I'm always thinking about parties and celebrations, and "what could be done... "
Ideas that I have usually begin with me thinking about what I would like, and how I'd do it if I was a "ga-trillionaire" with an unlimited amount of money.
When it comes to entertaining, I can really go crazy spending money. And not just for the bragging rights sake of spending money, per say.
What spending money means to me is having the ability to make people feel comfortable and extremely cared for.
I love that.
Most of the endless amount of ideas that I have are expensive. All of which come true to form - hence, coming from a luxury services event planner/caterer, me.
What fuels this is, I love to give. Especially gifts. I love throwing parties (which is another type of gift, I guess); other peoples parties (my work) and my own parties. Caring for the environment is important to me, and I love a lot of the eco-friendly products that are available. Put those all of these things together and what pops up in my mind is...
Eco-friendly cookie celebration gift bags, of course!
People love parties - house parties and corporate function parties and special events. Most people love cookies. And many of those same people care about the planet - if no other reason than to keep up with the Jones' (ersatz,being "politically correct" - hey, whatever works!).
But here's the thing... Thinking about how to keep you empowered, I want you to host your next party, doing so in a fashion that leaves your guests with their mouths hanging open, as they walk away in party disbelief. And to accomplish that goal you'll want to give away sustainable gift bags.
Cater-Hater Translation: a canvas cloth gift bag with a picture of you with your party hosts the night of the party on the front of it, or a cloth gift bag with your company logo plastered to the front of it, instead of a biodegradable paper gift bag.
A cloth gift bag can tell your "story" (reason or cause of celebration), and most importantly if you pick the right one, it will be the one that your guests will reuse, time and time again. When they use your special gift bag, they'll remember your kind generosity - thus increasing the chance they will tell someone (who asks, perhaps) the story of where, when, and how they were given such a nice gift bag.
The key to getting this right is choosing the perfect size canvas gift bag (that you can make yourself), depth and shape-wise. If the fabric isn't sturdy, your guests won't want to use it. If it's a shopping style tote that is to narrow, they won't use it. If it's too shallow and not deep enough, they won't use it. You get the gist of what I'm saying.
The ideal gift bag is made of a 12 ounce cotton twill or canvas. It should hold as much as double the weight that a plastic grocery store shopping bag can hold. It would have about 10 inch high straps, and it would be roughly 17 and 7/8" wide by 14 inches in height and would be 7 to 8 inches deep. The imprint area on the bag would be centered and around 6 inches wide by 6 inches tall in size.
Okay. We've hit two out of three of our eco-friendly "celebration cookie" gift bag planning goals.
Tell me what you think about this...
The instability of the economy plays a pretty major role in how most of us think these days. Keeping that in mind, what do you think about filling your eco-friendly cookie celebration gift bags with comfort cookies - cookies that everyone knows and loves.
Two or three different types of cookies should suffice.
Here are some ideas: Some I made and gave away for Christmas. Some I haven't had in years.
Makes 50 to 55 cookies
(Printable Recipe)
6 ounces milk or white chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped
50 to 55 Oreo cookies
Candy sprinkle and decoration assortment
1.) In a microwave-safe glass bowl, melt 2 ounces of candy coating at a time.
2.) Stir until smooth.
3.) Spread melted candy coating over one side of the cookie top or over the entire Oreo cookie.
4.) Decorate immediately thereafter.
5.) Place decorated cookies on waxed paper until candy coating and sprinkles are set.
Candy coating is also referred to as "almond bark" or dipping or confectionery coating. It comes in white, dark and milk chocolate and is available in various forms; i.e., individual blocks, flat discs, chips and wrapped separately in 1 ounce squares. You can substitute 6 ounces of chocolate coating for 6 ounces of chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of shortening melted together.
Stained Glass Window Cookies
Makes about 4 and a half dozen
(Printable Recipe)
1 package of 10 and 1/2 ounces pastel colored marshmallows
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
2 cups (12 ounces) Toll-house semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1.) Place marshmallow (and nuts, if desired) in a large bowl; set aside.
2.) In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and butter over medium-low heat. Pour over marshmallow mixture and mix well.
3.) Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4.) Shape marshmallow mixture into a 12 inch roll and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.
5.) Unwrap and cut into 3/8 inch slices. and cut slices in half.
If marshmallows are sticky and stuck together, put a spoonful of confectioners sugar (powered sugar) in the marshmallow bag and shake it well. This usually works well, separating most of the marshmallows that were stuck together.
Makes about 2 and 1/2 dozen
(Printable Recipe)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Oil for deep frying
Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1.) In a deep-fat fryer or electric skillet (or in cast-iron skillet heated on top of a stove), heat 2 and 1/2 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
2.) In a small bowl, beat eggs, milk, sugar and salt. Add flour; beat until smooth. Place rosette iron in hot oil for 30 seconds.
3.) Blot rosette iron on paper towels, then dip iron into batter to three-fourths the way up the sides. Do not let batter run over top of the iron. Immediately place in hot oil; loosen rosette with a fork and remove iron.
4.) Fry for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove and place on a wire rack covered with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter.
5.) Sprinkle cooked rosettes with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Deep frying can be tricky. Always heat the oil to the temperature recommended in recipes. If the oil is below the recommended temperature, the food will absorb the oil and look and taste greasy. If the oil is too hot, the food will brown too fast and will likely be raw in the center.
Makes about 2 dozen
(Printable Recipe)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 and 2/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 ounces white candy coating, chopped - optional
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the coconut and chips. Shape 3 tablespoonfuls of dough into a ball. Repeat with remaining dough.
3.) Place balls 3 inches apart on un-greased baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
4.) In a microwave, melt candy coating if desired and stir until smooth. Dip one end of cooled cookies in candy coating. Allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.
Eco-friendly party fashion is definitely in and will be for quite a while, if not forever. When you're thinking of eco-friendly packaging for parties, think beyond biodegradable paper bags. If it's within your budget, cloth gift bags are the best way to go.
And although the eco-friendly cookie celebration gift bags probably would be sufficient with 3 or 4 different types of cookies, I think I'll leave you with the recipes that I've listed.
But I'll come back later to add a molasses cookie recipe, a gingerbread man cookie recipe and a recipe for chocolate peppermint bark and mocha nut fudge - to give you plenty to choose from.
Thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment and share any cookie recipe that you'd like.
Image source: Sifu Renka
