Busia Bakes Cookies So I Don't Have To

When one of the receptionists paged me at work yesterday and said my mom was on the phone, I wondered what was wrong. Did Johnny fall down and break his leg? Did he knock my mom down so she broke her leg? Did the cat swallow an ornament hook?

Turns out, all she wanted to know was where my flour was, because she and Johnny were baking cookies.

This is especially awesome because although I like to cook, I do not like to bake. I'm pretty much a Betty Crocker box mix kind of gal. Unfortunately, most store bought dessert mixes contain forbidden ingredients, so I have been making things from scratch, but if the ingredient list is long, or if rolling pins and copious amounts of flour are required, I'm not interested.

Johnny had fun and couldn't wait to show me the cookies when I got home.

Here is the recipe for Chocolate Candy-Cane Cookies .

Prep: 30 minutes
Bake: 10-15 minutes per batch
Yield: 52 cookies

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1 pkg. (6 oz.) white baking chocolate
12 hard peppermint candies, crushed

Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Blend in semi-sweet chocolate.

Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into 52 balls. Roll each ball into 3-inch-long rope. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheet, bending top of each slightly to resemble a candy cane.

Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 min. or until lightly browned; cool 5 min. on baking sheet. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely. Microwave white chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cookies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

To lighten it up, use reduced-fat cream cheese and trans-fat free spread in place of butter.