The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook: 60 Large-Batch Recipes to Bake and Share

by Susan Westmoreland, Good Housekeeping

Butterscotch Fingers, Chocolate Crinkles, Gingerbread Cut-Outs, Peppermint Meringues: all these Christmas cookies sound delectable, but nobody can bake dozens of recipes at the same time. The solution? A swap! All across America, families, neighbors, community, and church groups gather at Christmas cookie swaps, where each participant brings a large batch of his or her favorite recipe to share. Everyone fills a plate or tin with samplings of the tasty treats; the more people, the merrier—and the more kinds of cookies to try. It’s a fun way to enjoy a variety of Christmas tastes without doing all the work yourself—and to celebrate with those you love.Good Housekeeping helps home bakers enter into the joy, camaraderie, and pure deliciousness of this tradition with a new collection of 60 favorite Christmas cookie recipes from around the world—each configured to make batches of at least eight dozen cookies. Choose from holiday classics and contemporary twists; they’re easy to make with everyday ingredients. And each recipe has been triple-tested for success in the famed Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, so you can bake with confidence. For extra help, there are also great tips on techniques and shortcuts, as well as fun ideas for throwing the best cookie swap ever. Finally, as a special bonus, the book features removable blank recipe cards in the back—so you can pass along the recipe. 

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Holiday, Christmas, Food

125 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2008

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Great Christmas Cookie Swap Cookbook is filled with lots of good cookie recipes, beautiful pictures, and instructions on hosting a cookie swap. I only gave this book 2 stars, because I've seen all of these recipes before. I didn't find anything new or inventive, or frugal ideals, or custom packaging for the christmas cookie swap. Still, lots of good cookie recipes.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the recipes in this book. I would have given the book 5 stars if there were pictures of every recipe.

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. It is well written, with a clear, bright layout and nice font. My only complaint is that it would have been better if every recipe had had a picture.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Nice Book

This book had a lot of good recipes. I expected more from Good Housekeeping. Not many photos. Good recipes alone just isn't good enough. You need a lot of photos. If you can't see the finished product how do you know if you want to bake it?

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful tips.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up.
They aren't kidding aobut "large-batch" recipes: most of these make in excess of 100 cookies. But the recipes themselves are pretty standard.

[Carol Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great holiday baking ideas

I will be trying some of these recipes for the holidays this year. You can never have too many cookies.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

These were mostly just large batches of pretty common cookie recipes. I was disappointed by the lack of pictures.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I have the Kohl's Cares for Kids edition. It features 60 recipes and was published in 2009.

Great recipes of pretty Christmas cookies. Ideas for packaging cookies as gifts, even includes gift tags.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute sweet little book!

I got a few great recipes!

[Sandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

No real new recipes here but some are really good like the cinnamon spirals

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great cookie recipes for the holiday season, especially if you are baking large batches. A great mix of traditional and newer recipes.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly delightful Christmas gift I have already skimmed through. Makes me want to have a cookie swapping party next Christmas (or maybe sometime in the spring!).

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has some really great cookie recipes in it. I love giving this book as a holiday gift for the bakers in my life. This one is always a hit present wise. Great price, great recipes.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the large-batch recipes! These are oddly hard to find sometimes. Update: These are also well tested and very yummy recipes!

[Lucy Doughty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't get behind a cookbook without pictures...