Best 55+ Cookie Recipe Roundup and How to Host a Cookie Swap
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Cookie Recipe Roundup and How to Host a Cookie Swap. A Christmas cookie exchange is a great way to spend time with loved ones during the holidays. But what about a good cookie recipe? I’ve got you covered with more than 55 fantastic cookie recipes below.
Your first holiday cookie exchange? Here’s what you need to know
A holiday cookie exchange is a great way to spend time with friends, family, and neighbors, plus come home with extra cookies for your celebrations. Have you ever attended one of these sweet, delicious, and fun events? If not, keep reading for tips on hosting or attending your first cookie exchange and over 55 cookie recipes to choose from to make for your cookie swap.
Cookie Recipe Roundup
To get the recipe, simply click on the photo or the recipe title below.
Butterfinger chocolate chip cookies are an easy way to take classic chocolate chip cookies up a notch. The candy adds a crunchy, peanut-buttery twist that makes them a hit with both kids and adults.
Strawberry Lemon Cookies No Cake Mix is a delicious, delectable treat that bursts with sweet and tart flavors. Imagine a cookie filled with fresh strawberries, zesty lemon, and sugar.
The most delicious Almond Crunch Cookies and they are so easy! This simple and easy, yet delicious little sweet treat recipe will make you smile every time you take a bite!
Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies are bursting with rich, warm flavor from molasses, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. The perfect cookie for the Holiday season! #cookie #recipe #molasses #oldfashioned #ginger #cinnamon #Christmas #christmascookies #cookietray #cookieexchange
Soft Amish Sugar Cookies are wonderfully puffy, chewy, and melt in your mouth delicious, and best of all they are no roll! #cookies #sugarcookies #softsugarcookies #recipe #Christmas #Christmascookies #cookietray #cookieexchange #noroll
These homemade cookies are loaded with all the partial bags of candy in your baking pantry. Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, and M&Ms make these cookies spectacular!
Frosted Amish Cherry Sugar Cookies are crispy around the edges yet pillowy soft and chewy inside. They get their pink color, great flavor, and soft texture from maraschino cherries.
Crispy edges, chewy centers, and raisins studded throughout, these cookies will be the star at your next holiday cookie tray. Read the post for the best tips for the perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie!
This is a basic cookie recipe with just a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. It contains no butter, no flour, no mixer and uses just one bowl for easy making.
Not your ordinary sugar cookie, this recipe for Browned Butter Brown Sugar Cookies takes the simple cookie to new levels. Browned butter provides a richer, nutty flavor while brown sugar adds a caramel note. I used a large scoop to make them extra-large and uniform.
Ranger Cookies with Chex has all the goodness of Chocolate Chip Cookies with more crunch and more flavor. These are big bakery-style cookies with crispy edges and chewy centers.
Quarter Pound Chocolate Candy Bar Cookie Recipe is irresistibly good. When you can’t decide between a cookie and a candy bar, combine the two for an extraordinary dessert!
Thick, buttery cookies stuffed with ooey, gooey caramel makes these cookies a delicious snack! These make a sturdy cookie that’s perfect for cookie swap parties and homemade gifts. Please read my tips for these cookies in the post.
Perfectly flavored, Blue Ribbon Chewy Molasses Ginger Cookies have a snap from the sugar on the outside but are soft, luscious, and chewy on the inside.
Mississippi Mud Cookies with Marshmallow Fluff and Chocolate Frosting is a delectable fudge cookie recipe topped with marshmallow fluff frosting, chocolate ganache, and pecans.
Prep time does not include refrigeration time. Allow at least an hour for the cookies to chill in the refrigerator or freezer. Loaded Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies are full of chocolate mix-ins.
Healthy Oatmeal Date Breakfast Cookies are moist and soft. They use simple ingredients that have tons of flavor. They also make great after school snacks.
Using a large scoop, I had 26 cookies. If you make them small (regular size), you’ll have about 4 dozen. Use 2 cookie sheets. Allow the cookie sheet to cool off before placing second batch of dough on them. Never place cookie dough on a hot sheet.
