Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Cookie Swap v.3

Cookies!!
It's that time again--  time for my annual cookie swap!  As in years past, I invited fellow Boston bloggers over to my apartment to enjoy a couple of savory snacks and swap some delicious cookies.  I'll save the savory stuff for later, as there's still time to add these gems to your holiday baking list :)


photo by Cara

To get the party started, I made Pumpkin Blondies (on the left) and Pumpkin Oaties w/Rosemary Pecans & Cranberries (on the right).  It took a couple of tries to get my blondies to have my desired texture, but I think these came out pretty well.  Both recipes to come soon ;)

photo by Cara

Next up we have Cara's Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies (on the right) and Cinnamon Coffee Pecan Cookies (on the left).  Both vegan and free of refined sugars, these are a great option for any GF friends you might have!

photo by Cara

Bridget brought along her mom's Butterscotch Brownies, aka blondies from Betty Crocker ;)  They had exactly the texture I was going for with my pumpkin version, so I'd say Betty Bridget's got it right!

photo by Cara

Elizabeth made some Nutella Oatmeal Cream Pies.  I used to love those little packaged oatmeal cream pies when I was a kid, but these blew my memory of those out of the water!

photo by Cara

Christmas came early when Joanne arrived at my door to hang out for the afternoon :)  She brought along some Rainbow Cookies that are so much better than any I've ever had on an Italian cookie plate!

photo by Cara

Spiced Caramel Pecan Bars were Kerstin's contribution to the swap.  The name says it all here, and loving all things caramel I was definitely a fan!

photo by Bridget

Although Lauren couldn't stay for the swap, she dropped off some Better than Crack Brownies to contribute.  We all missed you Lauren!  And while we debated whether or not the name was accurate (none of us have ever tried crack), we figured they were delicious enough to let the name stand :)


Lizzy kicked up the traditional chocolate chip cookie by creating two variations- one with Andes Mints (on the left) and Hot Chocolate Cookies (on the right).  No need to choose, take one of each ;)

photo by Cara

Melissa made Chocolate Mint Cookies, highlighting a combo that we all apparently love as it showed up in three different cookies!

Photo by Cara

Rounding out the swap were Ranjani's Caramel Pecan Cranberry Bars.  Sweet and just a little bit tart, I bet these would be pretty popular on a cookie plate.

Back Row:  Myself, Joanne, Kerstin, Ranjani, Elizabeth; Front Row:  Bridget, Lizzy, Cara





But wait!  There's more!


This year, I teamed up with Allison at King Arthur Flour to bring a little holiday cheer to the Best Cookie!  I'm already a huge fan of King Arthur's top-quality flours, but did you know that they have a Baking Hotline where you can reach experts to help with your baking???  I should've called them about my pumpkin blondies ;)  Connect with KAF on Facebook, too!

photos from KAF

While I think everyone at the swap this year was a winner, leaving with boxes full of cookies, the Best Cookie will win Peppermint Crunch, a set of Luster Sugars and Fiori di Sicilia to play with.  Thanks Allison!

To help decide the Best Cookie at our swap, cast your vote by Saturday Dec 17th, noon EST.

28 comments:

Lizzy said...

Thanks for hosting, it was a fun day!

Erica said...

I want those rainbow cookies!!

vanillasugarblog said...

wow what a spread. i should have come. all you girls are so pretty; what a great group. i love that kristen is tall just like me.
did joanne make those rainbow cookies? nice job joanne!

Ranjani said...

I finally brought some cookies into lab today after eating way too many of them myself...they were all delicious!

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I'm sorry to have missed this but I was in Connecticut. It looks like I missed quite the spread!

Jessica | Cajunlicious said...

So happy I found you from another food blog this looks amazing, you've got yourself a new follower! xo Jessica @ Cajunlicious

Cara said...

Thanks for hosting Shannon! Btw, I really loved your pumpkin blondies :)

Lingo819 said...

Looks like a great cookie swap! The pumpkin blondes sounded best even though the tricolored ones look "cool"
Lin smith Golbiw

Melissa said...

Thanks for hosting and posting Shannon! (I will try to post my cookie recipe soon!!) My boyfriend and I have been enjoying all of my leftovers this week!

Delicious Dishings said...

Amazing spread. Sorry I missed it... again. One of these years!

Emily @ A Cambridge Story said...

What an incredible bunch of treats!! I was so bummed to miss it. Next year!

Kristen said...

looks like so much fun! I love that you host this tradition...maybe next year I will be around!

Elina (Healthy and Sane) said...

I'm sad I missed it. You girls went all out this year - with multiple cookies per participant :)
It was a tough choice but I voted for Ranjani's cookies. I <3 pecans!!

Kerstin said...

Thanks for hosting - it was so much fun (and so delicious!)! Great round up :)

And, I can't wait for your bruschetta recipe!

Kelly said...

I'm sad I no longer live in Boston to participate. I really enjoyed the swap with you girls two years ago. It was incredibly fun and the cookies were of course amazing.

Jean said...

Ummmm...how on earth can you pick just ONE to vote for, they ALL sound great!! Nice job ladies!

Elizabeth said...

I think this needs to be a monthly occurrence :)

Christine said...

This sounds like a lot of fun! It's the perfect way to catch up with friends and eat lots of cookies.

Joanne said...

(a) I agree with Elizabeth. We don't even have to stop at cookies. We can pick a theme every month and it will give me an excuse to come up. Constantly.

(b) I had SO much fun and it was totally worth the eight hours on a bus to hang with you all. I'll be back. Imminently.

Kim said...

i make better than crack brownies all the time! i love them. yummy!!!

Amy said...

I'm so jealous! I wish I were in the Boston area! They all look so good and it looks like a blast!

Natalie said...

beautiful cookies and beautiful bloggers! makes me wish I lived closer :)

Simply Life said...

oh dear, I'm about to start licking the screen. Can I come over???

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

Sorry I couldn't make it! Looks like everyone had such a lovely time!

kitchenbelle said...

Oh my gosh, Shannon! What a spread! Looks like everyone brought their A game! Sorry to have missed it!

Cotter Crunch said...

oh man, i can only choose one? this is hard! i am literally drooling over them all!

Emily said...

All of the cookies look lovely! I bet this was a fun time. Joanne made rainbow cookies! I can't believe that crazy girl.

Megan @ Cooking Whims said...

Sounds like a super fun cookie swap!

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