Christmas Cookie Exchanges: Doing it Fast and Doing it Simple

Every year it is the same thing. Swept up in the desire to make this the Christmas where I do it all, I plan to make dozens and dozens of cookies from scratch, design and construct my own gingerbread winter wonderland, sign up for Secret Santa, create a magical setting for our Dept 56 North Pole Village and get involved in a Christmas Cookie Exchange. And every year it is the same thing: I bake cutout cookies from Pillsbury sugar cookie dough, the gingerbread house comes from a kit, the North Pole Village is put out with nothing more special than cotton batting, and the Secret Santa and Cookie Exchange make me want to pull my hair out and have me questioning why I do this to myself. So I decided that I can either stop signing up, or I can simplify. I know myself and I know I feel compelled to participate, so simplify it is.

I have gone through a multitude of cookbooks to find the ultimate recipes. I have searched through magazines, checked out recipes on the backs of packages and cruised the internet for ideas. And I have finally narrowed it down to a few of my favorites.

Fudge. Fudge is a holiday favorite. People love it and it is front and center on dessert tables, in gift baskets and cookie platters. It is incredibly versatile and comes in every flavor known to man. And when made from a traditional recipe with a candy thermometer it can be time consuming and difficult. So I have found the ultimate in fudge recipes that has made my cookie exchange plates in high demand. The recipe starts with 1 ¾ bags of chocolate chips. Add a teaspoon of vanilla and a 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and you are in business. Melt everything together in a saucepan over a medium low heat and you have the best and easiest fudge ever. Add chopped nuts for another flavor. Substitute white chocolate chips, add crushed Oreos and you have Cookies and Cream fudge. Take dark chocolate chips, substitute peppermint extract and sprinkle with crushed candy cane for a dark chocolate mint fudge. Spend some time looking at the different baking chips and the candy aisle and invent your own. Butterscotch? Caramel? Dark raspberry? The sky is the limit. Make a few batches and your exchange plate will look like you slaved.

Cutouts. Growing up, cutouts were the cookie I always waited for. My mom would make the dough, refrigerate overnight, roll and cut and bake and roll and cut and bake again and then finally it would be time for frosting. She would whip up several batches of powdered sugar buttercream frosting, use food coloring to create a palette for frosting and my brother and I would spend a happy afternoon decorating cookies. I want this memory for my son, but I have found that I just don't have the time or patience. So thank you, Pilllsbury! I purchase the refrigerated gingerbread and sugar cookie dough and skip the first 24 hours of steps. With a little flour, a rolling pin, some parchment paper and a bag of my old cookie cutters, I can do traditional cutouts in a fraction of the time. And while homemade buttercream might be economical and easy, I make the same palette of frosting by embracing Betty Crocker or Pillsbury tubs of frosting. I can add some traditional elements to the cookie exchange platter, enjoy some tradition and memories with my son, and still have time to breathe.

Pretzels and Chocolate. Ah, the combination of salty, crunchy and sweet. Is there a better mate for a pretzel than chocolate? Take advantage of the classic combination to make another easy Christmas treat. If you have a little extra time, pretzel rods can be dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts, sprinkles, coconut or crushed candy canes. You can have fun with different combinations and decorations. But for a truly simple recipe with next to no cleanup, simply cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then place pretzel twists flat on the sheet. Top each twist with an unwrapped Hershey Kiss and place in a warm 200 degree oven for a two or three. When you pull the pretzels out, place a Christmas M&M on top of each Kiss, and push down to cover the pretzel with the melted chocolate. Let cool, and you have a sheet full of poppable chocolate pretzel holiday treats. Switch out different chocolate kiss flavors for some different looks.

Christmas cookie exchanges don't have to be time consuming and stressful. Buy a collection of inexpensive Christmas paper plates, cover with fudge, cookies and pretzel candies and slide into a large Ziploc bag. You'll have an attractive presentation with delicious treats in no time at all. And with all the time you've saved you can turn your sights towards that Christmas village, gingerbread house or anything else you want to do!