Host a cookie swap

A cookie exchange is simple: everyone bakes a few dozen of one kind of cookie, you all meet, and you each go home with a box of mixed ones. You bake once and get a whole variety, and it works well in the weeks around the holidays.

Plan it

• Choose the guests and the date. Six to ten people is a good number. Pick a date a week or two before the holidays, when everyone’s busy but still willing.
• Set the rule. Each person bakes a set number of one kind of cookie, such as three dozen. The math: each guest needs a few cookies for every person, plus a few to eat at the party.
• Ask for different kinds. Have each guest tell you what they’re making in advance so you don’t end up with six batches of the same one.
• Ask for recipes. Each guest brings a copy of the recipe for people to take home, and a label for the cookie’s name and the main ingredients.
• Ask about allergies. Put it in the invite, and ask guests to label nuts, eggs, dairy and wheat.

What to bake

Pick cookies that travel well and stay good for a few days.

• Good choices: shortbread, sugar cookies, gingersnaps, oatmeal cookies, thumbprints and biscotti.
• Harder to carry: soft cookies with lots of frosting, very thin lace cookies and anything that has to stay chilled.

Bake a day or two before the swap, and keep the cookies fully cooled before you pack them. If you want a recipe to start with, try sugar cookies.

What to bring

• A few dozen cookies packed in a tin or box
• Printed recipes, or a note of where to find yours
• A label with the cookie’s name and the main ingredients
• An empty box or tin to take your cookies home in

How to run the swap

1. Set up a long table and give each kind of cookie its own plate or tray, with the label beside it.
2. Put out milk, coffee and tea so everyone has something to drink while they look.
3. Let everyone try one of each before you start filling boxes.
4. Fill your box by taking an equal number of each kind. Lay a sheet of parchment between layers.
5. Leave a few cookies on the table to eat together.
6. Take photos before the table is empty. The table looks best before everyone’s picked over it.

How to pack them

Use a tin or a box with a lid. Put the sturdy cookies on the bottom and the delicate ones on top. Layer with parchment or wax paper, and fill any gaps with a bit of crumpled paper so the cookies don’t slide around. Keep strongly flavoured cookies, such as peppermint, away from mild ones, because flavours can carry.

What goes wrong

• Everyone brings the same cookie. Ask for the types in advance and give a few suggestions.
• Someone brings fewer than agreed. Make a few extra yourself, so the numbers still work.
• The cookies break in transport. Choose sturdier ones and pack them in a tin with paper between layers.
• Allergies get missed. Label everything, and keep nut cookies on a separate plate.
• There’s a mountain left over. Send people home with an extra plate, or take some to a neighbour or a workplace.

Keeping them

Most cookies stay good in an airtight tin for about three to five days. Some freeze well, so you can keep a few for later. Label the tin with the date, and check any cookies with cream or fresh fruit for storage advice before you keep them.

Make it feel like an event

Put a candle or string lights near the table (a flameless one is safest, and any real candle should be on a stable surface away from paper and boxes). Print small cards for each recipe, and add a pot of coffee and a jug of milk. Ask everyone to bring a spare bag in case someone has extra, and take a group photo with the full table before the cookies disappear.

Make it a winter evening

A cookie swap is a good way to get friends together when everyone’s busy. Do it on a dark afternoon with a warm drink and a long table, and leave with a box of cookies to share. You can also take a few to a holiday movie night.