Last evening a dear long (we never say old) friend said she was invited to a cookie exchange. She declined, as this Grandma would, as we are of the grandmas who make reservations or bake cookies with our grandchildren for our grandchildren only.
Then, this morning, on the Today Show, the talk was of cookie swaps! Twice in a short time, did the issue of cookie exchanges or cookie swaps come up. Holiday season means cookies, and, with a cookie exchange, one can make his or her signature cookie and swap with others to have a selection. It seems to me that a grandma would want the grandchildren to know grandma’s signature cookie to create the ritual and tradition that keeps memories alive, but to each their own. However, this Grandma is always up to knowing and learning the newest and best ideas and, when it comes to grandchildren, the best sweets for the sweetest grandchildren in the world.
Searching Today.com for the recipes for the cookies that were highlighted on the December 14, 2015 show, which did look delicious, the first article that came up was, “Can you guess your state’s most-searched signature cookie?” Tracy Saelinger gives us you can find your state’s favorite cookie by checking the most uniquely searched cookies in every state. She says, “To be clear, these aren’t the single top-searched cookies in every state: “The most popular cookies in every state are chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar cookies, et cetera, which is not very interesting,” explains Gregory Druck, head of research at Yummly.”
Yummly.com is where you can find the information. Of course, this Grandma checked Florida. Rum balls! What does that say about Florida! Check your own state if you are interested. I blame rum balls as the top-searched cookie in Florida on tourists wanting to have a good time. Today.com has a chart if you want an easy search.
I could find the video on the hosts’ favorite cookies. I could not find the recipes for the winners of the contest for viewers’ favorite cookie bakers and cookie.
The first winner of viewers’ choices of best cookie bakers was Sheryl McCleery with her white chocolate peppermint cookies. A little internet research and this Grandma who makes reservations found the website where you could buy the cookies!
TOM’S MOM’S COOKIES, Harbor Springs, Michigan. “More than 18 varieties of made-from-scratch cookies including the original chocolate chunk, chocolate cherry and white chocolate macadamia nut. Its traditional white chocolate peppermint and chocolate peppermint are available only for the holidays. A two-dozen cookie minimum is $36. A 17-ounce Tom’s Mom’s Cookies coffee mug with a dozen mini cookies, festively wrapped, is $20. Shipping is extra.” Order: 231-526-6606 or www.tomsmomscookies.com
The next winning cookie baker was Cailey Buck, who gave a great tip for the grandmas among us who bake cookies. She baked chocolate chip cookies and said her secret was to take the cookies out of the oven three minutes before they are fully cooked and leave them on the hot pan for 10-15 minutes before removing for perfect chocolate chip cookies. Those of us who only bake cookies WITH grandchildren know that it is impossible for the grandchildren to wait until the cookies cool one minute before they want to finish the batch!
Again, with just a little internet research, I found www.caileyannecookies.com. Cailey Anne Cookies is run by three full-time college students. It seems, though, that you must live in Texas to take advantage of ordering.
Denon Moore, the third cookie winner, made cranberry oatmeal raisin cookies, using dried cranberries instead of raisins. She owns a bakery in Denver, Colorado, called Cake Crumbs. I wish I had known about her when I visited Denver. They serve breakfast and lunch too. Take a look at this site.
For those grandmas into baking cookies, I did not find her exact recipe, but found a highly rated recipe for cranberry orange oatmeal cookies here, or cranberry white chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies at this site.
Now, this Grandma wanted to learn more about cookie exchanges. Wikipedia failed this Grandma for the first time. Cookie exchange on Wikipedia was about exchanging computer cookies. I was not about to search every newspaper or magazine article to find out the history of cookie exchanges but apparently Robin Olson, an author of a cookie exchange book and website, did and found the first reference in 1936 in Syracuse, New York.
There was another website that can also tell you all you might want to know about hosting a cookie exchange:
And now I learned the why for those grandmas who like to host large holiday celebrations:
“One of the holiday traditions eagerly anticipated by many families is baking Christmas cookies. However, it’s also one of the most time consuming traditions if you hope to bake enough variety to assemble attractive cookie trays for your holiday parties. With time in short supply for most families, this can turn a beloved tradition into a dreaded chore. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this dilemma that will keep the fun in the baking, yet minimize the time pressure – hosting a Christmas cookie exchange party.”
“When hosting a cookie exchange party, you invite friends who also enjoy holiday baking to bring a large batch of one type of cookie to your home. You can certainly expand the definition of this party to include other treats such as home made candy, chocolate covered pretzels, or other festive sweets.”
Okay, this Grandma gets it. Lessen the load and increase the variety. As I get longer (we never sayolder), though, I gravitate to spend holiday time with those who mean the most to me and that circle gets smaller, not larger. Whether the holiday celebration is large or small in number, I think the grandchildren will gravitate to grandma’s specialty cookie and we want the grandchildren to do so. Holidays are for building memories with traditions and rituals with grandchildren.
I agree with my dear long friend. I would rather spend the time baking or shopping for cookies with my grandchildren, but I like the best ideas from the best cookie bakers to give the grandchildren the best.
Happy Holidays!
Joy,
Mema
Comments