Hosting a Holiday Cookie and Cocktail Exchange
With the summer weather continuing well into the fall here at Seven Mile Beach, it’s hard to believe the time has come to address the upcoming holidays. But the calendar doesn’t lie, and the holiday season is in sight, so let’s get busy. The good news is that the mild temperatures might just allow us one more opportunity for some outdoor entertaining. As long as you can provide the warmth and ambiance of a fire, you can party outside, so let’s party with a purpose: cookies . . . and cocktails! We can host an outdoor cookie and cocktail exchange for an evening of fun that provides guests with a stash of holiday cookies and some new cocktail recipes just in time for the holiday season.
For those unfamiliar with a cookie exchange, we’ll begin with the rules and invitations. Invite early so guests have plenty of time to bake. Definitely use email invites. It saves so much time, and you can ask guests to submit their recipes ahead of time to avoid duplicates. First rule is, of course, all cookies must be homemade. You might want to suggest guests bake a cookie that freezes well or keeps well wrapped airtight, so cookies stay fresh, particularly if your swap is weeks before the holidays.
Basically, here’s how it works. For the cookie exchange, participants are asked to bring a dozen cookies for each guest plus a dozen for sampling. Each dozen should be wrapped individually for guests to take home. (Of course, you’ll have some spare boxes available in case someone forgets to wrap theirs). Guests will also include copies of the cookie recipe with each dozen cookies. As far as number of guests, it’s best to keep the number to about eight, including yourself, because no one wants to carry home or bake more than eight dozen cookies. Now, it might sound like a daunting task to bake so many cookies, but remember, you bake eight dozen of your family’s favorite, and you go home with eight dozen different kinds – your cookie baking is pretty much finished for the holidays.
For the drink exchange, each participant is asked to bring a display cocktail, and a batch of the cocktail in a pitcher or some type of container. Each guest brings copies of the drink recipe, as well. Inevitably, some of the recipes will be misplaced, so you’ll follow up by emailing copies of all the recipes to your guests after the party. Just copy and paste them to one document as they come in to your email and forward that list to all the recipients in one email. Yes, this part takes a little organization, but that’s another reason to keep the guest list manageable.
Now, let’s set up the space. Plan to have your gas grill available. Kept on low throughout the party, it will help warm up the party guests as well as the spiced cider. We’ll get to that later. I suggest you have three tables – a large one for the cookie display, another for the dozens of cookies as well as the extra packing materials, and one for the drinks and cups, If your picnic table and other outdoor furniture are still available, use them. Chairs can be placed around, but this party lends itself to mingling, so don’t worry too much about seating.
You must have a firepit or something similar for mood and warmth. It does not need to be the centerpiece; the cookies hold that position. If you have a decent picnic table, don’t worry about covering it; but if you do use table covers, use white and accent with red and green. For this casual outdoor party, I’ll use my mason jars for table décor. Try this: Fill half the jars one-third with salt, then almost to the top with fresh cranberries and top with sprigs of fresh rosemary. Fill the others one-third with salt and place a white candle inside. Alternate them on the tables and spread some greens. Break out the holiday music and that should do it.
For the cookie display, you’ll need a platter for each dozen cookies. Use cake plates, too, to create interest with different levels and to maximize your space. Mark place cards with the name of each type of cookie and the contributor so that when guests arrive, each knows where to display the cookies for sampling. When the last guest arrives and unloads the goodies, you’ll have a beautiful, delicious display. Do the same for the cocktails. Make place cards for drinks, and your guests take care of stocking the drink table, too. Don’t forget small paper cups or disposable shot cups for sampling drinks.
So, what do you provide besides your cookie contribution? A nice bourbon spiced cider served warm from the grill – one without the bourbon for those who prefer it – coffee, tea, and some soft drinks would be nice. A couple of walk-around finger foods – salty ones because guests will be getting their share of sweets – is all you need. I like to have bowls of some fancy popcorn. My new favorite is olive oil/sage popcorn. It’s so easy and so good. I fake-toast the sage on a plate in the microwave, crumble and then sprinkle on freshly popped corn. Other than that, just a cheese tray will do.
When everyone is ready for sampling, I like to ask each guest to introduce her drink and her cookie and share any story she might have about them. Maybe it’s a family recipe from grandma, maybe it’s a first try, maybe the first batch was a disaster and she had to start over or maybe the dog ate the first batch; one never knows, but this usually produces a few laughs and some nice memories. The rest of the time is spent sampling, indulging and celebrating the season.
Of course, my bourbon spiced cider serves as my contribution to the cocktail exchange, and you don’t even need to be a bourbon fan to enjoy it because the juices and spices enhance it so nicely, particularly sipped in front of a crackling fire. Finally, for my cookie contribution, I’ll go with my favorite Almond Joy Cookies. This recipe makes three dozen, so I only need to bake three batches. I admit, these are super easy but also so good, and I’ve been really busy organizing the exchange, so I’ll go with easy. Really though, how can you go wrong with chocolate, coconut and almonds? But just in case someone doesn’t happen to be a fan, no worries, she’ll have seven other kinds to choose from!
Happy swapping!
Bourbon Spiced Cider
Recipe serves about 6 to 8
Ingredients:
• 4½ cups apple cider
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 ounces bourbon per cup of cider
• Optional sugar, to rim the glass
Instructions
To make the hot cider:
Place the apple cider, cinnamon stick, orange juice and cloves in a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain into a pitcher. Return to pot to keep warm.
To make the cocktail:
1. If you plan to rim the glass with sugar, do that now. In glass, add 2 ounces of bourbon and 1 cup of the cider mix.
2. Garnish with an orange slice and stick of cinnamon.
Sage Popcorn
Ingredients:
• 1 cup of fresh sage
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
• ½ cup popcorn kernels
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Coarse salt
Directions:
1. Microwave sage on a plate until crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes (keep checking).
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add popcorn. When kernels begin to pop, shake pot over heat, covered, until all have popped.
3. Transfer popcorn to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil. Crumble sage over popcorn. Season with salt, and toss to combine.
Almond Joy Cookies
Makes 3 dozen
Ingredients:
• 14-ounce bag sweetened coconut flakes
• 2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup chopped lightly salted almonds
• 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (regular or fat-free works)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325.
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine coconut, chocolate chips, almonds and sweetened condensed milk.
4. Stir until combined.
5. Scoop out dough with a cookie scoop onto prepared baking sheet.
6. Moisten the tips of your fingers with water and shape into discs. Pat the tops flat.
7. Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until tips of coconut are just starting to turn golden brown.
8. Let cool on baking sheet.
9. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Note: Parchment paper works better than wax paper for this recipe.
