That's the way the cookie crumbles

Apologies for not updating you sooner, but my neighbors moved out and took their internet access with them!

I had so much fun baking for Brian's care package last Christmas, playing with new recipes and sharing the yummy goodness. This year, I decided to tweak plans a bit by hosting a cookie swap party. Of course, if you're going to have any kind of holiday gathering, you have to decorate for it. Since I knew I'd be at Dad's the week between Christmas and New Year's, it just didn't make sense to buy a tree this year. Instead I whipped up this faux tree (materials: 8 yards of quilting fabric, lots of safety pins, a few ornaments, my punching bag and an upside down tomato cage!). Simple, crafty and, best of all, free!!

My friends all brought delicious cookies to sample and share. There was a lot of milling about, chatting, sharing funny stories and just hanging out. My kind of laid back, relaxed gathering.

Knowing that a few friends have gluten issues, I made these red velvet cookies using a gluten-free, vegan friendly recipe. They were so good you'd never notice that they were vegan!

Much like my scavenger hunt this summer, the best part of the cookie swap party was that I put my friends to work for me! The leftovers from the swap were promptly packaged up and sent out as gifts to several lucky friends.