Cookie Swap 101

What better way to ring in the festive season than sharing homemade cookies? Here are tips and recipes to make your home the sweetest in town.

THE IDEA IS SIMPLE: GUESTS GET TO INDULGE IN A CORNUCOPIA OF COOKIE VARIETIES AND GO HOME WITH A WHOLE ASSORTMENT OF GOODIES.

“There are so many holiday parties this time of year,” says Leigh Michelle Power, food and wine event producer and cookie swap enthusiast. “A cookie swap creates a fun, interactive activity where people feel invested and involved.”

For cookie swap newbies, the idea is simple. Everyone bakes—or, ahem, acquires—a batch of cookies to share at the gathering. Guests get to indulge in a cornucopia of cookie varieties and go home with a whole assortment of goodies. Copies of each baker’s cookie recipe are often also available for guests to take home for future reference.

Because it’s a cookie potluck, “there’s less pressure on the host,” Power explains. Another perk: “I’ve attended or hosted a cookie swap most years, and I always find something new,” she says. If you’re lucky, you’ll discover a new favorite treat too.

Host a Seamless Swap

To ensure a cookie swap success, make sure you give clear instructions within your invites. “Suggest a quantity guideline so you don’t end up with someone bringing 50 cookies and someone bringing 10,” Power recommends. Usually, one or two dozen does the trick to allow for both sampling and swapping, depending on how many guests you’re expecting. Another piece of wisdom from Power: Set out to-go boxes. You can even adorn them with pretty holiday bows or ribbons. You’ll also want to leave out index cards and markers so guests can label their creations.

Cookies are the star of the show, but you’ll want to serve some more sipping and snacking options. Mulled cider or wine makes a great holiday pairing that contrasts with the richness of the cookies. You can’t go wrong with Champagne—or Cava, or flavored seltzer. “Bubbles liven things up,” says Power.

Along with all the cookies, savory nibbles are welcome. Power loves “making dips with crackers and crudité, and I’m a big fan of cheese and charcuterie.”

Recipes from the Pros

When choosing a cookie recipe to bake and share, there are endless possibilities. Try these standouts from three excellent New Jersey bakeries.

First up: Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies from Marcy Lewis, the founder of Flour to Fork, a sourdough micro-bakery in Stewartsville. I discovered these at my local farmers’ market in Frenchtown and quickly became obsessed with the crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture and the subtle tang the sourdough imparts.

Lewis never loved to bake, but “everyone made a big deal about how difficult sourdough is, and I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do,” she says. A few months later, she mastered it. After baking bread for friends and family, her baking project “took on a life of its own,” Lewis says. She got a permit through the state Cottage Food Laws to bake bread in her home and sells at farmers’ markets throughout New Jersey. Her sourdough chocolate chip cookies have become such a hit that they almost always sell out. “Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies,” says Lewis, and this twist on the classic recipe is a winner. The combination of milk and dark chocolate “balance each other out, and the flaky sea salt on top cuts the sweetness and complements the sourdough starter.”

Unlike Lewis, Beth Blatt—the owner of Frenchtown’s Honey Moon Bakery & Pizzeria, along with her husband, Nick—always loved to bake, “starting from out of a package as a kid,” she remembers. “Cookies are where it all started,” says Blatt. “I always had a pipe dream of opening a pizzeria, with cookies for dessert.”

During the pandemic, Blatt struggled at home with two little kids, then just 3 months and 2 years of age. She was ready to take a leap—it seemed like the right time to take a calculated risk and follow her heart—so she left her job as a dental assistant and set about making her dream a reality. “Having a small business and having a family is way harder than we thought it would be. We are all very sleep deprived,” she says. But her charming shop offers baguettes, focaccia, a seasonal lineup of pastries, sourdough pizzas, and, of course, cookies—and often has a line snaking all the way outside.

“Cookies are where it all began; I started making chocolate chip cookies and bringing them to parties,” says Blatt. “They’re so simple, but if you get it right, they can change your life.” Her Brownie Cookies with Chocolate Ganache and Peppermint are pure, rich chocolate delight, and the crushed candy canes on top make the treat a festive season must.

Rounding out the cookie collection is a simple, buttery Holiday Shortbread Cookie from Mueller’s Bakery, a beloved institution in Bay Head that has been serving everything from crumb cake and bagels to doughnuts and coffee since 1890. Great for gifting and snacking, the shortbread has a perfect snap, followed by a melt-in-your-mouth lushness.

“We love being a part of family traditions for many of our customers, especially around the holidays,” says Mueller’s Bakery Manager Katie Lansing. “We truly love what we do here and appreciate the support our community gives us.”

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COOKIE SWAP
 

• Give clear instructions within your invites.
• Suggest a quantity guideline to avoid someone bringing 50 cookies and someone else bringing 10. Usually, one or two dozen cookies will suffice, depending upon headcount.
• Decide in advance how many cookies each guest will be allowed to take from each baker’s plate.
• Provide to-go boxes. Adorn them with holiday bows or ribbons for an extra festive punch.
• Leave out index cards and markers so guests can label their creations.
• Provide light sipping and savory snacking options. Mulled cider or wine is a great holiday pairing, or add some sparkle with Champagne, Cava, or flavored seltzer.