In the midst of last minute holiday preparations, a group of bloggers including myself were fortunate enough to vist the Sweetest Place on Earth recently. Re-Discovering Hershey, Part I focused on our visit to the Milton Hershey School where each visitor was awed by the dedication of so many people helping children in need. Everyone who purchases a Hershey product is also helping since proceeds benefit the school that otherwise does not accept private donations while remaining 100% free for kids in financial and social need.

When we weren’t exchanging cookies with amazing youngsters, the group baked up a storm with resident Hershey expert baker Linda Stahl including some of the the cookies pictured above. At home both before and after the event I tried numerous Hershey cookie recipes including Toffee Bits Cookies, Peppermint Pattie Cookies, festive KISSES Candy Cane Blossoms and Cocoa Crinkle Cookies. This is pretty good for someone who typically bakes Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Chips and leaves the rest of the baking to her mother. You can get recipes for these and other holiday Hershey cookies at HersheysCookies.com which also includes Linda Stahl’s holiday entertaining and baking blog for festive and easy holiday tips. And even though our Hershey Cookie Exchange Giveaway has ended, remember to enter at HersheyKitchens.com for your chance to win two $10,000 Kitch Makeovers…one for you and one for a friend!

Since most of my previous trips to Hershey focused on Hersheypark and Chocolate World, I was especially pleased to learn more about Hershey at The Hershey Story. A museum experience which also inclded a special chocolate-making session at the Chocolate Lab and a Chocolate Tasting of cocoa bean flavors from around the world, even a Hershey enthusiast like myself had much to learn. Here are some fun facts I picked up:

• Though cocoa beans, sugar & milk recipe 4 chocolate was no secret, Milton H. roasted beans at higher temps and mixed sugar & milk before condensing to create a unique flavor
• Milton Hershey built a community, not just a factory and encouraged people to buy their homes to give them a stake in nurturing their town
• Harry Reese tried fishing, farming, and other failed ventures until he found success with a idea that combined peanut butter and chocolate after working at the Hershey dairy. Reese’s were born and later acquired in 1963.
• Cocoa beans, only after being fermended, begin to taste more like chocolate as we know it. Tempering…heat and cooling chocolate that makes it more like the chocolate we know and love. Otherwise the consistency we be more like fudge.

A discussion of our visit would not be complete without mentioning the superior accommodations at Hotel Hershey. Though I’ve stayed at the Hershey Lodge for educational conferences in the past, this was my first visit to the hotel conceived by Milton Hershey himself.

Originally Mr. and Mrs. Hershey dreamed of recreating a famous Egyptian resort, Cairo’s Heliopolis Hotel. The Heliopolis Palace Hotel was an elaborate, red-tiled, “Citadel of the Sun,” with royal suites, marble stairways, gardens, fountains, and vistaed approaches. Mr. Hershey went so far as to purchase the architectural plans but balked at the estimated $5 million construction costs. Planning for the hotel brought Kitty Hershey a great deal of pleasure. (Source: HotelHershey.com)

Today it’s easy to understand why Travel + Leisure readers rated The Hotel Hershey one of the Top 50 Hotels for Families in the U.S. and Canada in the 2009 World’s Best Awards survey. With phenomenal service, decadent restaurants including the Circular Dining Room and Hervest which we experienced firsthand, and of course the famed Spa at the Hotel Hershey, the accommodations at Hotel Hershey are every bit a part of the Hershey story.  Immediately upon entering The Woodside Cottages which include 4 or 6 bedroom layouts with a great room in the center complete with a dining room table and fireplace perfect for a large family, girls getaway or even wedding parties. My husband doesn’t know yet, but next year for our 15 year anniversary I would love to travel with our families to renew our vows and the Cottages at Hotel Hershey would be a perfect spot, even in January. And since the Spa was easily the best I’ve every visited as it’s hard to beat spa treatments such as a Cocoa Massage or Chocolate Fondue Wrap, I’m also thinking a girls weekend may be in order as well.

By visiting HersheyPA.com you can discover or re-discover Hershey and experience the Sweetest Place on Earth for yourself. And whether your’re looking for yummy cookie recipes for the holidays or for a place to visit with family or friends, I can personally and wholeheartedly recommend Hershey for both.

Disclosure: Thank you to The Hershey Company, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts and JSH&A Public Relations for the opportunity to visit Hershey for the Blogger Cookie Exchange Event. Photos in the slideshow are courtesy of The Hershey Company and photographer Stephen Moyer.  Read more about the blogger’s experience at Hershey by following #Hershey on Twitter.