I am so excited for Christmas this year. I am pretty sure I bought more presents than I ever have before. There is something so special to me about the thought that goes behind selecting gifts for people. The present doesn’t even have to cost any money. It isn’t about what you get, it’s about spending the holidays with the people who matter. This year I have encountered so many new people who are already so incredibly important to me, especially friends I made at the job I started over the summer. While several of them and I are exchanging actual gifts, I am working hard to develop some holiday-themed snacks to share with the rest my newfound crew.

Anyone who is close to me will tell you how much I love couponing. My favorite source is Ibotta, a free app that pays you back when you buy a specific product. I discovered through the app that Jif now makes spreadable chocolate- peanut butter hybrids and immediately stopped what I was doing to go purchase all of them. The whipped peanut butter and peppermint one is insanely good and is the icing on these chocolate delights.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter & Peppermint Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

What You Need:

• 2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint
• 1/2 cup Jif Whipped Peanut Butter and Peppermint Chocolate Spread

What To Do:

1. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.

2. Add in all other ingredients except for the peppermint and the Jif.

3. Sprinkle in half of the crushed peppermint and mix until fully combined.

4. Refridgerate dough for at least one hour.

5. Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

6. Scoop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet by the heaping teaspoon.

7. Gently flatten the dough by pressing it lightly with your fingers.

8. Bake for seven minutes.

9. Let cool completely.

10. Spread a generous spoonful of the chocolate spread onto each cookie until it creates an even coating. Top each cookie with the remaining peppermint pieces.

11. Refrigerate the cookies until you are ready to eat them. The icing will never fully harden, so be careful when storing the cookies in containers.

Recipe: White Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

What You Need:

• 1 package sandwich cookies (I used Mega Stuffed Oreos)
• 12 oz. white chocolate Almond Bark
• 1/4 cup crushed peppermint (I used Peppermint Pigsy Dust from World Market)

  What To Do:

  1. Melt almond bark in a microwave safe bowl in 90 second increments, stirring after each one. Do this until chocolate is completely smooth.

  2. Carefully roll each cookie in the melted chocolate until it is totally covered. If any places get uncovered when you lift them, you can use the back of a spatula to recover the holes.

  3. Place each cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

  4. Sprinkle peppermint evenly onto the top of each cookie.

  5. Refrigerate cookies for 1 hour, or until the white chocolate is solid.