (and Other Sweet Things):  http://bakinfriends.blogspot.com/
• Erin from  Whip It Good Cookies: http://whipitgoodcookies.blogspot.com
• Megan from  Country Cleaver : http://www.countrycleaver.com

What did I make?
I sent them these Chocolate Caramel Cookies, which are made from a basic Chocolate Cookie recipe, but with a twist. I added a rolo to the center of each cookie to give it a nice gooey, unexpected center.

Here is the recipe...

Who sent me cookies?
 I received these beautiful sugar cookies from Lizy B's Bakeshop-www.lizyb.com

and these awesome wafer cookies from Nerdy Baker... http://nerdybaker.wordpress.com

and... yummy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies from
 white and dorky chef- http://whiteanddorkychef.wordpress.com

I'm looking forward to next year's swap!