Celebrate Christmas with a Cookie Swap!

From the test kitchen of America’s iconic lifestyle magazine, recipes and tips for participating in or hosting a holiday cookie exchange—includes photos. Butterscotch Fingers, Chocolate Crinkles, Gingerbread Cut-Outs, Peppermint Meringues: all these Christmas cookies sound delectable, but nobody can bake dozens of recipes at the same time. The solution? A swap! All across America, families, neighbors, community, and church groups gather at Christmas cookie swaps, where each participant brings a large batch of his or her favorite recipe to share. Everyone fills a plate or tin with samplings of the tasty treats; the more people, the merrier—and the more kinds of cookies to try. It’s a fun way to enjoy a variety of Christmas tastes without doing all the work yourself—and to celebrate with those you love. Good Housekeeping helps home bakers enter into the joy, camaraderie, and pure deliciousness of this tradition with a new collection of 60 favorite Christmas cookie recipes from around the world—each configured to make batches of at least eight dozen cookies. Choose from holiday classics and contemporary twists; they’re easy to make with everyday ingredients. And each recipe has been triple-tested for success in the famed Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, so you can bake with confidence. For extra help, there are also great tips on techniques and shortcuts, as well as fun ideas for throwing the best cookie swap ever.

This guide to the Christmas cookie exchange, where everyone shows up with a few batches of homemade cookies to swap, includes 120 recipes, plus tips for decorating, planning, and throwing the party.

This guide to the Christmas cookie exchange, where everyone shows up with a few batches of homemade cookies to swap, includes more than 100 recipes, plus tips for decorating, planning, and throwing the party.

A festive kit that “brings aspiring bakers, die-hard cookie lovers and anyone who adores cookie swaps together for a fun holiday experience” (MassLive.com). Christmas Cookie Contest in a Box has everything you need to host your own contest! It includes a link to download, customize, and print scorecards, judge badges, place cards, and prize ribbons. The accompanying handbook includes recipes from passionate, talented, professional, and semiprofessional bakers, along with photos of the cookies and personal stories behind these special cookie recipes. Showcasing a dozen winning Christmas cookie recipes, along with cookie swap tips from an expert baker, the book has chapters on a brief history of Christmas cookies, how to run the cookie contest, the art of judging a contest, baking tips, and a cookie tunes playlist. Recipes include: Berlinerkranser by Jessie Oleson, author of CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life Pistachio Butter Cookies by Stacy Adimando, author of The Cookiepedia: Mixing, Baking, and Reinventing the Classics Chai-Spiced Meltaway Cookies by Jodi Liano. director of the San Francisco Cooking School Vegan Orange Ginger Cookies by Lorena Novak Bull, author of The Everything® Vegan Baking Cookbook Smile Cookies by Cindy Mushet, author of Baking Kids Love Gingersnap Thumbprints with Cranberry-Apricot Filling by Julia M. Usher, author of Cookie Swap and Ultimate Cookies Minty Chocolate Rounds by Valerie Peterson, author of Cookie Craft and Cookie Craft Christmas