Cookie Party!

I sent the Flyer's Hungry Memphis blog a little sneak peek of our cookie party on Sunday, but wanted to go into a little more detail here since it was so.much.fun!

My friend Colleen, who just happens to be part owner of Tsunami, emailed me a tasty looking cookie recipe one day. I suggested we have a cookie party and make a bunch of cookies to share. One thing led to another and soon we had eight women, 11 kids, and four recipe books at Tsunami on Sunday. We had the run of the kitchen (and the bar)!

Most of the women were former Z-Girls, which was extra fun. We were all at different skill levels--Colleen can bake things (mostly breads) without a recipe book; Natalie could open her own cupcake shop if she wanted; Launa is not scared of a challenge; Kirsten is a natural; Mary has a secret inner Martha; Maggie and I fear flour; and Aimee seemed confident but kept whatever mad skills she had a secret in favor of just helping out where help was needed.


The kids all pretty much knew each other and displayed different levels of interest in playing and helping throughout the day. The kids stayed busy yelling, screaming, fighting, laughing, hugging, drinking cocoa, coloring, playing video games, watching Spongebob, and running around. The colored icing and sprinkles were what finally got them on board with the scheduled activities. (I did not capture everyone on film!)


With a little help from my friends I whipped up the butter cookie dough for the kids' cookies and some surprisingly delicious chocolate chip cookies. (The secret ingredient was walnuts!) Colleen & Maggie made some almond cookies (and some severely "disfigured" gingerbread men); Mary made lace ones; Natalie whipped up some Martha Stewart peanut butter and jelly cupcakes; Kirsten made fudge ecstasies (recipe below); Aimee was a general assistant; and Launa made a crazy cream puff tower for her daughter's French class.

Throughout the afternoon Colleen supplied us with fancy mixed drinks and there was no shortage of giggling and hijinx, both by us and the kids. It was a pretty crazy scene, but we all seemed to thrive on chaos. (Except Colleen's daughter who happily slept until it was time to eat!)


Colleen's husband, Ben, Tsunami's other co-owner & chef, arrived just in time to taste our individual efforts and declare my chocolate chip cookies the best. (Ok, not really, but they were good!) We all got a to-go container to fill up and take with us. Friends, cookies, cocktails, and kids combined made it the sweetest afternoon I've had all year. We all pitched in to cover costs and cleaned up with the hopes of being invited back next year!

Thank you Colleen!! We love you!

Kirsten's Fudge Ecstasies
1 12-oz semisweet choc. pieces (this could be chips or hand chopped)
2oz unsweetened choc, chopped
2tbl butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla (which I forgot and was fine)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Grease Cookies sheet; set aside. create a double boiler (pot with inch of water boiling with metal bowl on top) and melt 1 cup of the semisweet choc, unsweetened choc, and butter till melted. Remove from heat and add eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and baking powder. Beat until combined. scraping sides. then stir in rest of choc and nuts.

Drop dough with teaspoon on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min till edges are firm and surface dull and crackled. Transfer to cool.