Cookie Smorgasbord at Laurie's!!!

Sunday Lisa and I had a wonderful time at Laurie's Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange and came home with a wonderful sampling of delicious cookies (and a belly full of sugary treats!). Laurie's country home is truly beautiful and we had a great time visiting with old friends and meeting new ones!! Thank you Laurie for inviting us, we had so much fun! As for those cookies we all took home, well, let's say my children have left a few crumbles in the box....

I made my palmiers and drizzled them with chocolate...

After sampling the wonderful cookies and voting for our favorites, the following winner cookies took the prize for best tasting!!

Triple Chocolate Pomegranate Cookies

(chocolate categorie)

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped dark chocolate-covered pomegranate poms (Costco has them!)

Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

Maple cookies

(non-chocolate categorie)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, shortening and both sugars together. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Roll dough into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Pat cookies down to about 2 inches across. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes. Do not over-bake. Remove from pan and cool. Frost with maple glaze.

Maple glaze:

Melt 1/4 cup butter until golden brown. Blend in 1 cup sifted powdered sugar and a few drops of maple flavoring. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot water until icing spreads smoothly.