cookie exchange 2014

Torri and I hosted our third annual cookie exchange in early December, and it was a success! Each year we learn a little more about what it takes to host a cookie exchange and make things work well. We grew our number of participants significantly this year, and we loved having our friends join us to kick off the Christmas season! 

A few of our friends stepped in to help quite a bit as we were overwhelmed with cookies this year--so many to label and cut up for samples. We definitely met our goal to grow our cookie exchange! 

Mom's friend Cathy won best tasting cookie, with her Swedish almond cookies (below), and my friend Kristin won prettiest cookie, with her spritz cookies. I don't even have a picture of hers! We always get wrapped up with hosting and forget to take pictures. 

I'm so thankful for our good friends here, and I enjoyed getting to see so many of them in one place. I feel so loved by my friends who take time from their busy December to bake cookies and come to our party. Even though I will be married and moved away by next Christmas, and Torri will have a baby, we are going to do our best to keep this tradition alive! 

cookout with the Kirks

I had a great lazy afternoon/evening at a cookout hosted by friends this weekend. LH carried out a picnic theme, using borrowed supplies from her mom. What a creative way to serve watermelon! It's a bug! 

They decorated with tissue flowers, which I didn't get a good picture of, jars, and pretty paper straws. 

Two of the guests brought three flavors of sangria they had made with homemade liqueurs. I didn't taste them, but they were beautiful! 

I didn't try the lawn games, either, though there was cornhole and a frisbee game. I tried for an action shot, instead. 

LH eats gluten free, which made for a fun baking challenge for those of us who decided to take desserts. I have been trying to eat healthier, especially cutting carbohydrates, so I was happy to have an event for which to give paleo cookies a go. 

By the way, could someone tell me what exactly paleo means? Between my best efforts to eat low carb and natural and having friends who don't tolerate gluten, I find myself making a lot of "paleo" recipes, but when my SIL asked me to define paleo, I couldn't. However, I do know what gluten is. (Thanks, LH, for this reference.)

LH's brother in law made these doughnuts using leftover coconut flour passed from Lindsay to LH to him. They passed on the flour because after using it to make gluten free foods, they decided they didn't like it. Well, he made doughnuts with it, and they were FABULOUS. I wanted the recipe but was scared to ask for fear that there's cups and cups of sugar. 

Lindsay made gluten free candy shaped cookies above and these Eiffel tower cookies. I sure do miss Paris! 

LH made pretty, pretty Pinterest-y dipped strawberries. 

Can you tell that sweet treats were the most photogenic aspects of the party? Isn't that always the case? The company was great, and the other food (hot dogs, pulled pork, salads, fruit) were delicious, too. I wish I had taken pictures of people and the gorgeous house! 

Thank you for including me, Kirks!

Second Annual Cookie Exchange

My sister in law and I hosted our second annual cookie exchange last weekend.  We enjoyed seeing and tasting everyone's cookies, and we were pleased with the variety of cookies.  Can you guess which won prettiest cookie?  Even tougher, can you guess which was tastiest?  

Anyone want to come over for cookies?  We hope that our friends will have plenty of cookies to share throughout the Christmas season and will come back with new recipes next year!

citrus cookies

My sister in law and I started a tradition last year.  We host a cookie exchange in early December, and we ask that each person makes a different recipe each year.  At the party, we give prizes for the best tasting cookie, prettiest cookie, and best all around cookie (most votes in both categories combined).  I found this recipe for citrus cookies from Martha Stewart, and I hoped they would be a contender for prettiest cookie.  

I baked my cookies on Saturday morning, so I had to pause to make waffles and bacon.  I mixed in cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.  Is anyone going to Vermont soon?  I used up the Vermont maple syrup that my parents brought back for me from their trip this summer.

Back to the cookies.

I made half of the dough lemon flavored and the other half orange flavored.  Always read the comments on recipes!  That's where I got the idea to do half and half; I had oranges on hand and had purchased yellow and orange sprinkles, so all I needed was a lemon.  Fortunately, mom texted me while she was at Target, and she brought me a lemon.  

My dad is a fantastic problem solver.  When I realized I was already halfway through the process and hadn't found a thread spool like I needed, I asked him what I should use instead.  He suggested an apple corer/slicer.  It made nice marks on my cookies, but the indentations weren't quite wide enough to hold sprinkles.

The thread spool my mom found worked better with the sprinkles.

I didn't get any votes for best tasting or prettiest, but I would still try this recipe again.  Both types had nice flavor and with a little more practice, I think I could make them pretty.

What's your favorite cookie recipe?

pirate tailgating

Our parents taught us how to tailgate and cheer on the pirates many years ago.  

I have a bigger chair now, but the cooler I tailgate with is still the same.  

My mom bakes awesome cookie cakes, so I use her recipe or just take some of her dough from the freezer and bake it.  I made icing with my own special recipe and added added added and added food coloring to get the right pirate purple (like with my cornhole paint colors).

These girls went through tough times and great times with me in graduate school.  It's so nice to have fun together now without feeling like we should be studying!  

After the game, we ate more of our tailgating food, went to hear Emily Minor sing, and just enjoyed each others' company.  Jessica and I ate at Sup Dogs (part of my Greenville list) and shopped at Catalog Connection before heading home on Sunday.  The temperatures were absolutely perfect the whole weekend, and the pirates won by 50+ points.  I could not have asked for a better weekend!

avocado chicken salad and late night cookies

I've had a great time cooking lately, but to be honest, B cooked the meal below.  

Before I left for Zumba fitness class, I helped him get set up a little bit, then I came home to this!  I sprayed a baking pan and placed on it four chicken thighs, seasoned only with salt, pepper, and some fresh thyme from my dad's friend.  I'm not sure how long or hot B baked them, but they turned out to be delicious!

I can only stand leftovers of certain things as is, but I enjoy turning leftovers into new dishes.  I had been curious about various avocado chicken salad pins I'd seen on Pinterest, so I set out to try it.  I shredded two leftover chicken thighs and mixed them with about half of a large avocado, mashed,  about a teaspoon of chopped cilantro, a generous dash of lime juice, and some salt and pepper.  I tasted and adjusted as needed.

I hate mayonnaise, so I have never chosen to eat chicken salad before, but this kind was irresistible!  I texted my mom to tell her that I was actually eating chicken salad, and she texted back, "you're grown up now."

I ate chicken salad sandwiches probably five times and did not get tired of it.  Maximizing those leftovers!

I took a page from mom's book and made some late night cookies last week.  This recipe for peanut butter cookies is simple and delicious.  

The only way my parents eat cookies: with a glass of milk.  [Hey E & C - we love your engagement party cups.]

How do you feel about chicken salad?  What's your favorite cookie recipe?