So you want to do a cookie exchange? It's really not that difficult to organize one or attend one, even if you think you're not good at baking cookies. I've hosted cookie exchanges before and my company has been doing an annual cookie exchange for a few years now. They are very low-key and (spoiler alert) you can bring store-bought cookies. But we'll get to that in good time.
Here are five tips for doing a cookie exchange:
1. If you're hosting, provide festive containers in which your guests can put all of the cookies they'll be sampling. Sure, you'll be eating cookies while you're partying, but sometimes you just can't eat ALL the cookies. So it's helpful for each guest to have a container separate from the one in which they brought their own cookies so they can fill it up with the other cookies and have a nice way to bring those cookies home.
2. If you're merely attending, don't feel obligated to bake something. If you seriously cannot bake, then just go out and buy cookies from your local bakery or your grocery store's bakery section. As my Oreo-loving office staff can attest, a package of holiday Oreos would probably be just fine.
3. If you're baking cookies from scratch, now is not the time to test out a recipe you've never made. (Unless you happen to be a very good baker.) The other guests should not be guinea pigs. Make a test run of the cookies beforehand so you can make sure they actually taste good. Here are some recipes that served me well in the past:
- Grinch Cookies and Lump of Coal Cookies
- Santa's Favorite Cookies
- Chocolate, Apricot, and Pecan Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
- Cowboy Cookies
4. Serve milk! I mean, seriously. Milk and cookies, you guys. It's kind of a given. (Maybe even offer up some almond milk as an alternative for those of us who are lactose-intolerant. Although, we probably shouldn't even be eating any of the cookies anyway, but...)
What do you like to do when you host or attend cookie exchanges? My company cookie exchange is coming up next week, and I'm going to break out a recipe that I first made back in 2011. I don't even know if I shared it on the blog! I'll have to search and see, and you'll just have to wait and see!
Comments
Post a Comment