Amandita Designs: Christmas Cookies and Festivities

This past Friday I made a double batch of these chocolate Hershey kiss cookies. On Saturday for lunch Branson & I were meeting up with some of his family (from Maryland) and I wanted to give them a little something AND that night we were going to our Sunday School class's Christmas dinner party...which I signed up to bring a dessert. I figured a double batch will be plenty. They were super simple to make. I was happy to find The Curvy Carrot's blog via Pinterest. She has a lot of great recipes! You should check her out. I don't think mine turned out as perfect as hers...but they are pretty close and probably just as yummy. =)

Chocolate Hershey Kiss Cookies

You'll need 2/3 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa,

1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 egg (hiding in the small

flowered bowl), 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour.

Mix according the the directions below. =) And your dough should

look something like this. Not too sticky and not too dry.

(Ps. Make sure you wash your hands before handling)

I had two bowls ready with sprinkles (we call them jimmies in Pennsylvania).

My parchment paper all ready on the the cookie sheets...you can get parchment paper from Walmart. It should be with the aluminum foil. Reynolds has their own parchment paper. I used to have to buy Wilton's brand which is a little more expensive then Reynolds brand. Plus, if you go to Reynolds site, you can get a coupon for their parchment paper. =) Every little bit helps.

Roll your dough balls in the "jimmies"...

"Jimmie" camouflage! =P

My husband even helped me! =) Yeah!

After they bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. (I only had mine in for 7 minutes)

You have to stick your Hershey kisses into the cookies while they're hot. So, you'll want

to have your Hershey kisses unwrapped and ready to go!

Pretty!!! I love how festive they look! My mom makes these, but she does a peanut butter bottom with no sprinkles...I don't like peanut butter, so I used to eat the Hershey kisses out of the cookie and throw the cookie away! Haahaa!! =) I like the chocolate bottoms waaaaaay better! =)

Chocolate Hershey Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
sprinkles
1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium-high speed for 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
4. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
5. Beat in the flour.
6. Your dough should be at ball-rolling consistency at this point. If it's not, let it chill in the refrigerator for a while to firm up.
7. Once easily handled, roll dough into 1-inch balls.
8. Roll balls in sprinkles to coat.
9. Place balls 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie's center.

I just packed some of these little lovelies into gift boxes that I made out of card stock.

Clever, I know. I wish I would have come up with it myself, but I didn't. I found an easy

tutorial via Pinterest...again...from Gwennypenny's blog. She also has some really

adorable ideas. So, you need to check her out as well. =)

Cute! Simple little gifts...love it!

Ah, our couples party...So, Kim and Henry hosted the party at their house.

She made stuffed shells for dinner and they were delish!!! Half were spinach

and cheese and the other half were cheese and meat. Basically, you can never go

wrong with cheese. =) Everyone else brought something to help out.

After dinner we did our gift exchange....everyone is waiting in anticipation! =)

Everyone picks a number. Then everyone gets a chance to pick a present in the order of the number they've received. If it's your number you can either pick a gift from the pile or you can steal someone else's gift they've already opened...If you're the one who was stolen from you can either pick from the gift pile or steal another gift (you cannot steal what was just stolen from you). Once a gift is stolen 3 times, it cannot be stolen again. Henry is super excited with his number.