Cookie Party!

First - This is my 300th post! Woo Hoo! I had grand plans to do a fun giveaway for my 300th, but that may have to wait because I'm not ready...maybe a giveaway for 312 posts or something equally as random? I'll keep you updated!

Second - I went to my friend L's annual Cookie Exchange Party last night. So fun! To me, that's the perfect holiday party. Girls only, plenty of booze and cookies. Plus, for non-bakers like myself, it's a way I can get a few dozen Christmas cookies without baking them myself. J was literally waiting by the front door when I got home last night to see what kind of goodies I brought home. I have to say, this was one of the best years in terms of quality and quantity of cookies. All the girls had been emailing each other the week of the party to make sure that we had a good variety of cookies, and it worked out well.

Since I despise baking, this was of course a little bit of a challenge for me. I searched far and wide for an easy recipe that would still look like I slaved away over a hot stove. My whole problem with baking (and especially cookies) is that it just takes SO long and it's very labor intensive. I hate having to make batches and batches and checking and cooling.... So when I came across this recipe, I knew I found a winner:

Snickerdoodle Blondies (found from Dozen Flours)

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended.

Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat cookiebatter-ish.) Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly.

While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife. Yields: approximately 30 servings (depending on how you cut the bars)

Obviously super easy and I love that you just spread them in a pan, bake and you're done. They look fancy and they definitely got gobbled up at the party. Highly recommended, especially for non-bakers!!

Also at the party, we had my friend L's famous Punch. We call it "The Punch". She makes it every year and we literally drink every drop. It's pretty lethal and I definitely consumed 3 wine glasses full last night, which is probably too much for a Thursday night!

"The Punch"
2 1/2 c. Southern Comfort (basically an entire bottle)
2 1/4 qts. 7-Up
6 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 (6 oz.) can frozen orange juice
2 (6 oz.) cans frozen lemonade

Chill ingredients; mix in punch bowl. Add 7-Up last. Yum!

Happy Friday!!