Holiday Party Baking (Part 2 - Andes Mint Cookies)

So for the White Elephant Party the second dessert I made was my new favorite obsession this Christmas ... Andes Mint Cookies!

I have always loved Andes Mints and so when I saw these mint bits I knew I had to buy them and try them in something but when I got home I saw that there was a cookie recipe on the bag and so I decided to try out the recipe ... Man these cookies are delicious! They're chewy and have the perfect balance of sweetness and mint! They were such a big hit at the party that I decided to also make them as gift for Christmas, I even sent them to my best friend Jamie (A Pair of Pears) for her and her husband to enjoy!

Andes Mint Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 (10 ounce) package Andes mint baking chips

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Blend butter, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until ingredients are mixed.

Add Andes Baking Chips and mix.

Add Flour and continue to mix until all ingredients are well blended together.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.

Spoon out approximately 1 oz of dough per cookie.

Form a ball and then slightly flatten.

Place on non-stick baking pans and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Cool on pans for 2 minutes, then remove.

Holiday Party Baking (Part 1 - Mint Chocolate Cake Balls)

So this past weekend I went to a friends house for a Christmas/White Elephant party and I was asked by the host to bring cake balls and some other desserts! Well since it was a Christmas party I decided to try a new flavor cake ball ... Mint Chocolate Chip!!!

I started out making a chocolate fudge cake and mixed that together once it cooled with vanilla frosting. Then I decided to try adding Andes Mint Chips into the mix ... I have never added anything into my cake balls before so I was interested to see how they would be in the cake balls but they were amazing!!!

After I rolled the mixture into balls and let them freeze for a while I dipped them into green colored vanilla candy coating ...

For a finishing touch I sprinkled crushed peppermints on top before the candy coating cooled to give it the Christmas red, white and green look!

Before the party I put them in the fridge for several hours to make sure they were nice and cold before the party, because I've discovered that when you leave them out at room temperature they tend to be more mushy and they just taste better cold!

It's been a while ...

So it has been a while since I last updated ... obviously! Well I promise that I will keep up this time! And this is why ...

I have a new project!!!

These are my favorite cook books and my recipe binder ... All in all I have 121 recipes (and I'm sure more will be added throughout the year) and within the next year I will be trying/testing/tweaking all these recipes! I'm so excited to start, just have to figure out which one will be first! :-)

Hi

So I am new to this whole blogging thing ... I have never been much of a writer but this past semester in my Marketing class we talked about blogging and how it is such a big part of the social media/networking part of marketing and my professor mentioned that in one of her classes this next year she was thinking of making all the students start a blog as one of the requirements of the class. When she said that it got me really interested and so I thought I'd start my own even though I am now out of college!

So this blog is going to be a reflection of who I am and what I am going through as I venture out into the real world with trying to find a job and figure out what it is that I want to do with my life. As well as some photography and most likely some of my baking experiences!