Our Christmas Cookie For 2018.

Since we were back in the United States, we resumed our annual Christmas Cookie Exchange party and decided to combine it with an Ugly Sweater Party. These Candy Cane Kiss Crinkle Cookies were our contribution. It's probably a little risky to make a big batch of cookies for the first time that will be going to twenty different homes, yet here we were experimenting with how to make these cookies for the first time and have them turn out looking deliciously like cookies and not resembling candy striped nipples.  Here is our recipe and tips on how we made them. The key was to keep the dough cold... and the kisses frozen.

Candy Cane Kiss Crinkle Sugar Cookies
Oven Temperature 350F

3 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 1/2 Cups Butter
2 Large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
6 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
4-6 Peppermint Candy Canes
Granulated White Sugar 
60(+) Unwrapped Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses


In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, combine the powdered sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl often. 

Crush up the peppermint candy canes to desirable size in a plastic Ziploc bag using a rolling pin or mallet. 

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, crushed candy canes). Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, scraping down the bowl until blended. Mixture will be crumbly.  

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Immediately roll in granulated white sugar. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet and place in freezer until ready to place in the oven. This will avoid having the cookie dough spread out too much while baking. 

Place unwrapped Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses in the freezer until ready to place on baked cookie dough. As soon as the cookie dough comes out of the oven, press a frozen Candy Cane Kiss into the center of each cookie. The cookie dough will crack a little around the edges. 

Immediately place the cookie sheet with cookies into the refrigerator, ensuring that the Candy Cane Kisses will set quickly and not spread out and melt. This will help maintain their iconic Hershey's Kiss shape.  

Store in a covered container at room temperature. 

Christmas Cookie Exchange.

Nothing puts you in the spirit of the season quite like a cookie exchange party. The cookies themselves are the main focal point of the party, which makes this type of party a very affordable and easy way to entertain.We asked each guest to bring four dozen home-made cookies with them. They specified which cookie they would bring when they responded to the invite. This way it prevented duplicate cookie recipes. However, there did seem to be a running peppermint theme throughout the night.

Since our cookie buffet was the focal point of the party, we designed the table so guests could have easy access to all of the treats. To add visual interest to our buffet, we elevated platters and used cake pedestals to create height. For a unified look, as well as to create a blank canvas for the different varieties of cookies, we used white dishware. We filled in the gaps of our table with fresh flowers and white unscented candles.

While we had a main buffet table dedicated to the cookies, we also created another buffet with carafes of hot chocolate, coffee, and ice water. We set up a small hot chocolate bar so guests could customize their beverage. We offered whipped cream, sprinkles, peppermint sticks, miniature marshmallows, and chocolate chips to add to their hot beverage. 

Cookie Exchange Awards.

As in previous years of hosting a cookie exchange, we gave out awards again this year. We let our guests anonymously vote on which cookie they thought was "The Prettiest Cookie", "The Tastiest Cookie", and "The Most Unique Cookie". We made the awards using white card stock, brown card stock, glitter, and two cupcake wrappers. The prettiest cookie award went to the Peppermint Crinkle Kiss cookie. The tastiest cookie was awarded to the Oreo Truffles. And finally, there was a tie between the Bourbon Pecan Chew cookie and the Peppermint Bliss Bar for the most unique cookie of the evening.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies.

On cold winter days, there's just something about a house that is filled with the smell of baking cookies that immediately warms you up. And there is something so hearty about an oatmeal cookie. With almonds. And craisins. And coconut. So as we look forward to spring and the warm weather that the season promises, we'll leave you with this delicious cookie recipe.

1 Cup            Unsalted butter at room temperature
1 Cup             Brown sugar
1 Cup            Granulated sugar
3                    Large eggs
2 teaspoon     Pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups     Flour
1 teaspoon     Baking powder
1 teaspoon     Cinnamon
1 teaspoon     Salt
3 Cups           Rolled oats
1 1/2 Cups     Craisins
1 Cup            Sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 Cups     Coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy on medium speed. Gradually add one egg at a time and vanilla. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder in separate bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, keeping your mixer on. Add oatmeal, craisins, coconut, and almonds. Mix until just combined. Drop cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned.  

Christmas Cookie Exchange Party.

It's the season of holiday parties! We kept our annual Christmas cookie exchange simple this year. Keeping in the color scheme of our house, we kept the decorations neutral.  After all, the main event of the party was the cookies! For our table, we used a square of burlap and placed our white serving dishes on top. I made pom-poms out of grey yarn and tied them to sticks we picked up out of our yard. This created a simple, yet beautiful centerpiece.

And of course we had to give out prizes again this year! We gave out prizes for the categories of "Best Looking Cookie", "Most Unique Cookie", and "Best Tasting Cookie".

Christmas Cookie Exchange.

A small intimate gathering of a dozen friends met together for our annual cookie exchange party. We had fourteen different varieties to sample. We gave out three different awards for "Yum", "Unique", and "Cutest" were given out based on votes from the other guests. Decorations were kept simple using a lot of peppermints and the colors red and white.