Cookie swap! - Lauren Chattman

Cookie swaps are joyful. Cookie swaps are social. Cookie swaps are hip yet old-school, trendy yet traditional. Cookie swaps are creative, inexpensive, DIY, and a great way to entertain. Cookie swaps are baking meets Stitch 'n Bitch, with newspapers, magazines, and websites-including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, Family Fun, Southern Living, Kraft.com, and Ed Levine's Serious Eats-all writing about the trend. Cookie Swap! captures all of this and more in an idea-packed, slightly sassy guide.

On the one hand, it's all about the swap: when to swap (Christmas, of course, and other holidays, but also birthdays, bridal showers, graduation parties, PTA meetings, and fund-raisers-or just at your next book club meeting). And how to swap-with a planner, cookie swap math guide (so everyone gets the same number of cookies), ideas for invitations, decorations, containers, and then, when the crumbs have settled, how to make a keepsake.

On the other hand, it's all about the cookies. Lauren Chattman is a former professional pastry chef and baking writer who's put together a knockout collection of more than 60 delectable, easy-to-make, simple-to-sophisticated recipes covering every kind of cookie-from crowd-pleasing favorites like Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies to unexpected treats like Flaky Cardamom Palmiers and Green Tea Sandwich Cookies with Almond Cream. Finally, the book ends with a chapter of drink recipes-such as Iced Irish Coffee, Mini Strawberry Milk Shakes and Juicy Sangria-because not every cookie wants milk.