That’s Swell

Today I started baking holiday goodies to give out as gifts. Treats are a great way to NOT buy something that the recipient will just throw out later anyway. Do our grandparent’s want/need anything else? So this year I am trying to take cookie making to the next level and make TONS of tins for our friends and families.

I also went even further and bought all used cookie tins from thrift stores. I have been searching since around Thanksgiving, to find perfect tins for everyone. I look for ones that aren’t dented, rusted or have any stickers – then simply wash them out – add a line of plastic wrap and insert my cookies! This is a picture of some of my favorite tins.

I couldn’t go organic with all of the ingredients though, I couldn’t afford it! And it’s hard to want to buy all organic products when you know that the people you’re giving it to could care less. Some organic items I used were: sugar, eggs, cream cheese, milk, chocolate chips, etc. But other obviously weren’t (almond bark, candy canes, etc.)

I also cheat a bit – I mix in store bought break’n'bake cookies with my own creations. The secret to not letting people know is to take the ’square’ that they come in and reshape it into a ball, so it looks like they’re homemade (otherwise, even after they bake you can see fragments of its original shape). Now you know my secrets! I took some photos ‘documenting’ my creations, so when I get a chance I’ll post them too!

(picture taken by the swell Dave Crow)