Cookie Exchange!

Today was cookie exchange day at our office! And let me tell ya, New Moonies really know how to bake!

Last night I made cinnamon sugar cookies, also known as snickerdoodles, for the exchange, and they turned out fine. Thank goodness! I had never actually participated in a cookie exchange before today, though I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of leftover cookies from cookie exchanges.

The idea behind a cookie exchange is simple: every person makes just one big batch of cookies, but everyone ends up with lots of different kinds of cookies! Many people hold cookie exchanges during the winter holiday season--if you're entertaining guests, it's handy to be able to pull out a beautiful plate of cookies. My parents give cookies as holiday gifts to their neighbors every year. At my house, we'll probably just eat all the cookies I take home from the exchange ourselves!

From reading an article in the Duluth News Tribune last week and from talking to other New Moonies, I found out that people have lots of different ideas about how a cookie exchange should work! Here at New Moon, we each brought two dozen cookies to share. We set them all out on a table and everyone took turns loading up their plates with some of each. Not everyone announced ahead of time what kind of cookies they were planning to bring--I know I made my decision based on the ingredients I had in my cupboards last night!--but only a few people brought similar kinds of cookies, and they used different recipes. It worked out really well!

I wanted to make my signature holiday cookies--chocolate peanut butter balls--for the exchange, but I wasn't quite that organized. My sister usually makes lots of cookies--Russian tea cakes, tassies, thumbprints, gingerbread, and more. What's YOUR favorite holiday cookie? Have you ever participated in a cookie exchange? How did it work? Leave a comment or send your story to blog@newmoon.org.

We'll post our cookie recipes later this week, so make sure to check back!

Here's Sandy carrying a good-lookin' plate of cookies--Yum! Didn't Melanie take great photos?!