A how-to guide
Never done a cookie exchange? Here’s how to organize one that’s pandemic-safe.
Start by defining your group of participating bakers and making sure that everyone is making a different type of cookie. Agree in advance on how many cookies each baker will make for other members in the group. A good rule of thumb is baking one dozen cookies for each participant. So if six people are baking, they should each make six dozen cookies, allowing one dozen for themselves and the other five dozen, bagged up separately, for each of the others.
Be sure everyone bakes on the same day or weekend, so everything is equally fresh, and then arrange the time and style of exchange. This could be a drive-and-drop plan, as Madsen suggests, or participants could meet in a park, wearing masks, and the bags can be set out on a table and each baker takes their turn collecting the other bags.
And what if your baking skills can’t possibly measure up to those of Bell’s or your friends?
Madsen is selling a gift-wrapped holiday cookie collection, with deliveries promised within three days of being ordered. The holiday box includes eight 3.5-ounce vegan cookies with two each of white chocolate peppermint bark s’mores, gingerbread, white chocolate cranberry and classic sparkle sugar cookie varieties. Delivered in a custom tin, it’s priced at $50 at mayascookies.com. A portion of all sales benefits San Diego charities for animal refuge and local underserved communities.