St. Peter’s Episcopal turns holiday sweet into a successful fundraiser

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From the Winter 2022 issue

In 2017, the choir at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes began fundraising for a trip to Ely Cathedral in England. They organized silent auctions, wine tastings and other events. But new choir member Joanne Ward had a novel idea. “Have you ever done a cookie walk?” she asked her fellow singers. 

Participants pay for empty containers, which they fill with goodies baked by volunteers, explained the professional musician, who organized a walk in New Jersey, where she’d lived before moving to Milton.

Equipped with a box and protective gloves, St. Peter’s walkers stroll the parish hall choosing preferred treats from banquet tables, which line the walls and create a dividing line down the room’s center.

The first cookie walk was a success, and funds from the 2021 event — split between the choir and the church’s Heart & Soul ministry — nearly topped $4,000. 

This year the walk is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17, 8:30 to 11 a.m. Get there early, Ward recommends. Only a limited number can occupy the hall at once, and the waiting line typically extends down the street and around the corner. 

The pretty cookies go first, she says. Bakers can make whatever they wish except chocolate chip, which is readily available in bakery cases and supermarket freezers.Ward, who works full time, has made up to 14 kinds of cookies for the walk. Her recipe for Chocolate Mint Dreams has been passed between family members for years. “They’re a really great cookie,” she says. “They’re very impressive without being terribly difficult, and they really look like Christmas.”

CHOCOLATE MINT DREAMS

(Makes 21⁄2 dozen)

For the cookies:

• 3⁄4 cup of butter, softened
• 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
• 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 
• 1⁄4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
• 1 1⁄2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of mini chocolate chips

STEP 1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

STEP 2 In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioner’s sugar. Beat in chocolate and mint extract. Gradually add the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. (The dough will be soft.)

STEP 3 Drop tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for six to eight minutes or until firm. Cool for two minutes before removing to wire racks and let cool completely.

For the icing:

• 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
• 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 1⁄4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
• 1 to 2 drops of green food coloring
• 1⁄2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips 
• 1⁄2 teaspoon of shortening

STEP 1 Combine the first five ingredients.

STEP 2 Spread the icing over the cooled cookies. Let set. 

STEP 3 In a microwave oven, melt the chocolate chips and the shortening, and stir until smooth. Drizzle the melted mix over the cookies.