For all those last minute holiday gatherings I’m going to show you how to put together the perfect Holiday party spread and how to make the best ever Christmas cookies – Coca-Cola brownie crinkle cookies. This party was so fun and was compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. As always all opinions are mine alone. #GiveHappiness #CollectiveBias

I do not take for granted how lucky I am, especially during the holidays. I was reminded by this when I was shopping at Walmart and read about a special campaign that Coca-Cola at Walmart is doing. They’ve teamed up with the Salvation Army and every Walmart Deli prepared meal with a Coca-Cola purchased in November and December will support Coca-Cola in providing a warm meal to families in need through The Salvation Army.

Wanting to participate in the #GiveHappiness campaign I invited family and friends over and said that I would provide the meal and of course holiday cookies and asked that they each bring over a bag of items to donate to The Salvation Army. Donating to The Salvation Army is something that my family and I did growing up and is a tradition I have continued to do.

Knowing that by purchasing a deli meal and Coca-Cola from Walmart and having it further support The Salvation Army made it a really easy to decide what food I was going to be serving at the party. So I purchased a whole variety of foods from the deli – fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, macaroni pasta salad, Caesar salad and of course Coca-Cola and Sprite (and a bunch of holiday decorations because I really can’t help myself, I love the holidays and Walmart has amazingly affordable decorations and everything you need for a party.)

As soon as I saw the Coca-Cola I thought of the flavors: sweet with hints of vanilla, and thought how absolutely perfect it would be added in as an ingredient with cookies. And guess what? These cookies were honestly some of the BEST Christmas cookies I’ve ever made, EVER!

They’re super rich and have a nice crispy crinkly outside and a soft chewy fudgy inside. So so so so good, these definitely need to be included on your holiday baking list!

Can we talk about last minute guests and family meals around the holidays? They’re fantastic and some of my absolute favorite ways to spend time, but sometimes I just really don’t have time to prepare a meal: enter Walmart’s deli.

Their premade food is really good (honestly, everyone was talking about how good the fried chicken and sides were) and is the key to the perfect spread! Here is my shopping list for a last minute holiday party/family dinner:

• Tablecloth
• Paper plates & napkins
• Plastic utensils/forks/spoons/knives
• Plastic cups
• Holiday themed decor: lights, trees, cake stand, serving dishes
• 2 liter bottles of Coca-Cola
• 1 liter bottle of Sprite
• 1 loaf of Italian bread
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 Caesar salad kit
• 1 macaroni pasta salad
• 1 classic potato salad
• 2 containers macaroni and cheese
• 2 containers mashed potatoes
• 1 container gravy
• 2 lbs. potato wedges
• 2 containers 8 piece fried chicken
• Make ahead: 1 batch of Coca-Cola brownie crinkle cookies

Crispy fried chicken and all the sides you can think of (mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, salads, etc) and did I say it is really good? It’s all cooked to perfection and is super easy to go pick up and bring home a meal to share with friends and family, of course don’t forget the Coca-Cola!

You can spend the extra time you save from not having to cook and can actually spend the time with friends and family – or you can do all sorts of other fun holiday activities like baking these coca-cola brownie crinkle cookies:

Yield: 30-36 cookies

Coca-Cola Brownie Crinkle Cookies

Print

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup (about 8 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Coca-Cola
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350, line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl melt the butter and chocolate chips: combine butter and chocolate chips and microwave for 30 seconds, then remove from microwave and stir and then microwave again for 30 seconds and stir and microwave for another 30 seconds then stir, mine takes 1 and a half minutes.

Remove from microwave and stir in the sugar and cocoa powder until smooth, then add in the eggs, vanilla extract and cocoa cola and stir until combined.

Add in the flour, baking powder and salt and carefully stir util all ingredients are combined.

Pour powdered sugar into a shallow bowl.

Using a cookie scoop or a spoon scoop tablespoon size balls of cookie batter and roll it into the powdered sugar (this is what gives it the crinkle) then place the dough ball on the cookie sheet and gently press down. Bake for 12 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire wrack to cool, then enjoy!

I’ve shared photos of how we enjoyed a prepared meal from Walmart along with Coca-Cola, be sure to share your photos on social media using the hashtag #GiveHappiness because every photo shared will support efforts to helping families in need.