Cookie Swap Parties

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! http://www.duncanhines.com/.

December is a time for parties and entertaining.  There are class parties, office parties, and holiday open houses.  We always host an "Orphan's Christmas" on Christmas Eve for our friends whose extended families live elsewhere.  There's no secret that I love to bake(and eat) cookies, and one of my favorite types of December gatherings is the cookie swap.

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You'll want your invitations to go out early in the month, because December social calendars fill up fast.  It's a little late in the game, but you can right click on these to print them from your browser.  You can slip these in an envelope or send them postcard style to save on postage.

The way a cookie swap works best is with 6-12 guests.  Each guest brings one type of cookie, a dozen per guest.  One dozen is unwrapped and set out for sampling and each guest leaves with one dozen of each cookie brought.  I think it's nice for the host to provide pretty containers to bring the cookies home in.  You can grab takeout containers for very little and personalize them with pretty paper or ribbons.  For those of you with a Silhouette, I'm pretty sure there's a takeout box template.

What's a cookie swap without some cookie inspired cocktails?  How about a Naughty Girl Scout(thin mint flavor in a cocktail glass,) or a Peppermint Bark Cocktail?  Rim the glass with some colored sugar and mix together 1 oz vanilla vodka, 1 oz Godiva's white chocolate liqueur, 1/2 oz peppermint schnapps or white creme de menthe, and drop a piece of peppermint bark in the bottom of the glass.  Use a candy cane as a stir stick.

Thanks for popping in and partying with me.

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website http://www.duncanhines.com/ to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

TGIF - Time for Cocktails

I'm all about helping to support the community, and every year when the girl scouts sell their cookies, I buy boxes of them.  Yes, I keep a gluten-free kitchen, but really it's just Whirling Dervish who's on a gluten-free diet.  So there are several months of the year when I might have girl scout cookies stashed in my bedroom closet.  Which ones?  The quintessential ones of course - the Thin Mints.  Little bites of chocolate and mint perfection.

So what does this have to do with cocktails?  Well, sometimes you want that girl scout cookie fix and your closet is empty, and it's been a long day, or even a long week.  Enter the Naughty Girl Scout.

She's not real pretty to look at, but boy is she ever yummy.  These are so yummy in fact, that you won't have any idea how many you've had until you go to stand up.  Did I mention that these are straight liquor?

Here's the recipe.  Shake 1 oz Kahlua, 1 oz Vodka, and 1 oz Irish Cream with some ice.  Pour over crushed ice in a glass.

Pour 1 oz of Creme de Menthe down the middle of the glass.  I was a little messy with this step(tried to snap a pic while pouring,) but even being messy, you'll still get that terrific layering.  These are deadly at a bachelorette party and terrific around a firepit(what could be better than scouts around a firepit.)  If you were counting that's 4 oz of liquor.  Feel free to divvy these up between 2 smaller cordial glasses.

Thanks for popping in and drinking with me.  Hope you all have a terrific weekend.  I'm linking this to Just A Girl's Show and Share Day, and Centsational Girl's Picnic & Barbecue Ideas Party.