Dipped Cookie Spoons

I always enjoy trying something new in the kitchen, and this Christmas is no different. I had a cookie pan shaped like little spoons that I found in an after-Christmas sale last year and hadn't used yet. It's now one of my new favorites, and I hope it becomes one of yours, too.

The pan has eight textured cavities, so the dough will pick up whatever shape it's pressed into. It's also a good idea to test one before you make several at a time so you'll know if it really is non-stick or if you'll need to spray it with non-stick spray.

Fill each cavity 2/3 of the way full. I discovered with this pan in particular that you need to roll the dough into a ball and then press it in, not adding a little more dough here and there to fill it in. I didn't that for a couple of them, and that was exactly where the spoon handle broke in two pieces. 

Leave them in the pan for a few minutes to lose some of their softness, says my voice of experience. They'll come out much easier and there's less of a chance that they'll fall apart when they're cooled a little.

To decorate them, I melted four squares of chocolate almond bark in the microwave and dipped the ends. They're on parchment paper, which lets them harden without sticking, and then sprinkled with different holiday shaped candies. Do you have a favorite Christmas pan, something that's become a tradition?