5 Best Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Cookies
Anytime an incarnation of the sparkling, glittering iridescent, long-retired Wishes fireworks spectacular is brought back to Magic Kingdom, you can bet I’ll be there to see it! Plus, when my favorite fireworks show is sandwiched by TWO marches of Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade…just drop me off on Main Street USA, because that’s my definition of heaven on earth!
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party used to be all about the fireworks and parade for me (those trumpeting toy soldiers can’t be beat!). Ok you got me there- it’s STILL all about those things, but unexpectedly, my visit to this years’ party changed a lot of that for me. This was my first year visiting the Party since the cookie upgrade- more on that soon- and my entire viewpoint has shifted. So, just how did the cookies of the Christmas Party rank? Let’s find out!
The Party
If left to my own devices, I’d launch into full-blown review right about now. Thank goodness for you that I have an editor to keep me at bay, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t share just a bit about my experience at this years’ Party!
For the first time, I was directed to walk to the right, behind the buildings of Main Street USA when I entered. What I found was a path filled with PhotoPass opportunities featuring props emblazoned with the Party’s name, Party-exclusive merchandise carts, and, my favorite, the very first cookie stop of the evening!
This special cookie is unlike the others…because it’s shaped like Mickey! I can’t in good, honest conscience lump this special cookie in with the others from the Party, so I’ll say this for it: the lemon-y zing in the airy cross between a sugar and shortbread cookie made for a great pre-party palette cleanser…and I enjoyed the heck out of every red sugar-coated bite!
The Definitive Cookie Rank
4) Peppermint Crunch
I like a good peppermint tea, I can get behind peppermint bark, and handmade candy canes are part of what makes the spirit of the season so bright. Peppermint truly is a classic Holiday flavor….but these peppermint crunch cookies are definitely not the stuff Christmas Eve dreams are made of.
You might want to think twice before leaving these out for Santa if you’re hoping for good presents! Although this years’ cookies are all wrapped in plastic (whether it is for sanitary reasons or for freshness is unclear), the peppermint variety was the driest and stalest of the group. I can excuse one bad cookie, but I admittedly sampled a second (or maybe 3 or 4) for ‘research purposes’.
The peppermint flavor is certainly at the forefront of every bite, but the peppermint did a good job of completely masking the chocolate chips that also dotted the dough. Combine that with a very dry, very stale-tasting texture, and you’ve got yourself the lowest-ranked cookie of the party!
Verdict: 2 out of 10 stars
3) Chocolate Chip
This one is a bit of a shock. Coming from a girl who loves chocolate as much as I do, anything that’s loaded with the decadent sweet treat usually earns my highest praise; but not this cookie!
I wish there were a spot between #4 and #3, because although it isn’t my favorite, the chocolate chip is a vast and immense improvement from the peppermint! The cookie was crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle (check), and the chocolate chunks were big and definitely provided a hefty dose of chocolate (check).
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had better chocolate chip cookies, but for a complimentary- and unlimited- treat that is included with the price of your ticket, these cookies were pretty darn good! If you’re a family of chocolate chip purists, this is about the most basic and classic of a variety you’ll find.
Verdict: 5 out of 10 stars
2) Snickerdoodle
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney
This quote is one that I had to fall back on when I was researching this article. I tasted every cookie at least three times and also called on family and friends to taste and judge with me. No one though, not even my own taste buds, have a definitive answer for you on the final two cookies.
It was a really tough call, but I’ve got to rank the snickerdoodle at #2. Each snickerdoodle that I unwrapped over the course of the Party was fresh and practically fell apart in my hand! The airy dough was the perfect texture for a hot Florida night and made for devouring multiple cookies a walk through the (Disney) park!
Verdict: 8 out of 10 stars
1) Molasses
Finally, taking the #1 spot in the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party cookie rank is…the molasses cookie! If something isn’t at the peak of freshness, I don’t want to eat it (case in point, peppermint crunch cookie). The molasses cookies were so soft, so fresh, and so packed with a spiced molasses flavor that these babies had to practically be stretched apart to break them- THAT’S how chewy they were!
In my opinion, a cookie should be soft both when it’s hot out of the oven and after its cooled, and for that reason alone, the molasses was the variety that I kept going back for again and again…and again, and again! I may or may not have collected enough cookies to take back home with me, and as you can tell from my haul, I definitely favored the molasses cookies!
NOTE: Even days after my return home, the molasses cookies stayed fresh!
Verdict: 9 out of 10
So, now that you’ve read my take on this years’ Party cookies, I want to know your thoughts! If you’ve been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party this year, leave me a comment and let me know how your cookie ranking compares to mine. And if you didn’t make it to the Party this year, let me know which cookie you’d most like to try!
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