The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap came on my radar last winter when cookie recipes from their inaugural swap started popping up all over the food blogosphere. I thought it was such a cool idea and put my name down right away to be notified when they started organizing for this year’s event. Well, when I got the email in the fall from organizers extraordinaire Lindsay and Julie that registration was starting I was super excited…and then I realized I was living in Spain. (Which is also super exciting, I’m not complaining!) Because they didn’t get enough participants in Spain to organize a swap here, my fantastic mum agreed to be my cookie chef and my fantastic twin agreed to photograph the process. And so my cookie swap dreams were made possible by my wonderful family! I really am one lucky gal.
And their awesomeness continues: the cookies that I will be receiving they are kindly putting in the freezer until I am home for Christmas (soon!), so I look forward to sharing those with them and thanking my fellow cookie swappers.
Aside from this swap being a grand idea from a purely cookie-loving point of view, it also helped a great cause, Cookies for Kids Cancer. Participating in the swap introduced me to some more wonderful Canadian food blogs, too — there are so many talented people out there. A good cause, cookies, food blogs, snail mail, the holidays….thanks mum & TShap for letting me participate by proxy and thank you Lindsay & Julie for organizing this lovely event, I’m already looking forward to next year!
These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth chocolate dreams. My mum has been making these for as long as I can remember; this is her recipe that she adapted from one of Martha Stewart’s magazines back in the day. These are sophisticated little cookies and I remember being pleased as punch when I made them for the first time a few Christmases ago — I left a festive dusting of cocoa powder all over the kitchen when I threw everything into the stand mixer a little too enthusiastically, but that was pretty much my only misstep and they turned out beautifully. (What I am trying to tell you is that it is hard to mess these cookies up.) They are a staple at our home during the holidays (and often year round…), and I hope you enjoy them, too!
Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Three years ago, I discovered The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, probably while procrastinating school work and perusing food blogs. I had just started my little blog at the time, so I eagerly signed up for an email that would let me know when I could sign up for the following year.
Two years ago I was living in Spain (wah, where does time go!). Suffering from a serious case of FOMO, I signed up for the cookie swap even though I was out of the country, and my wonderful mother baked and mailed my cookies for me. She even froze the cookies I received in the mail until I came home for the holidays. I know, I’m so spoiled.
Last year, I created a biscotti blizzard in the kitchen and might have prioritized cookie swapping over studying for finals. Just a little bit.
This year, I swore I’d be more organized. I wasn’t. But! Somehow, cookies were made and mailed. I’ve almost survived another exam season. And the novelty of receiving pretty packages full of cookies in the mail continues! Click to continue reading…
