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You know how there are some memories that stick with you forever?  I remember back before I had kids when all of the other kids in our family were young and we would all get together and bake.  Now most of those kids are adults or teenagers and don’t want to get together to bake anymore.  It bums me out because I’d love to have those memories with our kids being part of it, but now we host a cookie baking day for our friends so it’s still pretty fun.

Year after year it seemed like everybody baked the same cookies and the ones my aunt made have always been a favorite.  I asked for the recipe but she didn’t have it with her to give me so I figured it out on my own.  She would always make surprise cookies and I couldn’t wait to bite into one to see what kind of treat was in the middle.  My favorites were the chocolate candies, but some had chocolate chips, peanut butter candies, or something else.  If I didn’t get what I wanted, I would just eat another one.  It was a fun game for me.  You can find the recipe at the bottom of the page.  

We have had a ton of deliveries lately, and luckily the weather has been great.  Some years it isn’t so nice and our UPS, FedEx and USPS drivers trudge up our front steps through the {usually} unshoveled walkway.  I always feel bad but sometimes I just don’t have the time to get it all shoveled with the three kids.  I knew I wanted to make something to give the gift of thanks to them for always delivering our packages with a smile.  I also thought that since we were making cookie gifts for everybody, we should include our garbage man, dance teachers and gymnastic teachers.  The kids are always so proud when they get to give somebody a gift so we had a lot of fun making it.

I knew we would be making surprise cookies since they were one of my favorites, but now I had to figure out what to put them in.  Every year for our cookie exchange I try something different to make it cute.  Most years it doesn’t end up being cute.  Last year I tried the paper plate holders and they looked terrible.  The cookies were too big and I ended up taking them in plastic bags.  I knew the cookies had to be transported all day in their vehicles so it had to hold up and not open.

 I found the red and green Rubbermaid TakeAlongs at Walmart on an endcap when I was walking by housewares and thought they would be perfect!  I grabbed some Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Rectangle and some Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Deep Square containers.  {I love having these on hand anyways in case we need to send some leftovers home with people after a party}.  The Quik Clik Seal™ will keep the cookies secure and prevent a spill during transport.  Plus, right now there is a deal on Rubbermaid TakeAlongs.  There is an Ibotta $1 Off Of Any 2 Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Products rebate exclusively for Walmart shoppers.  With the fabulous holiday colors that are also great for any time of year, I knew these would be perfect with a bow and an ornament on them.

Now that we had finished baking the cookies and filled our Rubbermaid TakeAlongs containers, we had to make some simple ornaments to give them all.  I thought some button Christmas trees would be perfect.  We kind of have a button obsession around here and love making things with them.  Here is how we made the ornaments.

How to make button Christmas tree ornaments

• Green and Brown buttons in a variety of sizes
• Yellow beads {I have no clue what these specific ones are called so let me know if you do}
• Thread
• Needle

You can make them as big or small as you would like but we used about 8 buttons on each one.  Begin by separating the buttons by size.

Using your threaded needs, start at the top of the tree and string the buttons beginning with the yellow star, then the smallest green buttons gradually increasing to the larger buttons.  Then add a few brown buttons, again, smallest to largest unless you opt for all the same size brown buttons.  String through one of the holes on the button.

When you get to the bottom of the tree trunk, begin threading back up through the top.  The last piece will be the stars at the top.  Once you have all buttons threaded, tie a knot at the top of the star, leaving excess thread to make a loop for hanging.  Now tie another knot at the top to create your loop for hanging.

Some of the buttons had four holes but I only used two of them.

That’s it.  A simple 5 minute ornament that looks adorable.  Go ahead and hang it on your tree or attach it to the Rubbermaid TakeAlongs full of surprise cookies.  Your friends and family will love the thought out ornament and you will feel great knowing how stress free it was to give everybody a gift of cookies and an ornament.

Surprise Cookies Recipe

• 1 cup butter {softened}
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• Powdered sugar
• Assorted candies;; chocolates, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter candies, anything you can think of works perfect here.
• Resealable plastic bag

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Begin by mixing butter, sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl.  Slowly add in the flour until completely mixed.

Cover and cool in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Spoon dough into balls around candies.  I usually use 3 to 4 pieces in each ball.  Make sure you have the dough completely wrapped around candies.

Bake at 375 for 12 to 14 minutes.

Let cool for one or two minutes.

While cookies are cooling, pour some powdered sugar into a resealable plastic bag.  Add cookies into bag a few at a time and shake gently to coat with powdered sugar.

Place on cooling rack to cool completely.

I’m starting to feel ahead of the game for Christmas this year now that our thank you gifts to the workers in our life are complete.  I’d love to know what gifts you like to give to teachers and community workers.