Cookie Swap Recipes

The holidays are in full swing, and if you’re attending a cookie swap this season, or if you’re just wanting to bake some delicious cookies, check out my best cookie swap recipes!

Christmas Cookie Swap Recipes

If you want to host a cookie swap this year, or if you were invited to one, you’ll want to bring some of my best cookie swap recipes along with you. I make these Christmas cookie boxes every year for friends, family, co-workers, doctors, teachers, you name it! Everyone loves a homemade cookie – especially during the holidays.

The great thing about these boxes is I’ve included 4 different flavors/types of treats. They’re all different in their own way, and they’re some of the most beloved cookie recipes here on the blog.

Christmas Cookies – A Holiday Baking Tradition

I think we all hang on to those memories of making homemade cookies during the holidays. Whether it was gingerbread, cut out sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies, or maybe even cut out shortbread cookies. Obviously, we love sugar cookies around here. I made it a goal to instill a tradition in our family when we had our first son, and it’s something I plan on carrying out through the years.

Each year, we bake a bunch of different cookies and bring them to neighbors, family, or to a cookie swap with friends. The kids love it because they get to be apart of the entire process – from choosing the cookie flavors, to baking the cookies, decorating the cookies, and finally delivering them to others. This is a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen and teach them the basics of baking!

Some equipment you may need for Cookie Swap Recipes…

Stand mixer: certainly not a must-have, but definitely a nice-to-have. If you love to bake and plan on doing it a lot throughout the weeks or months, having a stand mixer will help tremendously! Especially when making something like swiss meringue buttercream or homemade donuts!
Rolling pin: I love using my dowel-style rolling pin for most recipes, and it’s a great tool to use for these cut out sugar cookies. Many people use French style rolling pins, and honestly, it’s just up to personal preference!
Measuring cups/spoons: I love these a lot – they’re beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but way cheaper).
Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography and these vanilla bean sugar cookies.
Wooden spoon: I only use wooden spoons and rubber spatulas when I’m baking, and I love these!

Some ingredients you may need for Cookie Swap Recipes…

All of these recipes use basic baking pantry staples such as…

Unsalted butter – any brand will do, just make sure you’re using unsalted. If you want to use salted butter, just reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp for most of these cookie swap recipes.
Granulated sugar – of course!
Brown sugar – I use light brown sugar for most of these cookie swap recipes, but feel free to try dark brown sugar for a more rich flavor profile.
All-purpose flour – I use King Arthur flours to test ALL of my recipes. I think it’s important to stay consistent because flour brands can differ so much. That way, you as the reader always know what you’re gonna get with King Arthur!
Large eggs
Pure vanilla extract – just make sure you’re using pure vanilla extract for these cookie swap recipes – now is not the time for the fake stuff!
Kosher salt – I always use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in my recipes

Plus a few other ingredients, which will be linked below!

Recipes for a Cookie Swap

Here are the recipes I went with for this year’s cookie box:

No-Chill Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes – specifically during the holidays – because you can combine it with just about any other cookie and you’ll have a cookie swap dynamic duo!

This cut out sugar cookie recipe is a no-chill sugar cookie, meaning you don’t need to wait for the dough to chill in the refrigerator before you roll out and bake the cookies. You can skip straight to the good part of rolling out and baking the cookies, which means you can decorate them and enjoy them even sooner than a typical cut out sugar cookie recipe with chill time.

These will be a hit at your cookie swap or in your Christmas cookie boxes!

Soft and Chewy Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

These are another staple in my home, and I make them all year-round, just swap in different color sprinkles for different events or holidays! They’ve got a secret ingredient, cornstarch, which makes for extra fluffy and chewy sugar cookies with the perfect vanilla bean flavor.

Chocolate Fudge Mocha Cookies

Probably one of my favorite cookie recipes on my site – and it’s one I put in the cookie boxes every year! These chocolate fudge cookies have a perfect crinkly top with an incredibly chewy and gooey center. They’re a nice addition to any cookie swap, and a great thing to add to your baking list during the holidays!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Acorns

If you decide to make these, be prepared for one of the most underrated treats ever. I used miniature nutter butters and dark chocolate kisses to form these adorable acorns. Not only are they delicious, they’re so simple to make, and they’re a nice addition to any cookie swap.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 (12-oz) pkg dark chocolate kisses
1 (8-oz) box miniature nutter butters

Directions:

Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl according to package directions. Dip bottoms of chocolate kisses in melted chocolate; press kisses onto bottoms of nutter butters to resemble acorns.
Dip 1/4 cup chocolate chips into melted chocolate, one at a time, and press onto the tops of cookies to form stems. Chill until set. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Cookie Swap Recipes FAQ

Can I make the cookie dough ahead?

For the cut out sugar cookies and the chewy sugar cookies, you can make the dough up to 3 days in advance and chill it in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, until you’re ready to use it. When you are ready to use it, just let it soften at room temperature slightly (until it’s workable).

You can also check out my guide on how to freeze cookie dough for extra tips if you’d like to make these doughs more than 3 days in advance.

The chocolate fudge cookies are not something you can make in advance, especially if you want the signature crinkly tops. Make these on the same day you intend to serve them on for best results.

Transporting cookie swap recipes?

I recommend looking for a nice cookie tin or cookie box to transport your cookies in. I always place some parchment paper or tissue paper in the bottoms of the containers for protection. This just makes the cookies look extra pretty!

I hope you all enjoy this post on some of my best cookie swap recipes. If you attend a cookie swap, make one of these recipes, or make another cookie recipe from my site, be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff or shoot me an email with any photos! I would love to see your bakes!

If you have any questions about any of these recipes, feel free to shoot me an email at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com or leave a comment below and I will get back to you! Happy holidays and happy baking, friends!

Love,

Sarah

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” -1 John 3:16-

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