slfinnell

The Cookie Exchange/ThursdayDoors

Aunt Maybelle's pics are scattered in this post here and there including this t-shirt pic. Now we all want one! The only door you'll find this post.
Aunt Maybelle’s pics are scattered in this post here and there including this t-shirt pic. Now we all want one! The only door you’ll find this post.

I’ve blogged about our family’s annual White Elephant party before here and here. And yes, we’ve just had another one last weekend. Guaranteed to be a fun get-together. We have a pot luck dinner, gag gift exchange and then our notorious cookie exchange. We had two 6 foot tables of cookies for our cookie exchange. Let me tell ya, we have oodles of cookies for gifting (and eating if your waistline can handle it) once we’re done. The tradition is great as we get opportunities to taste different recipes. And our family has to be the kindest by letting allergy sensitive relatives go through the line first to prevent cross contamination. We don’t want our fam to be miserable. It’s a party for cryin out loud.

  • Home Cookin'
    Home Cookin’
  • Cookies Galore
    Cookies Galore
  • The 'Gifts'
    The ‘Gifts’

I decided to try out a new recipe this year for the cookie exchange. I chose the following book the hubster and i found at the VA hospital military canteen (a mini shop for veterans). I mean how can you go wrong with Amish cookies?

My Book of Choice
My Book of Choice

After cooking gluten free foods the past 9 years, I have been delighted with the new 1 to 1 flours available. I find they convert regular recipes into very near likenesses for my husband and daughter. And yes, they have been diagnosed. They don’t choose to exclude wheat from their diet. The hubster had a biopsy and daughter saw digestive specialists for a good year. They are legit. So save your G-free jokes for someone else. Not funny to those of us watching our loved ones suffer. ** Soap Box Finished**

Leftovers - Wiped out - Must've been good.
Leftovers – Wiped out – Must’ve been good.

I made mine mini-sized to allow plenty to share. No I’m not chintzy. What if the recipe wasn’t very good?! Luckily these were perfectly fine. Real orange rind in the recipe along with orange juice had just the right hint of flavor to set these apart from your regular sugar cookies. And they just seemed festive enough for a Christmas party. Does anyone remember getting oranges in their Christmas stocking on Christmas morning? ….the recipe’s next.

A few pics of the family follow. And I’d like to say thanks to everyone for lending my mother a hand in the planning, set up and clean up of the event. Especially after the year she’s had with her leg pain. Thanks to all for walking through the ‘doors’. Thank you to Norm 2.0 for tolerating this ‘different’ version of Thursday Doors. Please visit him and all the wonderful door participants from around the world by clicking here.

  • Maybelle,Me and Rachel
    Maybelle,Me and Rachel
  • A few of the Fam
    A few of the Fam

Snapchat, Polaroids of the Millennials.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

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18 comments

  2. I like cookie exchanges, although I haven’t hosted one for some years. I always like to have everyone bring an extra dozen and then put together trays for shut-ins from church. That would be over and above the extras to eat at the exchange. 🙂

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. I’ve already started my own Christmas baking so it seems I’m getting into the spirit a bit early this year too. Pot luck family gatherings where everyone contributes one of their specialties to the mix are among my favourite things about this time of year. Happy Holidays and happy baking!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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