Cookie-cutter Christmas
Keeping a festive tradition alive
While COVID-19 has put a stop to many things, East Coast residents are hanging onto a long-standing preChristmas gathering tradition.
While COVID-19 has put a stop to many things, East Coast residents are hanging onto a long-standing preChristmas gathering tradition.
Noelle Milligan, owner of The Custom Cookie Company in Halifax, says cookie swaps are a sure way to sweeten up the season, and they can adapt during the pandemic.
"It might look different. Perhaps the handmade cookies will be sorted and packaged ahead of time, or gatherings scaled back, but I've been encouraged through all of this to see how we still find a way to celebrate our traditions," Milligan said.
Cookie swaps are a lot of fun, she adds.
"I only participated in one cookie swap, but it was an excellent opportunity to bring all our neighbours together. This time of year, I am so busy making cookies for everyone else at Christmas that I do not have a lot of time for social events until the cookie kitchen closes,” Milligan said.
"However, I did watch my mother and her sorority group have a cookie swap every year, and my favourite selection was always Mrs. Farmer's beautiful and delicious shortbread cookies. It is a creative way to exchange a variety, without the increased baking, while sharing good times."
Milligan has run the cookie kitchen for almost 22 years, making thousands of cookies for families and businesses across the East Coast. She works with an old-fashion spicy ginger molasses recipe “that makes my kitchen smell like Christmas all year round,” she says.
“The current favourite in my household is our vanilla buttercream ginger sandwich cookie with sprinkles. They are delicious. We also create detailed, decorated cookies that can be personalized as dinner place cards, beautifully packaged to give as gifts or as an addition to the dessert table."
CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIPS
Victoria Stack from Labrador City, N.L., incorporates the party into her annual holiday schedule.
"Throughout the year, it is almost impossible for us 12 mothers to meet up, so the holiday season is when we try our best to make it happen. We all bring a potluck dish, have drinks, there are lots of laughs, and we swap cookies while catching up with each other's lives," said Stack, the hostess.
"We usually exchange six cookies, all beautifully packaged, and the planning starts around the end of September.”
When asked if the coronavirus could affect her cookie swap, Stack said the group is too close-knit.
"Most of our kids are all in school, preschool, or daycare together, so honestly, for our group, it won't have any bearing on us. The cookies we bake have become a favourite to us, and we all get requests from certain people. Magic squares are a favourite among most, five stars, and snowballs."
When it boils down to rules, there is only one for this group: "No everyday cookies are allowed, such as chocolate chip, rice crispy cookies or peanut butter," said Stack, who finds baking "therapeutic."
Cookie swaps are a great way to bring joy and happiness to a circle of friends, added Jennifer Fraser, owner of Sweets Loved by Lucy in P.E.I.
"Cookie swaps offer a chance to come together, share your favourite cookie recipe with friends, and gain the benefit of going home with lots of goodies. And the best time to participate in a cookie swap is after all the Christmas decorations are up."
Fraser added, "I enjoy hosting cookie swaps and having them around a week before Christmas. I have always made a dozen cookies for each guest attending the swap. Typically, there would be five or six friends, so at the end of the night, everyone is leaving with five or six dozen cookies."