Holiday Dessert Platter

December 23, 2013

Holiday Dessert Platter

From top (clockwise): Tangerines, Pecan Pie Tarts, Holiday Sugar Cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies, Chocolate Brownies, Lime-Coconut Cookies)

As we draw nearer to Christmas, I am sure everyone has been to their fair share of holiday parties. Recently, a co-worker/friend (Thanks Tiffany!) and I co-hosted our office's annual Christmas party. I decided to make Macaroni & Cheese and a Holiday Dessert Platter. When I first began thinking about exactly what I wanted on the tray, I definitely said that a holiday dessert platter is not right unless you have my sugar cookies. I also decided that I wanted different flavors to suit everyone's tastes: something citrusy, something with nuts, something with oatmeal, etc.

For the something citrusy, my good friend Natalie suggested that I make a recipe she wanted to try: Chewy Key Lime Coconut cookies. I will admit that when I was making these, they just didn't look right and I thought about tossing them. But boy, these are delicious! Great lime and coconut flavor and the people at the holiday party really liked them! Next, I wanted to make a recipe with nuts. In the South, there is really only one holiday dessert that contains nuts and that is Pecan Pie. However, I wanted to do a pecan pie, but on a smaller scale. Enter this recipe for Mini Pecan Pies in Phyllo. These were absolutely awesome and were a big hit!

For the next recipe, I wanted to definitely make something with oatmeal or molasses. It is something about oatmeal that reminds me of Christmas. I LOVE Oatmeal cookies and I found this recipe for Iced Oatmeal Cookies. One of the people at the Christmas party even told me that they these cookies looked like store-bought cookies. This is a serious compliment! When I am doing a dessert platter, I always want to place some type of fresh fruit on it for those people who are watching their weight. I love tangerines and they added a beautiful pop of color. Lastly, my friend Tiffany had some delicious Chocolate brownies with walnuts that we added to the platter that rounded it out.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes and have a Merry Christmas! Season's Eatings!