Sunday afternoon Fuzz and I attended the Austin Food Bloggers cookie swap.
Organized by Addie Broyles of the Statesman and co-hosted by some of Austin’s best food bloggers, the swap took place at a lovely house in Tarrytown with a bright, beautiful kitchen. Of course with 30+ bloggers in attendance, each bringing 6 dozen cookies, the swap took over not just the kitchen, but the living room, dining room and back porch.
Cookies were everywhere – as were bloggers, so I spent more time meeting and catching up with friends than photographing cookies and taking notes. But I did manage to grab a few good cookie swap photos, the first being macaroons.
These simple cookies caught my eye and I couldn’t figure out what it was that made them so visually appealing. Then someone mentioned the stems. It was the stems that did it! Next time I make macaroons, I will use stem-on cherries. And I did catch that the macaroon recipe was this state fair winner from allrecipes.com.
Another item I was particularly fond of and which fell into the “simple but awesome” category was this Chinese New Year Candy prepared by Austin Epicurean. It’s a popular recipe and one his family had been making for years, yet I’d never heard of it.
And then there were the Italian Wine Cookies.
What I liked about the wine cookies, aside from the interesting shape and that they called for wine, was how the cookie combined the sophisticated with the whimsical. That is, a not-too-sweet cookie with alcohol in it with a touch of chocolate and brightly colored sprinkles. If I can get it, I'll share the recipe from the swap. For now, I found this wine cookie recipe which seems close and got good reviews.
Now those are just the three cookies I managed to take good close-ups of, but there were many others and I have loads of them here in the kitchen. Today I’m sorting them out, putting them in freezer bags, and will serve them to whoever is around. But Fuzz and I both agreed it was the best cookie exchange ever.
I'll try to round up a few more links and recipes from the swap as the week goes on.
Hattie says
My Mom called them " haystacks ".Another cookie I love is the peanut butter and choc " no bake " cookies w/ sugar,p b,choc,oatmela and butter.You just mix it all up in a heavy saucepan like pralines and drop by the t's on wax paper.
justJENN says
who cares, gimme that monkey hat! 😉
C L says
Those chow mein noodle cookies are actually a wedding reception tradition in my stepmom's town! 🙂 Those cookie/candies are yummy! The macaroons are looking good, too. BTW, fruit is marinading in bourbon as I type, so your cookies will be on the goodies trays I'm delivering to friends locally. 🙂 Some fruit-and-bourbon cookies might be going across country to lucky relatives, if said relatives mind their P's and Q's. LOL 😉
Janice says
Chow mein noodles are now on my grocery list;-)
TY for sharing..and Fuzz love your monkey hat!
Amy says
Darn, I wish I'd been invited.
Yvonne says
Hey Anna!
Thanks for sharing your cookie swap info and the neat recipes. I want to try the macaroon recipe with the long stemmed cherries, too! Do you bake the cherry on the cookies or put them on later? In your photo it looked like ther was a glaze on the cookies, too?? We just had our cookie swap here at the library yesterday. It's become an annual thing and now falls under the aegis of the "Sunshine Club". I love cookie swaps!
-=^..^=-
Yvonne
Kerstin says
How fun! Those chow mein noodle cookies are very interesting! We're doing a Boston area blogger cookie exchange after the holidays that I'm already looking forward to.
Love Fuzz's cute monkey hat too!
Lisa says
Great hat on Fuzz!
Debbi says
We make those chow mein cookies all the time. Huge hit with the kids. I don't add peanuts but I put peanut butter in them. Just put them in globs on a cookie sheet and call them cookies. 🙂
Dolce says
Oh my good, they look so great!!
By the way, I received the MAx Brenner and the How to Roast a Lamb books in the mail today! Can't wait to try the recipes 🙂
Carol says
I would love to bake for a cookie exchange that big! I was looking at cookie recipes yesterday to make for Christmas, but there is no reason to make so many when there is just 4 of us (our extended family lives out of state). Where did you get Fuzz's hat? It's adorable!
Katrina says
Wow, 6 dozen each!
Did everyone like your booze cookies?
Cute monkey on Fuzz' head!
Sue says
They all look good, but I'm especially intrigued by the coconut macaroons. I can never get them right.