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Hosting a cookie exchange with friends is a great way to kick off the holiday season.
MCT ILLUSTRATION
Tami Ruczko of Chapin, S.C., kicks off her holiday cheer each year with a cookie swap.
“I started in 1990. We moved out here and I was so lonely. We had our 6-week-old daughter and our 2 1/2-year-old son and I didn’t know anybody,” Ruczko said.
She decided to invite old friends to exchange Christmas cookies, and the idea took off.
Now she can’t miss a year.
“After that night, I will have 16 new recipes and 16 new cookies to taste,” said Ruczko, whose affection for the party is contagious.
She has a scrapbook filled with recipes she has collected over the years as well as copies of her invitations and pictures of the cookie trays she ends up with after each year’s swap.
“I think it’s the early childhood teacher in me,” she said with a chuckle. Her friends tease her about her organizational skills and her attention to detail during the party.
Each year, she reminds those who attend of a few basic rules: cookies are brought to the party in separate decorative bags for each person attending plus a bag that will be put on the refreshment table for tasting; the bag needs to be accompanied by the name of the cookie, the cook and a copy of the recipe; and cookies should be freshly baked — no cookie bars or fudge, and, certainly, no store-bought cookies.
“I have one friend whose husband waits on the doorstep with a gallon of milk,” she said. “He calls if she’s running late.”
Obviously, the idea has caught on with Ruczko’s friends and their families, too.
In addition to enjoying the fellowship and fun, Ruczko loves the way the party has become a part of her holiday planning. Each year, the day after Thanksgiving, she, her daughter and mother go through recipes they’ve collected during the year to choose the cookie Ruczko will bake for the event.
That has become a bonus to the tradition, she said. She has wonderful memories of those hours in the kitchen with two of the most special women in her life.
“It is the most wonderful time with Mother,” she said.
She loves the friendship the event has fostered and the way the party shapes her holiday planning.
“I’m like on a mission all year long,” looking for recipes, invitations and party favors, she said.
Friends bring her all manner of things related to cookies — cookie ribbons, cookie recipes, cookie decorations.
And the night of the party is a great time to put all the stresses of the holiday aside.
“It’s so fun. No kids. Just adults and we talk about everything from school to kids to vacation — it’s just fun,” she said.
If the idea resonates with you, here are some suggestions from Ruczko about how to add a cookie swap to your holiday tradition.
PEANUT BUTTER-CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 (2.1-ounce ) Butterfinger candy bars, cut into half-inch pieces
Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
Add regular sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Beat in egg whites.
Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
Combine flour, soda and salt. Add to mixture. Stir in candy bars.
Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place two inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. Cool three minutes on cookie sheet and then remove to wire racks.
Makes 4 dozen. (Two cookies considered a serving.)
Source: Tami Ruczko’s 16-year cookie swap recipe collection
TOO-GOOD-TO-BE-TRUE COOKIES
COOKIE SWAP TIPS
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 (8-ounce) package toffee bits
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and stir to mix well. Stir in oats, flour, cranberries, toffee bits and chocolate chips.
Drop by teaspoonful onto a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack and let cool before removing from the baking sheet.
Makes 3 dozen cookies. (Two cookies are a serving.)
Source: Tami Ruczko’s 16-year cookie swap recipe collection
• Ask guests to place their recipes on decorative, notebook-paper-sized stationery. This way, guests can keep the recipes in a notebook and refer back to them through the years.
• Keep an eye out for decorative bags or containers for your cookies throughout the year. This way you can find things on sale, too.
• Watch for recipes throughout the year. Amazingly, in all the years of Ruczko’s parties, no cookie has been duplicated.
• Plan to package a dozen cookies per guest, including the hostess, and another half-dozen for sampling at the swap.
• Guests should plan to do their baking several days before the party. This way, if a child gets sick or the power goes out, you’re not in a jam the day of the party — and the swap won’t be left high and dry with one less dozen cookies to swap. Of course, planning ahead goes without saying if you’re playing hostess.
• If you are going to host the swap, Ruczko strongly urges you to have salty items on your refreshment table. This will provide some relief from all the sweets.
• Also, to keep the refreshments simple for yourself as the hostess, serve a wassail and don’t worry with lots of other drinks. This is festive, too.
