Cookie Swap

OK, I just got home from a Tacky Christmas Sweater cookie swap. This is Amy Fuller with me and we became friends while her husband was the music minister at my church. I love Amy Fuller and I aspire to be her. She has the best spirit and wonderful heart along with this natural instinct about shopping, decorating, and crafting that I just want to have. But anyway, she has this cookie swap every year and all the girls get together to have a good time and chit chat and eat good cookies. This year I made homemade Oreo's. They taste almost just like an Oreo and they are a hit with my family. (I will add the recipe at the bottom of this post) I look forward to this swap each year just because it is a special time with good friends and a relaxing time during the holiday season. Since Amy has moved churches and houses two years ago so now we have new girls that join us. They all are fun and it is a wonderful time to see them. It is so funny to see each of our personalities and how they fit into each others lives. Amy is my voice of reason and the one I go to with any issue (including decorating dilemma), Jenny is the hilarious one. I just smile when I am with her, she exudes fun. Nancy (who didn't :( get to go this year) she is also the voice of reason and wonderful confidant. She helps me with problems in my life and gives me advice. This is just a couple of the ladies that attend the cookie swap and I could go on and on about them and how much they mean to me but I don't have the time.
Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year's. As Jennifer (from the cookie swap and SmellingCoffee.com) says (paraphrased) "We get so busy with the 'season' we tend to forget the 'reason'" So as we get closer and closer to Christmas day try to remember that it isn't about Santa and gifts, it is about celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Recipe for Homemade Oreo's
Cookie Wafers:
1 (18.25) box Dark Fudge Cake Mix
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons shortening

Cream Filling:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup shortening (no substitution)
3 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 325. Blend all ingredients; then knead with your hands until it is pliable like dough. Form dough into 3/4 inch balls and press flat (1/2 inch apart on greased cookie sheets). A bottom of a glass works nice to make them flat. Bake 4 to 6 minutes or until cookies are crunchy. Let cookies cool on cookie sheets.
Combine filling ingredients and mix well. Form into balls about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter, again using your hands. Sandwich one filling in the center of two cookies and carefully press down until the filling spreads almost to the edge. Make 2 dozen cookies (4 dozen wafers)