Not a Creature was Stirring - accept maybe a cookie Mouse!

My contribution to the family Christmas Dinner this year is a dessert and since we have 4 little ones now - I wanted to make something special for them.  I have a folder of recipes that I have cut out over the years of things to make at Christmas time and in looking through it - I found the recipe for these cute little critters!

Here they are ready to pop into the oven - before they were given the gift of sight.

And here they are with chocolate eyes and nose added after they cooled - a whole nest of Christmas Mice! (I googled to find out what a group of mice is called - and it's called a nest - so I also learned something new today!)

Here's the recipe for the mice -  it was posted over at Split Coast Stampers (scroll down to page 2) way back in Aug of 2012.  It took me this long to actually make them!  It was posted by Cindy (Mothermark) but was a recipe from Elizabeth (I Love Rubber).  

With butter being the only liquid in these cookies - they are rather dry and crumbly when you first take a bite - but it quickly melts into a wonderful buttery spice taste (Kent and I had to test one - that's how I know this!)

Spicy Mice Cookies (makes 25 mice)
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. icing sugar  (this is Confectioners Sugar here in the US)
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
hand full of natural sliced almonds (ears)
a few chocolate melts or chips to melt for eyes and nose

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. In another bowl whisk flours with spices. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed butter and sugar. If it becomes hard to mix everything together finish the blending by hand kneading until you have a smooth dough. Measure out level tablespoons and separate. Take each tablespoon of mixture and roll into a ball then shape the ball so it is elongated and shape one end with a bit of a point (to resemble a mouse shape with a nose shape end). Take two slices of almonds and push them in for ears. Line them all up on the baking sheet about an inch apart then bake for about 20 minutes. Cool completely. Melt the chocolate (I melted 1/4 cup of chocolate bits in the microwave per directions on the package). Dip a skewer or toothpick into the chocolate and dot on the eyes and nose. 

I think they will be a hit with the kids as well as adults - don't you?

And since we're talking about Christmas mice -  here's a re-post of a card I made this year. Stamps are from Waltzingmouse.

 

A Vist from St. Nick 
Stamps:  Twas the Night Before Christmas - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  White, true black - PTI
Ink:  Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  Copics - B00, BG49, B05, foam dots, washi tape - Omiyage.ca,