by Michelle Jones, Founder of CookieClubRecipes.com
Here's the SCOOP on how to have a delightful Cookie Swap or Cookie Exchange with your friends, family, neighbors, church or community group.
1. The first thing you need to know is that you do not have wait for Christmas to have a cookie party! There are no rules as to WHEN you host your exchange.
2. Select a week day or evening to have your Cookie Exchange so it won't interfere with family time or other holiday parties.
3. If your exchange will be during Christmas or other holidays, try to choose a location that may already be decorated. Such as a church, office, or community center.
4. Confirm how many guests will be attending at least one week before the event so you can let everyone know how many cookies they need to bake. (Or even earlier, if possible!)
5. Each person will bring one dozen baked cookies to share at the Exchange and another dozen cookies for each person attending.
Example: If 8 people will be attending, each person will need to bring 9 dozen cookies (from the same recipe). The first dozen cookies are for sharing at the exchange and the rest are for all of the participating bakers to take home.
6. Ask everyone to bake their family's favorite cookie and TRY to coordinate their selections so you won't end up with everyone baking the same type of cookie. The more variety of cookies everyone brings the more fun everyone will have.
7. If you discover there are too many bakers interested in participating (more than 8-10), consider offering more than one event to keep the groups small. The more people that attend, the more cookies everyone will need to bake. The average cookie recipe bakes 3 dozen cookies, so three batches would equal 9 dozen. We also have many recipes here at CookieClubRecipes that make 5 dozen or more.
8. Cookies to be exchanged should be placed in airtight containers or on heavy paper plates covered with foil or plastic wrap. If you're using small containers it will help to wrap the cookies individually, or two cookies back to back.
9. Attaching a copy of the cookie recipe with each dozen is always a nice touch for the swap. This will enable participants to bake all of the shared cookies at home and remember the fun event for years to come. Be sure everyone includes their name and any information about where the recipe is from, how it originated or at least a few words about why they chose it.
10. During your Cookie Exchange be sure to offer warm beverages such as coffee, hot cocoa, hot apple cider or herbal teas for the grown ups, and low-fat milk for the children (in case they may tag along).
And, most of all... enjoy this fun time with your friends!
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Copyright © 2003 by Michelle Jones, CookieClubRecipes.com. All rights reserved.
