The Post Card Project Cookie Swap 2013

This is my first time participating in a cookie swap. 

Veronica of Veronica's Cornucopia hosted the swap. 

This is her third year hosting the post card project cookie swap. 

 First you sign up for the cookie swap, then get matched to three other participants, bake and send a least a dozen cookies or bars to each of your matches and then wait by the mailbox for your  matches to send cookies to you :) I chose to make magic in the middles cookie, soft and chewy molasses cookies and cranberry coconut chews.

The ingredients needed to make the magic in the middle cookies. 

Chocolate Cookie Dough

1-1/2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened baking cocoa or Dutch process cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar, (extra for rolling cookie balls in)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

Peanut Butter Filling

3/4 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Full recipe can be found here.

I drizzled the cookies with melted milk chocolate and sprinkled them with multicolored sugar. This was my daughter Andrea's favorite cookie.

The ingredients needed for the coconut cranberry chews. Please overlook the egg in the photo, there is no egg in this recipe.

My husband enjoyed the coconut cranberry chews. 

I forgot to take a picture of them before packaging them for mailing.

Coconut Cranberry Chews

1-1/2  cups (3/4 lb.) butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2 teaspoons vanilla

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups dried cranberries

1-1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Full recipe can be found here

The ingredients needed for the chewy gingersnaps.

Soft And Chewy Molasses Cookies

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Granulated sugar, for rolling cookie balls in before baking

Full recipe can be found here

I love gingersnaps, and molasses cookies so these were my favorite cookie. 

They are delicious! I also prefer soft chewy cookies over crisp or crunchy cookies.

Be careful, not to over bake.

I drizzled them with melted white chocolate.

I packaged my cookies in a cake boxes with a cake board in the bottom of each for extra

support. I then used cookie bags and wrapped the cookies, two to a bag, back to back and sealed each bag with a festive sticker. 

I placed them in the box in four stacks and put bubble wrap in between the cookies.

I then wrapped each cookie package with gift wrap. Wrapped the entire box in more bubble wrap and put each cookie package in another box surrounded by crumpled tissue paper. Ready to take to the post office and have them mailed to Marcia, Kaleigh and Michelle, my three cookie swap matches. I hope each of you like your cookie packages! I enjoyed baking them for you!

And a great big thank you to Veronica for all you do to make the cookie swap a pleasant experience for us all!

I made a Santa cookie package Marcia

A candy cane cookie package for Michelle

And a snowman cookie package for Kaleigh.

For reasons unknown to me, Michelle, chose not to send cookies to her three matches, as agreed.

Please give serious thought before signing up to participate in any cookie swaps/exchanges. 

Read all guidelines and rules for the cookie swap you are interested in, very carefully. Make sure you can follow and meet all of them before signing up. If, for any reason you do not think you can meet all of the requirements, please don't sign up. It is very disappointing to those you are matched with, when you fail to send them the cookies they are expecting. At the very least, let the host of the cookie swap know that you can not send your cookies. So other arrangements can be made.