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It may be November, but December is just around the corner and it’s never too early to start thinking about your Christmas baking. People sometimes have the notion that baking has to be onerous and done at the last minute so it’s fresh for your parties. But with gatherings sometimes starting in November and going to January, who has that kind of time? There is always the option to make big batches of cookies and freeze them until needed (or at least freeze the dough and bake smaller batches as needed). But better yet, get your friends to do the work and organize a cookie exchange party.
The idea of a cookie exchange is that you only have to bake one kind of cookie and then you end up with many varieties – the amount depends on how many guests participate.
When you invite your guests, ask each of them to bring one dozen cookies per guest (including themselves and a batch to share); so, if 10 people are attending total, they need to make 11 dozen cookies – keep a batch for themselves and bring a batch to share.
Make sure each guest tells the group what kind of cookies they’re baking ahead of time so there is a good variety, and ask each guest to bring the recipe with the batch so others can try the recipe in future years.
Also be sure that guests wrap each dozen separately in containers or bags that they don’t mind giving away. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive – it could simply be paper plates covered in plastic wrap. Most guests will likely rearrange the cookies on a nice Christmas platter when they’re ready to serve them anyway.
If each guest brings some cookies to sample, then you won’t need to provide much food on top of that unless you want to offer some savoury treats in addition to the sweet ones. Be sure to also offer some beverages – hot cider is always a Christmas classic.
Add even more fun to the party and break the ice by having guests tell stories about the cookies they brought – perhaps it’s a family recipe or maybe they have a funny story surrounding how the cookies are made or suggestions for when you attempt to make them yourself.
Either way, have fun – eat, drink and be merry!
Check out last year’s blog on time saving Christmas tips for one of my favourite Christmas cookie recipes – pistachio cranberry icebox cookies. Happy holidays!
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