This year we decided to host a cookie exchange. Instead of throwing a huge soiree, we thought that a laid-back cookie swap would be a great way to get together with a small group of friends and a very convenient excuse for us girls to get our chocolate fix. And it would be a super sweet way to wish them Merry Christmas. And let me just tell you, I have no idea why we don’t do this every month. It is that awesome.
I made the cookies the night before so that they would be ready to go the next day.
I chose macaroons with dark chocolate drizzle & macadamia nuts. I call them Damon-Matt-aroons.
And chocolate bliss cookies. I named them Chunky Monkeys….because if you eat too many, well, you get the point.
Last but certainly not least, I made shortbread cookies with cranberries and white chocolate. These I like to call these, well, simply delicious.
I also made some easy chocolate fudge and some buckeye bars. So obviously, there was a lot of this melting all over my hands:
I set up the dining room table for the cookies and as each couple arrived, the various cookies were placed on display.
Little ornament name tags allowed each girl to write the type of cookie on that particular plate. I had purchased some festive treat boxes so we had a good ole time picking out our favorites and filling our box to take home.
And as us girls were happily skipping around the table of goodies, the boys were oh-so-patiently waiting. Ok, ok. They were playing video games. But nothing says merry christmas to males like the sound of gunfire as they blow up their friends. We quickly forgave them…and prayed for salvation of their souls….and then invited them to gobble up the leftover cookies and wash it down with a drink from our beverage station. That thumb-workout can really dehydrate a guy 🙂
We spent the rest of the evening just chilling out in our sugar-induced comas.
We all loved it. And the best part is that we had a whole variety box of yummy goodies to take home & eat throughout the holidays. or just eat in the car while riding to the next Christmas party 🙂 Either way, it was a very sweet way to celebrate with a little laidback holiday cheer.
Have you guys ever participated in a cookie exchange? Most of my friends had not…which surprised me. I like the fact that you can just double a recipe and only have to worry about burning one type of cookie rather than fretting over burning one sheet of several different types. Plus you don’t have to buy a million different ingredients for all the different tastebuds in your family. So tell me what is your favorite type of holiday cookie? Or maybe it is more like a cookie bar or truffle or a cupcake? Whatever your holiday treat – please let me know…always gotta prepare for next year!
I love making spice cake cookies with cream cheese icing.
It’s super simple, you just take a box of spice cake mix, add 1/3 cup of oil and 2 eggs and mix. Then scoop them out onto a cookie sheet, bake at 375 for about 10 minutes and frost with your favorite cream cheese icing recipe (or I suppose you could even use the store bought kind found in the baking aisle.
I can seriously whip out a double batch (just double the recipe) in like 45 minutes. And everyone LOVES them!
boy do those cookies look tasty! i love your display and i have the same tiered serving platter! love it! i use it to display cupcakes. i have done a cookie exchange in the past, but we made a set number of cookies for each person so then you get “stuck” with cookies you may not like. i like your idea of having everyone choose and fill up their own goodie boxes! i think i will try that next year! great idea and fun way to get friends together!
I try to host a cookies exchange for all my female relatives every year. It was just my way of staying connected to my aunts, grandmas and cousins. We always have fun and it is great to have all the treats for the holidays!
One of my favorite childhood memories is the mother daughter cookie exchange we went to every year. It was at this REALLY nice house and there were 75ish people there everytime. It was always so much fun and more cookies than anyone can handle. Even me. And I love cookies. Love em.
P.S. I’m obsessed with your blog. Just ask my husband. He’ll tell you. It’s a frequent topic of conversation in the evenings at our house. Mostly it’s just me talking and him ignoring(pretending to listen). Thank you for being so funny.
