Tasty Christmas Cookie Recipes for Your Holiday-Cooking Repertoire

One of the absolute best things about ringing in the holidays is the likelihood that every time you turn around you get the opportunity to sample a Christmas cookie. It's a reality for a sweet-toothed person that doesn't get much better! The plethora of decorated, frosted, formed and dropped cookies is enough to send even the most seasoned of sweets eaters into sugar shock. But, there is always another recipe to try and a true cookie aficionado will rise to meet the challenge with the dawn of each new frosting, I mean frosty day.

If you love Christmas cookies and have the urge to sample many, share your best and add some tasty new recipes to your repertoire, then it is time for you to organize the start of an annual cookie extravaganza! These are sometimes called cookie exchanges, cookie teas or cookie swaps. The idea is to make several dozen of your own signature cookies, package them and bring them to trade with others who have done likewise. The coup is to go home with many different types of holiday cookies without having to have made them yourself, thus saving much time, energy, trouble and best of all, kitchen messes.

Why not devise your own cookie extravaganza with a few special twists and personal touches? First of all, instead of giving the usual phone call with the time and date, try making your own cookie-shaped invitations from construction paper. These can be made from one template, traced, cut out and the front decorated with crushed peppermint candies glued on, holiday colored glitter or actual chocolate chips attached with a glue stick.

The inside of the card can be hand-lettered with the party particulars by a gold or silver colored sharpie or a computer printed cut out with all the party info can be affixed to the inside of the invitation. Purchase over-sized, brightly colored envelopes for mailing.

If you and your friends are up for the adventure, you can also make the exchange a hands-on experience by baking the cookies right in your own kitchen. Limit the number of recipes to no more than 6 and of those make sure that 2 of them do not require baking time. These can be items such as chocolate dipped pretzels or confections that are cooked on the top of the stove. That way the oven will be free to organize the cooking of the baked varieties. During the kitchen preparation time, make sure to have lots of spiced cider, mulled wine and other nibbles such as cheese and crackers, nuts and veggies with dips for munching.

When the cookies are finished and cooled, have festive holiday boxes on hand with bright tissue paper for packing for your guests to carry their prizes home in style. Tie each box with a Christmas ribbon and as a party favor, include a special ornament to be tied on one of the box tops of each guest.