A new cookie pan with great teatime possibilities

A couple of months ago, I found a new cookie pan at T.J. Maxx that looked like it would be fun to use during the holidays. I tossed it in the trunk that day and didn't think about it again until I had my Dad change a rear brake light for me a few weeks later and discovered a forgotten T.J. Maxx bag. "Oh, look, my new cookie pan." (I may try tossing more things in the trunk so I'll forget about them and enjoy my purchases longer.) Over the weekend, I watched back-to-back-to-back episodes of the Christmas Cookie Challenge on the Food Network, and I decided it was time to experiment with my new $4.99 pan and see how it worked.

Every batch came out great, and the cookies were just so buttery and delicious. In fact, I liked them as-is, and they were perfect with a cup of the last of my wonderful Thé des Gourmets tea from Palais des Thés. (I think they must create new holiday blends each year, because that one is no longer listed on their site.)

I made the cookies according to the simple recipe on the package, and the cookies shown on the package were iced and decorated, so I mixed up some simple confectioner's sugar icing to decorate just a few of them. Easy enough! But the rest of the plain cookies went into the freezer and will be saved for gift-giving time and decorated later.

I do wish that I'd thought to buy two of these pans, though, because they bake only eight cookies at a time, so if you see these pans at your T.J. Maxx, I suggest you get at least two, or else you'll wish you had. And for the next batch of cookies, I want to experiment by opening a tea bag full of Earl Grey tea into the batter and making Earl Grey cookie sticks. I'm also thinking they'd be pretty iced in pink with heart-shaped sprinkles for Valentine's Day. Again, I see lots of possibilities with this fun new cookie pan!