I just participated in a cookie exchange this morning! They are great. Christmas cookie baking is a definite family tradition for my sister and I. We used to do it every year with our aunt (dad’s side), but unfortunately her health won’t allow it any longer. So we are carrying on the tradition. Our cookie list always includes:
Traditional Christmas cut-outs
Nut tassies and coconut tassies
Chocolate chip
Peanut Butter
Snickerdoodles
I’ve also recently been dubbed the Pizzelle maker by an aunt on my mom’s side. She cleverly packaged the passing of the torch as a bridal shower gift of the pizzelle baker and the recipe. So now I make a slew of those every Christmas too.
But I can say I’ve never had a cookie exchange that looked as pretty as yours!
So this post is exactly up my alley. COOKIES. My favorite are the basic peanut butter blossoms. But, since my blog is basically 90% food-centric, you can only imagine I host a variety of food-related get togethers. Just this weekend my friend Lindsey came over and we made Nutella ice cream AND Nutella brownies. We’re already planning what we’ll make at our annual New Year’s Eve bash. We’re thinking of making grilled pizzas out on the patio (yeah, it’ll be like 0 degrees, but that makes it more fun). In short: food parties are the BEST. Thanks for posting this!
and also PS: I totally agree with Megan. I’m obsessed, and for a while my husband thought “Katie” might be someone from work because I kept talking about all your holiday decor stuff. Hahah 🙂
I’ve participated in a cookie swap for several years now and love it. You make mega dozens of one cookie and come home with several different types, all good! But you just can’t beat a good old chocolate chip cookie with pecans. I think I’ll make some just for us this year.
Your cookie display looks beautiful! My friends and I actually do an ornament swap each Christmas which is similar and great fun! Over the course of the year, we collect ornaments for each other and then we have a lot of laughs as we open them up, one at a time, while drinking champagne sangria and eating baked brie, of course! The men order pizza and play video games a few apartments away (we live in NYC). I love looking at all the beautiful ornaments on my tree from my favorite people in the world each holiday season!
I hosted a cookie exchange last year in my tiny apartment and this year it was a bust due to the 18 inches of snow we got this past weekend in Northern Virginia. I heard about a blogger’s cookie exchange where she collected toys to donate to toys for tots!
I participated in my VERY first cookie exchange this year (I’ve avoided them like the plague since I knew the 5 dozen cookies I left with would be consumed before I even left the driveway). ANYHOO, this was with my community MOM’S club and us military wives hosted. Each person baked an extra dozen and we packaged those up and sent them overseas to the deployed spouses from our neighborhood. Very fun (and I didn’t feel so guilty consuming 2 dozen in the process since it was for a worthy cause). That might be a fun thing to add…. load up and deliver the extras to the local fire or police dept.
I have a query regarding your round coffee table you painted white… How did you remove the cane at the bottom of the table…(the place where you thought to replace with bead board)…I have a similar table and would like to remove the cane but am a bit afraid of making a disaster area out of it… Thanks a bunch!
love a cookie exchange! Just went to one this wkend as well. I made my Great Aunt Pine’s recipe for Gingersnaps. They are the BOMB! 🙂 Posted recipe over at the blog if you wanna try it out! ♥ kt
I just went to cookie exchange last week and had so much fun! I made chocolate cookies with pieces of oreo cookies and mounds bars (so much chocolatey goodness) and peppermint bark, recipe courtesy of the one and only Paula Dean. I think the peppermint bark got the most attention and was a great change from traditional cookies – and it was super simple. Right up my alley, since I’m still working on my cooking skills. You just pound a bunch of candy canes into pieces, melt a pound of white chocolate and mix in the candy cane pieces. Pour the mix onto a baking sheet covered with wax paper and let sit in the fridge for 45 minutes. Its perfectly easy and wonderfully high fat!
Random question…how in the world do you get your indoor pictures to come out so crystal clear? I love all your Christmas posts…especially the one with the tablescapes. They are beautiful!
This year I attended my first cookie exchange ever, hosted by my brother and sis-in-law. It was a big hit and I loved the simplicity of it. Hope they will make it an annual thing.
p.s. will you please post all of these awesome recipes on your “Grub” page so us Bower Power lovers can easily find them in the future?