Last night my wife attended an event that I had never heard of before…a cookie exchange. For those of you, like me, who were totally unaware that such a thing existed, a cookie exchange is when a group of people make one type of cookie in bulk as individuals and then meet together as a group to trade their cookies. Being that I am not much of a dessert person in general I figured I would be totally uninterested in said exchange but, unfortunately for my waist size, I was wrong.
My wife decided to make nine dozen Fudge Crinkle Cookies. They’re ridiculously easy to make and even easier to shove in your mouth to fill your stomach. While I’m sure that our use of the mixer made it even easier I really don’t think you need anything special to get these out the door quickly. There are a ton of recipes available all over the web but they all boil down to this simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 (18 1/4 oz) box devil’s food cake mix (Betty Crocker Super Moist suggested)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- confectioners’ sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Stir (by hand) dry cake mix, oil and eggs in a large bowl until dough forms.
- Dust hands with confectioners’ sugar and shape dough into 1″ balls.
- Roll balls in confectioners’ sugar, place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until center is JUST SET.
- Remove from pans after a minute or so and cool on wire racks.
Now, when we were making these delectable treats we found that we had to roll the cookie dough on paper towels to get rid of some of the oil as they were just ridiculously oily. The oil apparently helps them to spread as they cook so I don’t suggest altering the recipe much but be warned that it’s a bit of a pain to do but I promise it’s well worth the minimal these cookies require.
At the end of the day The Wife returned home from her exchange with seven dozen cookies the majority of which The Wife will eat–probably for lunch and if I weren’t cooking–dinner too. Their names include Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, Chocolate Truffle Cookie, Fudge Crinkle Cookie, Monster Cookie, Pistachio Bread, Hershey Kiss/pretzel/m&m treat Cookie and Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie.
So do you make cookies at this time of year? If so what recipes do you make? Have you ever participated in a cookie exchange? How big are the groups you do it with? What is your favorite cookie in general? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your recipes, thoughts, and ideas!
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December 15th, 2010 at 9:57 am
This is a fun idea. I was once asked to participate in a cookie exchange at work!
December 15th, 2010 at 9:57 am
My mom and I have been to a community ed cookie exchange – it was at Eagan HS, and 10 groups use their kitchens to make 10 different kinds of cookies all that same night. It was kind of fun, but I didn’t think the cookies were good enough to justify doing it again.
I made 3 kinds of cookies this weekend – sugar cookies, gingerbread and peanut butter blossom – 3 of my favorites. I also got the ingredients to make chocolate espresso snowcaps, which look very similar to the fudge crinkle cookies Kim made. I’ll probably make those on Christmas day.
Here are the recipes:
http://annies-eats.com/2009/12/16/gingerbread-cookies/
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DNGhMWs0CCIJ:goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2008/03/most-fabulous-sugar-cookies.html+%22most+fabulous+sugar+cookies%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (I had to get the cached version of this post b/c the blog was shut down for some reason – but this is by far and away the best sugar cookie recipe I’ve ever had!)
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/favorite-chocolate-espresso-snowcaps
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2007/12/21/christmas-baking-the-peanut-butter-blossom/
December 15th, 2010 at 10:55 am
I have participated in cookie exchanges before. I thought about hosting one this year, but decided that we really don’t need that many cookies around the house. I agree that the cookies that I usually get in return are not as good as the ones that I make. I generally bake something every week. This weekend I will crank some out to share with my relatives over Christmas.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:00 am
I got sucked into one of those at work once, got bad advice regarding batch output, stayed up until 1 am the night before and showed up with two cookies per co-worker when the requirement was six.
Not only was I the cookie doofus, none of the other cookies were really that good as I figured out that I don’t really like cookies in the first place.
Stupid holiday tradition to be sure.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:17 am
We should have a scotch exchange.
December 15th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Too bad that you are not closer to home this year Bill. I got nominated to be the cookie chairman of a “Cookie Walk” an event similar to an exchange but the cookies that are baked are then sold for fund raising.
I stopped baking cookies since you have left the nest so I was a little rusty at this baking thing. Afraid that no one would respond to the request to donate “homemade cookies” I have spent the better part of the last 5 days baking.
I have baked to date, 80 dozen of cookies: Kim’s favorite, 7 layer cookies, anise ricotta cookies, russian tea cakes, chocolate/raspberry spritz sandwich cookies, buckeyes, cherry bon bon cookies and a sugar cookie with raspberry
filling dipped in chocolate and chopped hazlenuts.
Merry Christmas!
I could only have this many stored since you are not living at home.
December 15th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I mail and give away dozens of cookies every year. The current list:
Venetian Rainbow Cookies (probably no time for these this year!)
Scottish Shortbread
Browned Butter Shortbread
Almond-Hazelnut Biscotti
Cream Cheese Spritz
Viennese Almond Crescents
Mexican Wedding Cakes (NOT Russian Teacakes!!!!!)
Chocolate-Pecan Thumbprints
Caramels
Brittle
Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate-Dipped Almond Macaroons
Gingersnaps
Rum Balls
Rugulach
And I have many more that I make occasionally. I’m a little behind in my baking this year due to finals, but I hope to catch up tomorrow.
I agree with the majority here who say that the cookies gotten at a cookie exchange are usually not that good. The key to a good cookie is the quality of the ingredients. The classic cookies are usually the best, but you can mess them up with things like margarine, poor quality chocolate, and artificial flavors.
December 15th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
There is a cart full of cookies in one of our open areas at work. One of the customer service groups had a baking party. Some are good, others have excess of something causing them to be very crumbly.