Small batch, soft-baked, gooey and exploding with flavor, These cookies are the perfect sugar bomb to satisfy your sweet tooth. Allow 15 minutes of chill time and enjoy a very, very, very good fresh-baked batch of cookies!
Orange Cookie Cups are thick cookie cups. They’re crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. Stuffed these cookie cups with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. They’re so irresistible, you can’t eat just one!!
Meet your new favorite cookie, Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies!! This cookie is chewy and crispy. It’s salty and chocolaty. They are pretty much perfection!
This Soft Batch Cream Cheese Chocolate Cookie Recipe are thick, soft and moist. The cream cheese helps them stay moist and tender, but you can’t actually taste cream cheese in the cookie. They’re pillowy soft with chocolate in every bite! Allow time to chill dough when making these cookies.
Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and full of cherries, nuts and oats, this cookie is a winner! It’s great for gifting, great for cookie exchange parties, and GREAT for eating!
Using a large scoop, I had 26 cookies. If you make them small (regular size), you’ll have about 4 dozen. Use 2 cookie sheets. Allow the cookie sheet to cool off before placing second batch of dough on them. Never place cookie dough on a hot sheet.
A cookie swap is exactly what it sounds like—you trade batches of homemade cookies with others. In return, you go home with an assortment of treats you didn’t have to bake yourself.
Each guest bakes a large batch of one type of cookie at a cookie exchange. A typical guideline is to make about a dozen cookies per guest. For example, in a group of eight participants, you’d bake eight dozen or 96 cookies. Then, you leave with the same amount but in a mix of different varieties. The exact number of cookies depends on the size of the group you’re hosting.
This taste-testing approach ensures everyone goes home with cookies they’ll truly enjoy. Sampling each cookie during the swap helps participants decide their favorites and guarantees a diverse selection of treats.
Ensure Variety of Cookies
When planning your cookie swap, avoiding ending up with too many of the same kind of cookies is essential. To prevent this, ask your guests to document in advance what cookie they’ll bring on a shared spreadsheet. This way, everyone can see what others are making and adjust their choices accordingly.
Having a couple of chocolate chip cookie varieties is usually fine, but if several sugar cookies showed up, it would be boring. A spreadsheet helps minimize the chance of duplicate cookies and a more diverse assortment.
Discourage delicate treats that don’t travel well. Remember they need to hold up to two trips.
What about Dietary Restrictions?
Planning a food-focused event can sometimes be tricky when your guests have dietary restrictions. For example, some guests might have food allergies and need to avoid nuts or gluten. Others may follow specific religious dietary guidelines, like kosher or halal. Some follow a vegan diet and only enjoy treats made without any animal products.
Faced with these challenges, hosting an event that accommodates everyone might seem overwhelming. This is also when a shared document is handy so everyone can see what’s being brought. You can also list dietary restrictions and ‘rules’ on this document. Furthermore, if you’re able, consider making a small batch of cookies yourself or tweak the rules and include store-bought cookies designed for special diets to ensure everyone feels included.
Get organized
I’ve been to cookie exchanges where the bakers bring their cookies already counted out in tins, trays, or boxes. This makes it easy to grab each different variety. However, I’ve also been to cookie swaps where I needed containers to put the cookies I’m taking home in. It’s up to you how you want your party to go.
Personal tips:
I ask that everyone label their treats and include the recipe. People are going to ask for the recipes!
I always ask guests to bring an extra batch of cookies for us to taste. That makes it extra fun. I set up a coffee and hot chocolate bar. This makes a simple and easy party for the host. For the extra batches of cookies brought to taste, I set them up on a separate table than the cookies to be sorted and taken home (less confusion).
Final thoughts on a fully baked cookie exchange
Plan your cookie exchange one to two weeks before Christmas. This timing allows participants to use the cookies for holiday gatherings or gift-giving. Of course, with an exchange earlier in December, people can freeze cookies and thaw them later in the month to serve them for the holiday celebrations or nibble on in the New Year. Either way, with these tips in mind, you should have a great time hosting or participating in your first cookie exchange.
