The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

Alternate Titles: The Day I Ate Seven Cookies, or The Week Cookies Became a Diet Staple.

Over the past few weeks I have been participating in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. The swap, organized by two bloggers, resulted in over 600 people shipping cookies in and out of the U.S. Each participant sent out a dozen cookies to three other bloggers and received three dozen cookies in return.

Last Sunday evening I baked Martha Stewart's Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies to send to my matches in Ohio, Tennessee, and Connecticut. I had a little local inspiration. One of the food carts that popped up in Ann Arbor this year makes the most delicious vegan (although you would never know its vegan) Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies. My cookies weren't as spicy as my inspiration's were, but they had subtle kick. Here's the recipe I used,  only slightly adapted from Martha's version.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

from Martha Stewart

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, additional for dusting if desired

Mix flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper, set aside. Cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until smooth, then add eggs. Once mixed gradually add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl mix remaining sugar, cinnamon and cayenne if desired, roll tablespoons of dough in this mixture before putting on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes in the oven, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. 


. . .and if you're participating in the cookie swap, package up your cookies and send!

After baking and sending my cookies, the exciting part came - receiving cookies. Ironically, the same day I sent my cookies I received two dozen cookies. Salty Sweet Cookies from Kiss My Whisk and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip MAGIC Cookies from Ma Vie en Rose. Both cookies were delicious, and both bloggers were nice enough to send along recipe cards. I can't wait to eat both of these again. Later in the week, I received my final shipment of cookies (as if I hadn't eaten enough already) from Girly Obsessions. These lovely gals sent along Barcelona Cookies, which are dark chocolate wafers with almonds and fleur de sel.

The cookie swap was really fun and something to look forward to amidst that wanting-to-fall-over-from-finals-frustration-and-exhaustion feeling. If your a blogger interested in participating next year, sign up here to receive notifications next year on the swap.