Christmas Notebook

My son Daniel enjoyed making chocolate chip cookies when he was younger. Still does. He used the recipe on the back of the Nestlé Toll House chocolate chips package and often doubled it to make cookie bars. I don’t remember when the idea came to me to use the cookie bars to make these little yummy treats. It seems I have been making them for years. They are a great favorite at the open house. Men seem especially to like them. I underbake the cookie bars by a tiny bit, so the bites are chewy and soft. And I use mini chips so the cookies are loaded with little bits of chocolate. After cutting the bars into 1-inch squares, I dip them in chocolate and sprinkle each one with decors.

Daniel’s Cookie Bar Bites

Cream together:

4 sticks margarine (2 cups), softened
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar

When light and fluffy, add:

4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix well.

In a separate bowl, stir together:

6 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Add to sugar mixture and combine thoroughly.

Add and stir:

2 12-oz. bags mini chocolate chips

Spread in a greased cookie sheet with 1″ sides.

Bake at 375* F for 17 minutes.

When cool, cut into 1″ squares and dip in melted chocolate. Sprinkle with cookie decorations / decors.

For dipping chocolate, I melt chocolate chips and add 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate for each 12-oz. bag of chips.

I make the bars ahead, cut them (removing the raised edges), freeze them between sheets of waxed paper and, after thawing, dip them in chocolate the day before our annual open house. When dipping I put them into the melted chocolate upside down so the bottom becomes the top. That ensures the tops of the finished cookies are smooth and the edges as square as possible.

I’ve also made the same recipe as little hearts, for a baby shower and for a ladies’ tea, using a 1-inch cookie cutter. For the tea, I dipped the hearts in dark chocolate and topped them with frosting flowers and sugared violets.

~~Rhonda