{"id":2628,"date":"2009-12-15T06:50:14","date_gmt":"2009-12-15T12:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=2628"},"modified":"2009-12-15T06:50:33","modified_gmt":"2009-12-15T12:50:33","slug":"christmas-cookie-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/15\/christmas-cookie-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Cookie Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past Saturday I hosted and attended my first cookie exchange! \u00a0It was a really fun afternoon of visiting with friends, and snacking on delicious cookies. \u00a0I ended up with more than 4 dozen of eight different types of cookies, and I only had to make one kind.\u00a0 This is a pretty sweet deal. \u00a0Get it? Sweet? \u00a0Anyway…<\/p>\n

\"cswap9\"<\/p>\n

I had a fun time decorating and getting everything ready for the party. \u00a0I think I could be very happy as a party planner. \u00a0Aside from the tiny breakdown I had on the living room floor when I had yet to take a shower, still had more things to prep and set up, and it was only an hour till the party started, I did an OK job! \u00a0Well, if you want the real story, ask Ben. \u00a0Or just let me know and I will fill you in on all the nitty gritty details that made my day so horrifically hilarious.<\/p>\n

Along with the cookies, we had veggies and a creamy dill dip, crackers and cheese. \u00a0To drink I made apple cider and got a Starbucks traveler coffee box, which I highly recommend when you have other things to do for\u00a0a party, and making coffee isn’t something you want to spend time doing. \u00a0Ben bought some very nice carafes to store the coffee, and I am so glad. \u00a0I think they will come in handy in my future as a hostess.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I read quite a few online articles, and a few in magazines about hosting the “perfect” cookie exchange.\u00a0 I had no idea that there\u00a0were so many ways to swap cookies!\u00a0 Here is what I did, and it seemed to work.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Who? What? When?<\/strong> Decide who you want to invite and when to have your party.\u00a0 I invited 10 people and had the party on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.<\/li>\n
  2. Invites<\/strong> Order or make invitations.\u00a0 I got mine at tinyprints.com<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Give Guests the Details <\/strong>Include instructions for the exchange with the invitation.\u00a0 You have some options when it comes to how many cookies you will have guests make.\u00a0 Some exchanges have guests make a dozen cookies for each person and a dozen to share.\u00a0 This seemed a bit much to me, so I told everyone to make 4 dozen; 1 dozen to share and 3 dozen to exchange.\u00a0 This was a good amount for our group of 7.\u00a0 It really depends on how many people you invite, how many cookies you want people to go home with, and how much you want to bake.\u00a0 It’s up to you.<\/li>\n
  4. RSVP<\/strong> Make sure to get an RSVP from your guests so you know how much food, packaging, etc. you will need.\u00a0 I asked people to tell me the kind of cookies they would be making so that we didn’t end up with any duplicates.<\/li>\n
  5. Decorate <\/strong>I didn’t do much more than what I already had up for Christmas; our tree, my marshmallow wreath<\/a> and my other blue and silver decorations.\u00a0 Again, it’s a personal preference, but make it at least a bit festive.<\/li>\n
  6. Food and Drink <\/strong>A Christmas party calls for apple cider. \u00a0I made mine in the crock pot, and it made my house smell wonderful. \u00a0I also served coffee.\u00a0 Since it was a late afternoon party there was no need for tons of food, but it is good to have some salty to offset the sweet.\u00a0 The fresh veggies, dip, cheese and crackers were had were good choices for the party.<\/li>\n
  7. Cookie Table<\/strong> Have enough trays and serving pieces for people to display their cookies.\u00a0 I also had people make labels for their cookies so we would know who brought what.<\/li>\n
  8. Wrapping Table<\/strong> Have a place where people can put their exchange cookies.\u00a0 This is also where I had boxes, bags and parchment for people to package their cookies to bring home.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"food13\"<\/p>\n

    We had Tea Cakes, Candy Cane Cookies, Snickers Cookies, Peppernuts,\u00a0Snicker-doodles, Gingersnaps, Gingerbread People, Coconut Crunch Bars and Buffalo Chip Cookies.<\/p>\n

    I made gingersnaps as my exchange cookie.\u00a0 This is a cookie I will always associate with Christmas and my mother.\u00a0 We had (and still have) these every year.\u00a0 Mine did not turn out quite like my mom’s, and they probably never will.\u00a0 These cookies are softer than some gingersnaps, have a great crunchy exterior and have great spice flavor.\u00a0 They also freeze really well.\u00a0 So you can make the full batch of 6 dozen, eat some now, freeze the rest and take them out as you need to over the holidays.<\/p>\n

    Gingersnaps<\/p>\n

      \n
    • 1 \u00bd \u00a0c. shortening<\/li>\n
    • \u00bd \u00a0c. light molasses<\/li>\n
    • 2 c. sugar<\/li>\n
    • 2 eggs<\/li>\n
    • 4 c. flour<\/li>\n
    • 4 tsp. soda<\/li>\n
    • 1 tsp. ground cloves<\/li>\n
    • 1 tsp. salt<\/li>\n
    • 2 tsp. cinnamon<\/li>\n
    • 1 tsp. ginger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      1. Beat shortening, sugar and molasses until fluffy.<\/li>\n
      2. Add in eggs, one at a time then add in vanilla.<\/li>\n
      3. Stir in all dry ingredients.<\/li>\n
      4. Roll dough into balls, roll in sugar, and place on baking sheet.<\/li>\n
      5. Bake at 350\u00b0 \u00a0for 10 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n