We get it. Between the shopping, wrapping, cooking, traveling, decorating and hugging, the holidays are a crazy time of year. So, instead of attending or hosting 20 different parties, why not gather all your friends and family for one big cookie swap party? Here's how it works: Tell each of your guests to make enough of one kind of cookie to share. At the party, taste the treats and trade them so everyone gets a varied assortment. Everyone leaves enough baked goods to last them through the holidays — plus plenty of new recipes!
Here are the best holiday cookie recipes we have — from brown-sugar butterscotch cookies to snickerdoodles — and yes, even though they're simple, they're that good. Believe us: We tasted them all and loved them! (Just beware of the sugar high.)
Tom’s Mom’s Cookies in Harbor Springs, Michigan adds peppermint in addition to white chocolate chips to make a treat that's perfect for holiday cookie swaps.
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To get the perfect crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside texture, baker Cailey Anne Buck of Cailey Anne Cookies in College Station, Texas pulls these out of the oven early and lets them finish baking in the pan
These giant cookies from Cake Crumbs bakery in Denver, Colorado are packed with nutty oats and dried cranberries.
Baker Allison Carlock of The Crumbling Cookie in Fort Irwin, California adds brown sugar to her amazing butterscotch cookies for an extra layer of flavor.
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To take chocolate chip cookies to the next level, follow in the footsteps of T-Rex Cookies in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they add caramel bits to the dough and finish each treat with a pinch of sea salt.
These chewy treats from Sherry's Sweets in Tooele, Utah are topped with a decadent coconut and pecan-studded frosting.
These classic sugar- and cinnamon-sprinkled cookies from Cookie Cart in Minneapolis, Minnesota have the perfect balance of chewy to crispy.
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