Christmas Eve Mice

I love this recipe! It is easy to make and both my daughters (4 and 5 1/2 years) love helping make them for the Christmas Bake Sale at church every year!

Ingredients:

• 24 double-stuffed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1 cup (6oz) semisweet chocolate chips (Toll house work great)
• 2 tsp. Crisco shortening
• 24 red maraschino cherries with stems, well drained*
• 24 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses or Dark Chocolate Kisses
• 48 sliced almonds
• 2 small tubes of green and red decorative icing gel (baking section of grocery store near muffin liners and sprinkles)

*I used the Royal Cherry with Stems, about 22 that I could use

Directions:

Carefully (I used a butter knife) twist cookies apart; set aside the halves with cream filling. Save plain halves for another use. In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Holding each cherry by the stem, dip in melted chocolate, then press onto the bottom of a chocolate kiss. Place on the cream filling of cookie, with cherry stem extending beyond cookie edge for tail.

For ears, place slivered almonds between the cherry and kiss. Refrigerate until set. with green gel, pipe holly leaves on the cream. with red gel, pipe holly berries between leaves and pipe eyes on each chocolate kiss. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Source: adapted from Country Women Christmas 2000 Cookbook ( I got if from Faith and Family Magazine...www.faithandfamilymag.com

By Nicole from Eden Prairie, MN