Best Cookie Exchange Recipes
It’s cookie exchange time! Holiday parties, including a cookie exchange or two, typically fill my December calendar. I’m sharing my best cookie exchange recipes today! But they’re also great for hostess and holiday gifts. This is the Ultimate Guide for hosting a Cookie Exchange.
These are tried and true and some of the Best Christmas Cookies you’ll ever make. Each recipe will guide you through how to make one of my favorite Holiday Cookies Recipes.
Cookie Exchange Recipes
Packaging loads of sweet treats is part of our holiday tradition. Bill and Katie deliver all the goodies to our neighbor friends and even a few who have moved out of the hood. Along with an array of cookies, I make fudge, toffee, caramels, and peppermint bark. I’d be in deep trouble if I skipped any of the regulars! Many of these were brought to holiday cookie exchanges!
I’ve linked my best cookie exchange recipes for you. I’m down to only one cookie-swap party per year, but I never like to make the same selection twice. I’ve included many of the sweets I make for the holidays plus some winners from past parties. I hope you find some inspiration for your next cookie exchange or hostess or holiday gifts!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, most of these cookies will freeze well for up to 3 months if kept airtight. I like to use freezer-grade Ziploc bags and remove all the excess air. If freezing cookies with sticky components like caramel, chill them in the refrigerator before freezing so the caramel solidifies. And although you can freeze frosted cookies, it’s better to freeze them unfrosted, then defrost and frost when you’re ready to eat or give them away.
You can also freeze dough balls to bake later. Just defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Find a festive platter (look for sales after Christmas) and arrange your cookies artfully. Garnish with something from the recipe if possible like fresh cranberries, cinnamon sticks, or pecans. If you have evergreens in your yard that aren’t sprayed with pesticides, a few small sprigs with a red ribbon look Christmasy.
Here are some basic cookie-making tips:
Have all your ingredients at room temperature unless otherwise noted. This is especially important for eggs, butter, and cream cheese to help them incorporate into the dough more easily.
Use a cookie disher for even-sized cookies.
Line your baking sheet with parchment for easy cleanup and no sticking!
Cool your baking sheets before reusing them.
Use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven temperature is accurate.
Cool cookies completely before packing them up.
You May Also Like:
- 75+ Christmas Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreaths from I Am Baker
- 25 of the Best Christmas Cookies from Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen
- Buttery Spritz Recipe from Life Love and Sugar
- Amish Sugar Cookies
- Italian Ricotta Cookies
- How to Make Rosettes
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
- Toffee Cookies with Walnuts
- Candy Cane Blossoms
- Poinsettia Cookies
- Chocolate Earthquake Cookies
- Plus How to Host a Cookie Exchange
- More of the Best Cookie Recipes
- More of the Best Holiday Recipes
Helpful Tools:
- KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer (affiliate links)
- KitchenAid 5-Qt. Artisan with Glass Bowl
- Half Sheet Pan, 13″x18″
- Parchment Paper Baking Sheets
- Medium Cookie Scoop
- Measuring Cups and Spoons, Set of 8
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- French Rolling Pin
Best Cookie Exchange Recipes
The best cookie recipe for your next holiday cookie exchange, holiday gifting or to eat while celebrating with family.
The best frosted cut-out sugar cookies! Perfect for the holidays.
Buttery holiday cookies adapted from Gale Gand
Chewy ginger snap cookies with a delicious triple boost of ginger!
A twist on peanut butter blossoms using a chocolate star to make a Christmas cookie!
Rich chocolate cookies studded with holiday M& M's
Perfectly festive cookies for the holidays! Sugar cookie recipe adapted from Alton Brown.
Chewy Biscoff cookies topped with caramel and a Hershey's Kiss
Chocolate thumbprints rolled in pecans and filled with caramel!
These chewy gingersnaps are a childhood favorite and my most requested recipe!
A star studded cookie that's perfect for the holidays and all year long!
These Butterscotch Cookies grace the goodie boxes I divvy out to my friends and neighbors for Christmas. Soft and caramelly, they're a family favorite.
This post was first shared in November 2015. Photos and content were updated in 2020.
24 Comments on “Best Cookie Exchange Recipes”
Bonjour,
Merci pour ces magnifiques recettes….
J’ai essayé de m’abonner à votre blog mais cela ne fonctionne pas….
J’espère que vous m’adresserez vos prochaines recettes sur mon mail que je vous laisse ci-dessous….
Amitiés de France….
Marilyn
I’m happy to add you to my mailing list. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time. Wishing you a very Happy New Year!
What a selection and quite a number of my favorites too! I’ll have to bake some.
So many to choose from!! There’s a large bag of cranberries that stares at me when I open the freezer so I will start with the Cranberry White Chocolate with Crystallized Ginger.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Which one shall we start with. I guess the best method is start at the top of your list and work our way down this delicious list. I think we are going to need a bigger freezer… LOL
These cookies are absolutely wonderful and perfect for the holidays. The gingersnap cookies are my favourite.
I am not participating in cookie exchange this year, and sadly, we’re not even allowed to bring in treats for everyone to work. That’s sad because I always bring some (In fact, many) cookies and chocolates throughout the season. Besides creating the holiday ambiance, I’ve got a more important question – who is going to eat all the cookies I will probably bake? Lol I guess I will need to downsize my baking as well. Hard choices, you know! Talking about choices, it would be so hard to pick the only one cookie from your array, they all look so delicious. Definitely, chocolate truffle cookies! Or maybe cherries and ginger? But butterscotch must be so good, too…. you see – hard choices! 🙂
What a fantastic collection, Liz!
These are so cute! They will be perfect in my holiday cookie gift tins!
These cookies are perfect! Thank you so much for sharing them all.
Lizzy,
I want to add so many new cookies to my list but I already make more than 15 varieties. I’ll nix some that people have gotten tired of and add some of yours.
Annamaria
There is a cookie for everyone’s tastebuds here and love your wishlist!
Yum, YUM! I can see why each of these would be cookie exchange favorites!
I would love to be part of a cookie exchange with you, you make the best cookies!
Another great list, I am off to the kitchen to start baking!
Very nice collection Liz, happy holidays.
I want one of every cookie! I love this roundup, and I love those beaker measuring cups. One of my favorite kitchen tools!
One of each, please. Oh who am I kidding? I want them all! Hope you had an awesome holiday, Liz!
So many great ideas. I’d love to be on your list too.
I could snarf down a couple (or three) of those truffle cookies right now:@)
I want to be at a cookie exchange with you Liz! What an amazing round up! The butterscotch and ginger cookies seem to be calling my name!
Yes, please. is delivery available?
I wish you were a neighbor, Amy, as I always love to share my extra treats!
They all make me want to get in the kitchen and start baking!
Liz, I love how you have such wonderful traditions like this. I wish our French neighbours could do the same but will just have to make a few of these and exchange them with the family! What a tempting round-up and inspiration indeed! Enjoy a week filled with festive preparations.