Butterscotch Amaretto Cookies

Today is my neighbor's annual cookie exchange.

 I know this is coming up 12 months in advance,

but do I plan what I will bring?

Do I prebake?

NO.

So at the last minute- 

and I mean the Last Minute, we were driving to the store,

I came up with butterscotch amaretto cookies.

 To make the selection more attractive (hopefully)

I decided to package them in red wire baskets

lined with white tissue.  The cookies are wrapped

in cling wrap to keep them bundled and a little

tissue bunched up behind them to keep them upright.

I added dollar store items:

a scraper/spreader and a red and white scoop

that can be used for flour, grain, cat food, etc.

 Then I sprinkled the top with butterscotch candies

as well as strawberry filled hard candy.

Ingredients

  2 1/4 C flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) softened

  3/4 C brown sugar - packed

3/4 C granulated sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 eggs - large

2 C butterscotch chips

(nuts optional)

Oven temperature 375 degrees F

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies depending on size.

Set aside in a small bowl:

Flour, baking soda and salt

In a large bowl or with a mixer:

Beat the butter, sugars and almond extract until creamy

Add the eggs separately and continue to beat the batter.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time until well mixed.

Add in the butterscotch chips

Add nuts if desired  

I  place parchment paper onto insulated cookie sheets 

to make removal easier.  I drop about a tablespoon of dough 

into three or four rows until I have a dozen or 16 on a sheet.

Bake around 9 minutes, a minute or two more if needed.

 I slide mine from the sheets onto cooling racks 

(still on the parchment paper)

 so I can quickly reuse my pans with new parchment 

as I bake additional batches. 

These are sweet, very sweet.

If you prefer something a little less sweet 

try using white chocolate and dried cranberry

or other combinations of chips.

We made six dozen of the same cookies 

but there were nine people attending

which means you don't all get the same cookies.

To select your cookies, you take a number.

In this case I was #1 (Go Kathy!)

We line up and the first person (me) goes first around

the table and takes a batch of their choice.

Then #2, #3, etc. until we have made the rounds

and all the cookie batches were accounted for.

My selections were sugar cookies, gooey butter, spritz, 

another type of sugar cookies, double chocolate chip and

the coveted pineapple roll ups that the hostess made.

These are amazing and I have no idea how she makes them.

We also had time to mingle and have the appetizers, 

dips and sweets the hostess provided on top

of hot buttered rum or wine for those that preferred 

that to soda or water.  I stuck with water and a little

orange soda; however, I might have tried the hot

buttered rum if it had been a Saturday night.

Taylor is off school so she stayed with us and

attended the party, playing with the kids,

while my husband kept company with one of the husbands 

  up at the fire he made to burn off some of the brush.

We're all home now and I am skipping dinner,

  I had plenty of appetizers to tide me over

probably for days to come!

It it up for work tomorrow,

I'll be one of the very few there this week

since I have used all my days (and then some)

but it will be only Monday/Tuesday

and then we are off on Wednesday and Thursday

but back to work on Friday.

The tree is up and now all I have to do

if find the stockings and wrap some gifts.