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These Good 4 U Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with goodness. Actually, they contain all of the ingredients for a healthy breakfast, such as oats, wheat germ, organic corn flakes, almonds, cinnamon, dried cherries, eggs, and milk. Are you questioning me including the eggs and milk lol? I even ate 2 this morning for breakfast. Yes, these cookies do contain chocolate, but when has a kiss not been good for you?
This recipe make 4 dozen cookies, but feel free to freeze left over cookie dough to use another time. Should you ever have any questions on which organic ingredients I use, please leave a comment or email me and I will respond.
I have a love for party planning. Honestly, I should have been an event planner. One of my favorite parties to plan was my Holiday Cookie Exchange. I held it in the evening and included co-workers and friends. Who said that cookie exchange parties are for women only? Make it a co-ed cookie exchange!
I went way out on my Holiday Cookie Exchange, so much so that I had a bartender, photographer, and hired a limo to bring my friends from Orange County. Don’t go overboard like I did….keep it simple. Most often, it’s the simplest of parties that end up being the best. I have provided my planning list of tips and lessons learned from the Holiday Cookie Exchange Party that I hosted.
Tips For Hosting A Holiday Cookie Exchange Party
Guest list – Get your guest list together. Decide if you want co-worker, friends, and or family. A good party includes a variety of people, all who you know will get along. It’s nice to be able to introduce new friends.
Invites – An Evite is always my preferred invite, plus Evite has a great variety of invites for a cookie exchange. Get your invites out early – at least 2 weeks prior. Evite helps to keep count of who has responded and how many guests you will have attending your party.
Guest replies – On your invite, be sure that you have guest bring a certain amount of cookies, such as 1 dozen or 2 dozen. And that they email you separately with the cookie they are bringing and the recipe. Your going to need a label for each guest’s cookies and it will be nice to share the recipes after your party is over. You will also need to include a RSVP by date! This will help with your planning.
Party Decorations – Start getting ideas on decorations and themes for your cookie exchange. It can be simple to extravagant. My theme was gilver, a combination of silver and gold ornaments. I decorated my Christmas tree and the house in gilver ( a combo of gold and silver). A great way to start searching and gathering ideas is on pinterest. I started a pinterest board on a Christmas Cookie Exchange . You can find loads of amazing cookie recipes on pinterest too!
Trays and jars – I’m a bit OCD and want everything to match, so I supplied all the trays, platters, and jars. I stored all of the guest’s containers under the cookie table, so they wouldn’t forget to take them home. Here is a little piece of my poem that I included in my Evite…
So bring at least two-dozen cookies or bars,
Stored in a plastic bowl or plate will do,
No need to worry over something pretty,
As I will have a special tray just for you!
Labels – You will need an attractive label for each type of cookie . For my labels, I used scissors with decorative edges to edges of paper.
Food – Keep it simple! I picked up food from Joan’s on Third and served it buffet style, in heating trays. Save the cooking for baking your cookies. You could keep it simple by serving appetizers. If you insist on preparing your own food, here are a few dishes on my blog that would be great to serve. Absolutely no desserts! Cookies will more than satisfy your sweet tooth.
- Skinny Buffalo Wings + Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dip
- Skinny Jeans Baked Feta Spinach Dip
- Stout Braised Grass-fed Beef Sliders + Ginger Slaw
- Kale Caesar Salad
Cocktails/Drinks – The decision to serve alcohol or not. I always do at my parties, however I had a bartender for this particular party and I wish I had kept it more of a non-drinking party. Once guest start drinking, they no longer crave sweets, or can taste for that matter. If you do serve alcohol, keep it simple by serving 1 signature drink, such as pomegranate martinis.
Music – Start downloading your holiday music playlist now. You can find the most popular holiday hits on iTunes.
Containers – Your guests are going to want to take home cookies. Purchase holiday bags and provide labels with their names, so each of your guests can take home a variety of cookies. After we tasted the cookies, I handed out bags and everyone filled their bags with cookies.
Prizes – After my guests had eaten and mingled, we all gathered in my formal living room by the fire place and I handed each person a holiday paper plate. One at a time, each guest stood up with their cookies and described them, and then they offered each person one to try, until everyone had shared their cookies. Then each person scored the cookies from pre-printed score sheets.
- First prize – Favorite Cookie
- Second prize – Prettiest Cookie
- Third Prize – Best Effort Cookie
Prizes were given out such as a Farm House Whoopie Candle that smells like the most delicious cake batter ever (I had one of my own burning during the entire party), a Starbuck Cake Pop Kit, and a cookie jar.
Most of all, enjoy your party and friends…just have fun! Afterwards, follow-up with a thank you email and include pics of the party and the recipes.
Will you be hosting a cookie exchange party this season? Do you think cookie exchange parties are best held in the day or night?
Good 4 U Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: makes 4 dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Organic
Description
Adapted from Naturally Danny Seo, Winter 2015
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted organic butter, softened
- 1/2 cup firmly packed organic brown sugar
- 2 organic eggs
- 1 cup organic whole milk
- 2 cups organic whole wheat rolled oats
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup organic corn flakes cereal
- 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup organic semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries, chopped
- Chocolate kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, then the milk, beating until combined. (The milk will not quite combine with the butter, so the mixture will look a little separated, but this is fine.)
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, cereal, flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix, then add in the chocolate chips and dried cherries, and mix again.
- Add the oat mixture to the wet mixture in the mixer. Mix on the lowest speed until combined.
- Using organic cooking spray, lightly oil a cookie tray. Or you can use parchment paper. Use a tablespoon to scoop the cookie dough onto the tray, leaving 2 inches between each one. Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookies. Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly browned.
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!
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