I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for nearly eight years now, but once upon a time, I was a worker bee — a copy editor of Bible studies at a large Christian publisher. I truly loved (most of) my co-workers. Most of them had several decades on me, and they treated me as a daughter and friend.
Since one of my favorite things to do is bake, I’d often bring in a cake or other treat to share with these friends.
When Christmas came, I also wanted to give them all a gift, but when you’re 20-something and your husband is a full-time grad student, expendable income is hard to come by. I didn’t have the time or money to make tons and tons of cookies from scratch, so I came up with these “dipped” treats, which were always a huge hit. If you have a tiny bit more to spend, Oreos and Lorna Doone shortbread are my favorite cookies to accessorize. But, as you see here, ALDI brand butter cookies and vanilla sandwich cookies work just fine.
Here’s what you need:
- Cookies and pretzel rods for dipping
- Vanilla or chocolate almond bark, or both
- Various sprinkles and colored sugars
- Optional, any or all: crushed candy canes or peppermint, toasted coconut, chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips
Assemble your supplies and spread wax or parchment paper on the countertop. You’ll need a plate for catching sprinkles, too.
Melt the almond bark according to package directions. Start with about half a package.
Working quickly, dip a cookie or pretzel rod into the almond bark. Then sprinkle with a topping of choice over the plate. Place on the wax or parchment paper to cool and move on to the next treat!
You’ll want to dip your cookies about halfway or the top third or so of the pretzel rod.
The almond bark dries pretty quickly; your treats should be set and ready within an hour!
For my co-workers, I would package these in Christmas tins I got at a thrift store. They loved the little goodies, and one of my single co-workers in his 50s always asked if he could bring it back for a refill.
There you have it: a low-cost, fun, yummy treat to gift to friends and family this Christmas. (If you’re feeling more adventurous, you can add a little bit of homemade toffee or saltine candy). What treats do you make to give away this time of year?