Overall, free sugar fixes that will get me through the day. Nothing wrong with that.
December 15th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
A liquor and beer exchange is an annual office hit. Every year we usually select a liquor, previous years have been tequila, scotch, Irish whiskey, etc. Bring a bottle(s) and take one home a bottle(s). People show up in my office at 1:00 the day before Christmas break with the goods wrapped and then people have the ability to pick a package and then then can trade once before your stuck with what you have at the end of the trading. Then the ice machine usually gets emptied so the tasting can begin.
Bill, I thought at first glance that was a picture of mashed potatoes and gravy with green confection sugar.
December 15th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
My mom, grandmother, aunts, and their circle of friends always did a cookie exchange when I was a kid. I did the baking for my mom and we always chose to make normal Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, people always commented that they were delicious, I think it was more that people were used to those cookies. It always seemed like people (outside my family, of course) made weird crap…plus you just never knew if someone was a finger licking baker that never washed their hands. Gross. As an adult, I’d pretty much rather do my own baking, I still worry about gross people touching my food.
December 15th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I like the liquor exhange idea!!! Makes my tummy warm just thinking about it.
The wife just bakes cookie with our son. Ginger snaps is the latest fad.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I’m not sweets eater, and while I can cook, I can’t seem to bake. I really think it’s a different kind of gift. I DID do a cookie exchange one year, as a part of our living-in-a-small-town experiment. We’re here. Enough said.
But looking at Erin’s links above, I want to suggest:
http://annesfood.blogspot.com/
She’s in Sweden, and you can find a lot of traditional recipes in her blog. My husband loves her Hasselback potatoes recipe, and we’re going to make them with split pea soup for the winter solstice. (No, we’re not Druids; I just like the idea of observing the shortest day and the darkest night with candles and warmth. No naked dancing involved. Maybe.)
December 15th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ayesha , Shane W McCartney. Shane W McCartney said: “@SouthMetroNews: Cookie Monsters: Nine Dozen Made, Eight to Eat http://ow.ly/3pn70” ~ pizzels def a cookie fav around this time [...]
December 15th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
I can’t help but laugh at the comments where people have said that they don’t care for cookie exchanges or that they are a silly tradition. You guys are looking at it all wrong. The cookies you go home with are a bonus that accentuated a night of laughter, wine and an evening with friends. It’s kind of like thinking the point of book club is to talk about the book. Excuse me while I double over laughing. ;)
December 15th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
For me a cookie exchange involves going to my parents house over Christmas and leaving with a large bag of fresh baked Christmas cookies. Oh wait, I guess that’s not much of an exchange is it?
December 16th, 2010 at 8:24 am
We did one of these at work yesterday and it was a lot of fun. We kept the scale reasonable — only 2-4 cookies per person — so we only needed to do a batch or two each. I just kept it simple and made sugar cookies with red and green sugar sprinkled on them.
I had to make more batches than I planned since, when making my first one, I accidentally put two cups of sugar in the mixing bowl rather than 2/3 cup. Whoops.
December 17th, 2010 at 1:29 pm
I’ve been in cookie exchanges for several years. This year’s included 15 participates. It’s a great way to get a variety of treats for holiday entertaining. I always make my famous Oreo Truffles. I HUGE hit in our house and friends. They’re easy to make, but tedious. Google the recipe – Kraft and allrecipes has the recipe, although, I melt white chocolate and drizzle over the milk chocolate (versus sprinkling crushed cookies over top).
December 19th, 2010 at 11:33 am
I despise cookie exchanges. My wife does not bake, so I usuallly get roped into doing one. One year at work my boss “demanded” my whole group participate. We each had to make 10 – 12 dozen plates of cookies. In my opinion, that was WAY to many. I also choose to make monster cookies, as they were my favorite. That was a REALLY bad idea. I walked in with huge plates of gorgeous cookies, and what I got in return were what looked like dog biscuts. I threw away 80% of the cookies I got from the cook exchange. I mean seriously….If you sign-up to do it, at least do it right, and not bring in crap that looks like you got from the day old rack at Sam’s Club. That was the first and last year I have done a cookie exchange. The last couple of years I have been baking my neighbors & close friends cookies to spread holiday joy, since I LOVE baking. This year I won’t be baking as I am pretty much bound to my bed. What I think about cookie exchanges is that the people that LOVE them are the ones who bring crap, and get all the yummy homemade stuff to stuff down the gullets.
December 19th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I have lovely homemade cookies – to where can I deliver them, JaLurker? Hope you feel better soon!!!
December 19th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
That is very sweet of you Sandy! My wife’s friend just made us a lovely box of goodies that will pacify my sweet tooth (for a few hours..). Although it might be gone soon because all I want to do is eat in bed! :)
December 20th, 2010 at 7:05 am
I agree with those of you who lament the lack of better-quality, homemade cookies at exchanges. I appreciate the thought, but cookies from mixes can happen anytime (and they don’t taste good). Stirring together butter, sugar, flour, and other basic ingredients takes only a few more minutes than assembling a mix, the ingredients should be a lot more fresh, and you can get the flavors you want, not the flavors dictated by some corporation’s bottom line. However, more and more people have never had much home baking, so their palates and eyes are simply attuned to excess sugar, oil or shortening where butter belongs, and stale flavors.
Yes, socializing at a cookie exchange is nice, but I put a lifetime of baking experience into my contribution, and I expect others to take some care in their efforts, too. (Make a practice batch if you’re apprehensive!) Besides, it’s a great way to get to know people – do they make boring-ass chocolate chip cookies? Do they share unusual family favorites? I prefer it when people take a few chances… in a smart way.