One of my favorite things to do this time of year is bake cookies. My favorite Christmas cookie is Russian Tea Cakes, which are also known as Mexican Wedding Cakes. I love those messy little balls of powdered sugar.
And those crunchy bits of walnuts inside.
Yum.
But every year I also enjoy many other cookies. I enjoy taking part in cookie exchanges and discovering new cookie recipes.
Julie from White Lights on Wednesday, Rachel from {I Love} My Disorganized Life and Stacey and Aubrey from Real Housemoms organized a fun recipe swap of Christmas cookies!
We were each assigned a blogger to swap recipes with and my partner was Chrystal from Yum Eating. She said her favorite recipe was for White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia cookies. Well I thought I would change it up for the holidays, so I exchanged peppermint crunch bits for macadamia nuts. I don’t know how Chrystal felt about the change, but I hope she liked them. Here is the recipe for the cookies I sent. This is a Betty Crocker recipe, with macadamia nuts swapped out for the peppermint bits.
White Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 shortening
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white baking chips
1/2 cup Andes peppermint crunch pieces
Preheat oven to 350. Mix shortening, butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl first, then blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
Fold in baking chips and peppermint pieces.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.
Let cool a couple of minutes before removing cookie sheet.
See all the recipes from the cookie exchange below. What is your favorite holiday cookie recipe?
Karen says
Those cookies look delicious. Now I’m hungry and I want to bake cookies.
Raquel says
I feel the same way when I see them 🙂
Tamara says
This virtual cookie exchange is awesome. i’ve been following along (and pinning along) and I feel prepared for the cookie swap I was invited to next week.
Raquel says
It was a lot of fun, but would have been really cool to taste all the cookies.
Akaleistar says
Those cookies look really good 🙂
Raquel says
Thank you!
Teresa says
The cookies look delicious. I’ve never had any with Andes mints in them. I like the idea of a Cookie Swap too. Sounds like fun!
Raquel says
Thanks Teresa! The cookie recipe swap was fun – enjoying them all from afar. 🙂
Lisa@ Cooking with Curls says
I bet Chrystal loved them, they look delicious!! What a fun cookie swap 🙂
Camille says
They all look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Raquel says
Thanks Camille!
Joy Weese Moll (@joyweesemoll) says
Sounds delicious! Love seeing all the cookies in your swap.
Raquel says
Yes Joy, if only I could taste them all.
Sara says
I love white chocolate so this is def going on a list of cookies i need to bake.
Ginny Marie says
I love Russian Tea Cakes, too, and made them for my cookie exchange last year!
I love the new look of your blog!