Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

This past Saturday we had our annual Christmas cookie exchange party.  I have to say I was slacking a little bit because I didn't even tie any ribbons around the wine glasses or get out the paper straws like I did last year.  Ha!

Everyone brought delicious cookies.  We had hot cocoa cookies, gooey butter cookies, M&M and chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip with pecan, Oreo brownies, peanut butter bars, and our cookies...

We made double chocolate cheesecake cookies with mascarpone glaze piped on top (recipe from How Sweet It Is).  They weren't quite as cheese cake tasting as I had hoped, but they were just the right balance of chocolate and they were moist and chewy, so we loved them.

Double Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies with Mascarpone Glaze

P.S. Sorry I didn't take more pictures of everyone's cookies...we were trying to keep the new puppy from eating everything in sight. :)

We also made the cream cheese and cucumber crostinis again like we did at our housewarming party (in addition to other things).  This time I switched out the plain cream cheese and Italian dressing mixture for onion and chive cream cheese.  It was easier to make and I actually liked it better.

It was also a goodbye party for our friend Allison, who just got a new job in Missouri.  Since it was her last party with us, we played Apples to Apples, which is a tradition for parties at our house. (Oh, and the animal babies joined in, too.)

Apples to Apples! :)

And of course we had to get a good group photo. :)

We had a great time.  The best part of Christmas is spending time with friends and family, so I'm glad we've made this an annual tradition to help us enjoy the season. :)

Hope your Christmas is just as bright!

--CC