A Better Bag of Groceries

Holiday Cookie Swap

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 07:01 AM

‘Tis the season for holiday get-togethers!  Last weekend, we attended our friends’ annual Cookie Exchange.  Now, you might be envisioning an afternoon get-together with lots of kids running around and parents sipping hot chocolate out of big mugs.  Not!  No one under 5 feet tall is allowed at this annual party.  The height-challenged hosts joke that they barely make the cut! 

Jen & Tim host this annual fun-fest at their home in Southern Rhode Island.  It started to snow just as we were leaving and the commute is about an hour, but we did not let that deter us.  After a day of chauferring kids from event-to-event, we were looking foward to an evening with people over 5 feet tall who can drink wine.  I’m so glad we made it.  Tim & Jen’s house looked beautiful in the snow.

I’m always amazed that Jen gets her house decorated so early in December.  I give credit to Jen, but you know I mean Tim too!

The tree was beautiful:

And they even had a fire going.  I think the cat in the picture is fake.  Actually, the fire might be too.  Whatever – it was nice and cozy!

And I loved the snowflakes on her chandelier:

At the Cookie Exchange, we eat appetizers and drink wine.  Eventually, we get to the cookie part.  I wanted to bring something healthy this year, since all my friends attending are also friends of A Better Bag of Groceries.  But isn’t “Healthy Appetizer” an oxymoron?  Unless it’s a crudite of vegetables?  I contacted my Twitter friends at Cooking Light for suggestions.  They came to my rescue in mere seconds with this suggestion:  Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  The recipe is from the year 2000, but my Twitter friends tell me that it is served at many a Cooking Light Staff Party.

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

1/4 teaspoon, black pepper

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened

1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended.   Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.  Serve with tortilla chips.

I followed the recipe and purchased all the ingredients as specified, with one exception.  I am not a fan of fat-free sour cream.  So, instead I used reduced fat sour cream.  Interestingly, reduced fat sour cream scores higher than fat free on the NuVal scale.  You read that right – reduced fat sour cream scores a 29 while fat free scores a 26.  Regular sour cream scores a 25.  To make this recipe as nutritious as possible, I used Garden of Eatin’ No Salt Blue Corn Chips (score of 52) which I purchased at Price Chopper.

Everyone seemed to like the Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  It was warm and flavorful.

The dip makes A LOT.  And since my friends are a pretty health-consicous bunch, I came home with leftovers.  Next time, I will divide it in two and use it for two parties.

The Cookie Swap

What is a Cookie Swap? 

A Cookie Swap is a great little invention.  You bake a large batch of cookies (all one type) and you go to the swap and trade with everyone.  You come home with the same number of cookies you left with, but now you have a lot of different varieties of cookies.  Here’s more information on cookie swaps from Baking 911.

Again, I wanted to give my cookies a healthy twist this year.  Usually, if I’m going to eat a cookie, I just eat a cookie.  I don’t really worry about what’s in it.  But just for fun, I thought I’d try to make a healthier cookie.  Cooking Light came to the rescue again with a recipe for Espresso Crinkles.  I have to say, I have been making cookies for many, many years.  And I have made many, many different kinds of cookies.  And Espresso Crinkes are one of the best cookies I have ever made.  My husband called them “flourless chocolate cake in a cookie.”  Oh yeah, baby!  If you are a gooey, dark chocolate lover, you have to make these. 

Aren’t they beautiful?  Here they are just out of the oven.

And cooling on my wire rack…

In case you’re wondering (I always have Weight Watchers points in the back of my head), these cookies come in at only 2 Weight Watchers points a piece.  And they are worth every bite.

Eventually, just like any party with people of a certain age (most of the party-goers were on the brink of 40), the ladies end up in the kitchen and the guys end up in the basement.  I wish I had taken a picture of the ladies, but I was too busy talking and enjoying the company of these great women who I’ve known since college.  I did get a great shot of the guys engrossed in their Foosball tournament. 

We’re such party animals!

Due to the weather and a crazy-busy Sunday schedule chock full of kids’ activities, we made an early exit.  But the time spent together with friends was just the respite we needed during this hectic season.  And the bonus was the big plate of cookies that we took home.  You may remember it from my post earlier this week.

So, if you have a party this weekend, I definitely recommend both of these recipes.  Thanks to Cooking Light for coming to the rescue and enjoy the Holiday Weekend!

Posted by: Melissa 10 comments

Posted in: Cookies

Tags: appetizers, Cookies