chocolate dipped cookies + an altered tin = heaven

Today we have what we call a mega post. A recipe PLUS a tutorial so you can deliver your treats in style! It may be a little long, but it's worth the read.

After Christmas we found several sizes of tins for only $.25 in the clearance aisle. Well yeah, look at it--it looks like it's worth about a quarter. But we're going to make it look like a million bucks.


Altered Tin Tutorial


What you'll need:
*Tin of your choice
*Sand paper
*Acrylic paint
*Mod Podge (or any other decoupage medium)
*Foam brushes
*Patterned paper
*Scissors
*Brayer (optional--for smoothing out wrinkles in the paper)

1. Sand your tin all over--this will help the paint adhere better.



2. Paint the outside of the tin with acrylic paint. Let it dry and apply additional coats if needed (this pink one took three coats to cover up the red plaid). We also painted the rim of the tin's lid. If you like, once the paint is completely dry you can sand the edges for a distressed, shabby-chic look as well.


3. Trace the tin on your patterned paper. Cut it out, just inside your line.


4. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge (decoupage medium) to the back of the paper with a foam brush.


5. Position the paper on the tin's lid and use a brayer or the side of your hand to smooth out any wrinkles. Allow to air dry for about 30 minutes before proceeding.



6. Once you've given it time to dry, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over entire outside of tin, everywhere you have painted or adhered paper. This will protect the paper and keep the paint from scratching off.


7. Line with tissue paper and fill with cookies, then replace lid and tie with a ribbon and tag (or don't). Give it away before you're tempted to eat them all yourself!

Here are a few other examples of altered tins we made for our Valentine's cookies.







And cookies aren't the only thing you can put in your tins for a sweet Valentine gift. How about candy or a stack of love coupons?

We also loved this cool way to alter larger tins (you know, the kind that come filled with flavored popcorn?). Pink & Polka Dot made gorgeous canisters out of them with just a stencil and some spray paint!

If you can't find cheap or used tins to re-purpose, check out Specialty Bottle for tons of different shaped "naked" tins.

Here's the easy shortbread recipe. If you don't like the traditional taste of shortbread, try leaving out the almost extract. Then it's more like a crunchy, yet buttery, sugar cookie. Dipped in chocolate. Either way, it's heaven.

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Recipe


4 cups flour
1 lb. butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 bag Wilton Candy Melts or similar melting chocolate (we like "light cocoa" flavor)

Cream the butter and sugar, then add flour and mix well. Roll out on a lightly floured
surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
(Start checking after about 20 minutes. You want them to be just barely browning
around the edges.) Yields about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size of your cookie cutter.

Allow cookies to cool. Melt chocolate according to package directions. Dip half of each cookie in chocolate and place on wax paper to cool. When you start running low on chocolate, use a spoon to pour chocolate over cookies. Use the back of the spoon to smooth chocolate around until well-covered. Try not to eat too many before you pack them in your tins! They're addictive!