A Christmas Cookie Recipe.

I've been on a Barefoot Contessa kick lately. I have a lot of her shows recorded and one afternoon last week all I did was watch Ina work her magic in the kitchen. One of the shows was right up my alley. She was entertaining a large group and gave ideas for a fairly simple menu. She served a huge pot of Lobster Corn Chowder, a fruit & cheese tray, a big Marmalade Glazed Ham, a simple green salad, and Dried Fruit Cookies. I thought to myself, "I can totally do that!". I don't have the funds to go around throwing lobster into my soup, but I can certainly handle a simple chicken corn chowder. I'm planning a little get together at my house after Christmas for a small group of friends and this is going to be my menu (provided all the recipes turn out as good as they look on tv).

 Of course, I tested the dessert recipe first. Winner! These Dried Fruit Cookies (recipe here) are really good. I had to make a few adjustments, like leaving out the nuts because I have a child with a nut allergy and I also left out the raisins (simply because I've just never liked them). Other than that, I pretty much followed the recipe as outlined. I like these because they are not overly sweet and a have a spice quality to them (because of the ground cloves, which I only used 1/2 of what the recipe called for). I can't wait to sit down with a nice cup of coffee and eat these. My kids weren't too crazy about them because they were under the impression that they had chocolate chips in them (a good guess considering I was the one baking them). They remind me so much of Christmas partly because they resemble little fruitcakes. I hope you get a chance to try these soon. I think you will find that you will reach for them every time the cookie jar is opened. Which reminds me...I've got to get rid of that thing before I begin the new year with an extra twenty pounds. Enjoy!