Monday night, an intrepid group of bloggers and blog supporters (CLEguy included!) braved the rain to get together, celebrate the season, and exchange some delicious cookies!
This was the monthly Ohio Blogging Association meet-up, organized by Poise in Parma (read her recap here) and hosted by Eat*Drink*Cleveland.
Aside from those lovely ladies, also in attendance were bloggers, tweeters, and supporters from:
Adventures of a Trapped 300-Pound Man and Ohio Festivals
Again? Really? and Health Insurance Issues With Dave
Finding the Time (read her recap here)
Marie’s Journey of Faith and Fitness
First we all enjoyed some delicious savory snacks, including baked brie, Poise in Parma’s crave-worthy chicken salad, and more. Then we all introduced ourselves and our blogs. It’s so exciting to see new faces every month and realize how much the OBA has grown since last January! Although now I have some new blogs to read too…
Then it was time for the cookie swap! There was quite the sweet treat feast:
Team WhyCLE’s contribution were double chocolate-chip cookies with peppermint glaze. They are easy to make, really delicious, and the recipe makes a ton of cookies (perfect for a cookie exchange or holiday parties). The recipe is at the end of the post, if you’re interested!
We also had an “ugly” (I mean, “festive”) Christmas sweater contest. I won, although there weren’t all that many entries. Still I’m proud of my Walmart snowman sweater vest for bringing home the win. My prize? More festive gear: a Christmas mug and Ho-Ho-Ho socks.
It was a perfect evening of getting into the holiday spirit, CLEblogger style! If you’re a blogger, tweeter, or blog supporter and are interested in coming to future OBA meet-ups, check out the Ohio Blogging Association Facebook page!
Now here’s that recipe. Happy baking!
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
For the cookies:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
For the glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 drops peppermint extract (or more to taste)
3 1/2 teaspoons water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Beat together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating in between. Add vanilla and beat.
Beat in flour mixture a little at a time.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Drop teaspoons of batter 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until just cracked on top.
Cool completely.
Mix together powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and water until smooth. You can add red or green food coloring to the glaze for added festivity.
Transfer glaze to plastic bag, snip off the corner, and drizzle over cooled cookies.
Let glaze set, about 10 minutes.
Love it! 🙂
Loved your sweater vest – so happy you won! You’re going to look awesome on Christmas sipping from your mug and rocking those socks 🙂
This post makes me happy 🙂 First, LOVE that vest. It reminds me of Jaime Lee Curtis in Christmas with the Kranks. All you’re missing is a sun burn and the “Mom” haircut. Second, just imagining you walking into a Wal Mart makes me giggle. Those cookies sound delish, I may have to try them. Ahh, remember the cookie swap parties of law school followed by Margaritas 🙂 Fun times!
PS Do you use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips? I tend to prefer semi-sweet but wanted to double check!
I used the semi-sweet. I also used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa so they were very rich!
Awww! It looks like you guys had a great time! I wish i could have been there. Your cookies sound great- totally adding them to the cookie mix this year.