Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party

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Hi Friends! Welcome to the North Pole and Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop! Come on in and grab some milk and cookies! I am so thrilled to share all the fun details from this sweet Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party that I recently created in partnership with Country Crock®. If you are baking, attending, or planning a cookie exchange party this holiday season, this post is for you! I’ve got you covered with a delicious cookie recipe, tons of fun printable party decor designs, and lots of inspiration.

Let’s be honest, the holidays are a wonderful—but super busy—time of year. I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient with my time without cutting corners or trading quality. So when I first heard about Country Crock® Baking Sticks I couldn’t wait to try them. And let me just tell you, I love this product! It’s a total win-win in my book. These Country Crock® Baking Sticks are available at Walmart and come in both salted and unsalted varieties and make delicious baking so much easier! Unlike regular butter, there is no softening needed. They’re creamy and soft and ready to use when you’re ready to bake. And you don’t have to worry about adjusting any of your recipes—you can use them one-for-one instead of butter in your favorite recipes.

Another way of really maximizing your time during this busy holiday season is by hosting a cookie exchange party. Not only is it a wonderful excuse to gather with family and friends, it is also a great way to gain a wide variety of different types of cookies for gifting and enjoying all through the holidays. The basic idea is you bake several dozen of one type of cookie and then swap one dozen with each of the guests at the party. So at the end of the party, each person will go home with a dozen of every variety of cookie!

Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party: The Theme

When I was first envisioning this party, I immediately knew I wanted it to feel as if it was straight from the North Pole and Mrs. Claus’ kitchen itself.  It needed to be full of whimsical baking and cookie décor —and with a spread of delicious cookies that would make Santa Claus blush! I also really wanted this party to be very do-able and able to be easily recreated. Holiday baking and cookie exchange parties are so popular this time of year. I wanted you to be able to use the custom graphic designed invitation, cookie label tags, recipe cards, signs, wall graphics, and take-home labels for your own celebrations. That being said, all of the graphic designed elements and printables from this party are available in my Etsy shop HERE, HERE and HERE as well as some free printables that are located in the Printable Library.

Get your guests excited for a fun celebration by sending a themed invitation a few weeks before your party. Be sure to be specific as to how many dozen cookies each guest should make. This printable invitation is an editable PDF so you can easily personalize it with your party date, time, and address, as well as add any other party specifics.

Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party: Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen Sink Cookies

If you are looking for a delicious cookie recipe to bake this season, I’ve got a fun one for you! This North Pole original—Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen Sink Cookies—are guaranteed to have all of your guests, and of course Santa and his elves, cheering! As the name suggests, these cookies are big and bold, with a heap of chocolate, a handful of pecans, a sprinkle of red and green candies and a pinch of pretzels—they really are everything and the kitchen sink (Mrs. Claus’ kitchen sink, that is)! And to add even a bit more Christmas magic to these cookies, after they have cooled, an edge is dipped in white chocolate and festive Christmas sprinkles.

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Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen Sink Cookies

Rating  5.0 from 1 reviews

Serves: approx. 30

Ingredients

• ½ cup Country Crock® Unsalted Baking Sticks
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Egg and 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 and ½ cups Plain Flour
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
• ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• ½ cup Pecans, chopped
• ½ cup holiday (red and green) M&M’s
• ½ cup Pretzels, crushed
• White Chocolate (for dipping)
• Holiday sprinkles (for sprinkling or rolling in dipped white chocolate)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two cookie trays with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Country Crock® Unsalted Baking Stick, sugar, and brown sugar
2. Beat Country Crock® Unsalted Baking Stick and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Then, add the vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth.
4. Next, combine flour, baking soda, and cornstarch into the mixture. Use electric mixer to form the smooth dough.
5. Add chocolate chips, pecans, M&M’s and pretzels to the dough. Use electric mixer to combine everything into the dough.
6. Use a heaping tablespoon to scoop the dough and roll into balls. Place each dough ball on your prepared cookie tray and slightly flatten each ball. Leave room for the cookies to spread out.
7. Bake for approximately 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Next, melt white chocolate for dipping.
9. Once the cookies have cooled, dip the edge of each one in the white chocolate.
10. Then, dip the edge into holiday sprinkles. Allow white chocolate to dry fully before packaging or storing.

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I also love the idea of including the recipe for each of the cookies at the exchange. Everyone loves a new, great recipe to try! That way you can always have it as a reference if you want to bake more of any one particular type. In the Printable Library, I’m including a free printable recipe card for my Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen Sink Cookies (trust me, you’ll want it…these cookies are so good!) as well as a blank version so you can handwrite any other cookie recipe. Tip: Give these cards to your guests a few days before the party so they can write their recipe to share at the party.

Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party: Tips for Hosting a Cookie Exchange Party

Here are my top 5 tips for hosting a cookie exchange party:
Tip 1: Send out invitations with a few weeks advance notice so your guests will have time to prepare and bake their cookies. 
Tip 2: Let everyone know the amount of cookies to bake for the exchange. Also, it is a good idea to ask everyone to bring one dozen extra to sample during the party.
Tip 3: Set up your Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party tablescape with lots of platters and areas to display the cookies. Have fun with the display! Include spatulas, rolling pins and even big containers of sugar and flour! Also, have fold-over cards on hand to label each type of cookie. (Cookie label free printables are located in the Printable Library.)
Tip 4: Set up an area where your guests can pack up their cookies. Make sure you have extra containers, boxes, bags, wax paper, etc. on hand.
Tip 5: Plan a few savory food options (lite bites, simple appetizers, etc.) and drinks for your guests to enjoy during the party as well. A coffee or hot chocolate bar would be fun and perfect for sipping and dunking cookies!

Be sure to check out the Country Crock Cookie Exchange Hub for even more fun ideas and tips for hosting a cookie exchange!

Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party: Baked With Love Tags

I also designed these “Baked With Love” tags to be used at the party or even when gifting cookies throughout the holiday season. They are editable so you can easily personalize the bottom with your own message and name!I hope this Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop Cookie Exchange Party has inspired you to bake up some Christmas magic, just as Mrs. Claus would, with the help and ease of Country Crock Baking Sticks. Give yourself a little break this holiday season and make your baking a bit easier with Country Crock Baking Sticks—available in both salted and unsalted! I really love these baking sticks and I think you will too. And again, for even more holiday cookie exchange inspiration, check out the Country Crock Cookie Exchange Hub.

Again, all of the graphic designed elements and printables from this party are available in my Etsy shop HERE, HERE and HERE as well as some free printables that are located in the Printable Library.

If you use these designs or bake some delicious Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen Sink Cookies, I’d love to see them! Please follow along on Instagram and tag me using the #justaddconfettiprintables hashtag. I love connecting with all of you and seeing your awesome celebrations!

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