Cookie swaps are one of our favorite holiday traditions at Kathey Jo’s Kitchen. Everybody loves baked goods, even more when you have a wide assortment to choose from. What’s a cookie swap? Invite a group of your friends over to your home. Encourage them to bring their favorite kind of homemade cookie, and the recipe – if they’re willing to share! Sample the treats, then trade amongst yourselves. As part of the festivities, the host should offer cute boxes to be decorated at the party. You can host it every year, or rotate the duties among your friends. Share your favorite cookie recipes in the comments below with your fellow Kathey Jo’s Kitchen readers.
Snow Globe Cookie Jar
- Use a fine-tipped brush to place white dots on the outside of a spacious glass jar.
- Put Mexican wedding cookies – and plastic trinkets – at the bottom of the jar. The interior should resemble a snow globe when viewed from the side.
- Tie gift tag to jar with ribbon.
Presentation: The reason I love this project is because you can get super creative with the scenes you make. You can make the jars all the same, or you can make them different. Go with a specific theme for each person you give them to. Plus, when your recipients are done with the cookies, they have a cute jar they can use for their own projects.
Cookie Cards
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- ½ c. unsalted butter
- 1½ tsp. ground aniseed
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Make the batter: whisk the egg whites and sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth with a whisk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 24 hours.
- Cut out eight 10- by 1/2-inch strips of paper, write your holiday greeting or message. Set aside.
- Bake the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Using your preferred baking pan, spread 3 tablespoons batter into an 8-inch circle. Bake until lightly browned — about 7 minutes. Cool slightly — but make sure the cookie remains warm and pliable. Use a spatula to lift the cookie from the pan and turn it over.
- Place a prepared message strip in the center of the cookie and fold the cookie in half to form a loose semicircle. It should resemble a fortune cookie. Do not flatten or crease the fold. Bend the 2 ends of the straight edge of the cookie in towards each other.
- Hold cookie in this position for a minute until set, transfer to a wire rack, and cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
