The Great BA Cookie Swap

The cookie swap always feels like the kickoff to the holidays. Right after Thanksgiving, I’m ready to flex my decorating skills and break out my baking sheets, sanding sugar, parchment paper, cutters, and dragées. I look forward to eating as many of my favorite oatmeal-cranberry-coconut cookies as I can, and savoring the grasshopper brownies with mint cream and chocolate ganache that are so delicious, my granny hides a stash for herself. We make extra batches of these to give to unexpected guests and, of course, to take to cookie swaps.

For years, my go-to-swap cookie was a crispy vanilla and cinnamon spritz. Practical and delicious, mixing up a batch was a simple way to get four or five dozen cookies done in one easy bake. I’d send those bad boys through the cookie press, stack them neatly in boxes, tie on a bow, and they were good to go. I was always excited to try my friends’ and neighbors’ cookies between sips of cider and cocktails. I loved their linzers and thumbprints and checkerboards. I was impressed by their family recipes with drizzles of caramel and swirls of cinnamon.

These other cookies were so inspiring, I decided I should be more ambitious. That’s how I ended up piping hundreds of macarons tinted in happy colors, filled with lemon curd or buttercream, for many a cookie swap. It’s why I used aspic cutters to make infinite patterns during a sugar snowflake cookie phase. I still use tweezers to design Afros, braids, and curls for dark gingerbread women in royal icing dresses. I give away dozens of glazed shortbread cookies decorated with edible flowers, dried fruit, and pepitas.

This year’s batch of holiday cookie recipes—all seven of them below—has something for everyone. A festive, matcha-tinted twist on a spritz takes me back to simpler times, while an elaborate s’mores cookie oozing with marshmallow and chocolate ganache speaks to the project baker in me. Expect to see them both in my cookie boxes this year, along with my other favorites. —Jamila Robinson, editor in chief

The Bon Appétit Cookie Box for 2023

Rewind to the dog days of summer, when everyone was marveling over the heirloom tomatoes at the market and eating juicy peaches over the sink—in the Bon Appétit test kitchen, we were elbows-deep in turkey roasts and thyme-tinged gravies, dreaming of holiday cookies and festive drinks.

For our December issue of the magazine, we wanted to offer up swap-worthy cookies, ranging not just in flavors and textures, but also hues and shapes. Each of our food editors embraced this assignment wholeheartedly, bringing a part of themselves to each cookie.

The result is a spectacular collection, from classics-made-easier Butter Jam Diagonals to cute-as-a-button Matcha-Swirl Spritzes that will convince you to invest in a cookie press. The spiced Carrot Halwa Cookies might just have you putting grated carrots in all of your bakes, while the Baklava Cookies are here to give you a peekaboo surprise. If you're into a project cookie, while away an afternoon with S’mores Crème Pies. For those who lean savory, the festively adorned Chile-Cheese Shortbread is for you. And if that cookie swap you were invited to is actually tonight, let the quick-to-come-together Tiramisu Snowball Cookie be your mate.

Make one or make them all. Just don’t be surprised if you become the most popular neighbor on the block. —Hana Asbrink, deputy food editor

Matcha-Swirl Spritz Cookies

“They’re like a matcha latte in cookie form,” associate food editor Kendra Vaculin says. The creamy, vanilla-y base melts in your mouth while the matcha mixed in brings a nutty flavor and verdant hue. And that white chocolate bow? It’s this season’s must-have accessory.

You’ll need: a cookie press, ceremonial-grade matcha, and an obsession with the details.

S’mores Crème Pies

“Trust the process and let it burn,” food editor Jesse Szewczyk says. That store-bought marshmallow crème needs a little extra time under the broiler to give this campfire-inspired cookie the right amount of smoky flavor. Whereas actual s’mores can be a messy two-hands-necessary situation, the impressive construction of this neatly layered cookie sandwich leaves one hand free for eggnog—or another cookie.

You’ll need: a food processor or rolling pin to obliterate the grahams, plus a bit of time (about an hour and a half).

Carrot Halwa Cookies

“Not many people think to put carrots in cookies, but when cooked down with butter and sugar they’re almost candied,” former associate food editor Zaynab Issa says. These chewy creations are inspired by gajar ka halwa, the South Asian dessert made with cardamom, nuts, and grated carrots. Zaynab turns the teatime favorite into a classic drop cookie, and the result is crispy-edged and gooey in the center, with earthy, caramel notes.

You’ll need: a skillet for caramelizing the nuts, a grater for shredding the carrots, and a sense of adventure.

Buttery Jam Diagonals

“These taste like a thumbprint cookie but require even less effort to make,” food editor Shilpa Uskokovic says. Here you don’t need to individually roll out cookies and dab them with jam post-bake. Rather, the tender dough is formed into a long log streaked with jam, baked, then cut into diagonal strips—the optimal shape for dunking into milky tea.

You’ll need: your favorite store-bought jam, a hand or stand mixer, and a strong affinity for life hacks.

Baklava Cookies

Coming together in an hour, “this is a lazy showstopper,” test kitchen coordinator Inés Anguiano says. These may look like humble sugar cookies, but one bite reveals a sweet surprise: a chewy, fragrant baklava-like center. It’s packed with enough pistachios, honey, and warming spices to convince you to stuff all future sugar cookies.

You’ll need: crushed rose petals for the finishing touch and an expert poker face.

Chile-Cheese Shortbread

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” associate food editor Rachel Gurjar says. Or, you know, a cookie by its ingredients. These spicy-salty shortbread rounds are the perfect foil to a table crowded with sweets—just what you need to reset your palate mid-swap. Sharp cheddar is the star of these savory cookies, bringing a welcome hit of umami. And ringed by a tinsel red mix of earthy Aleppo-style pepper and raw sugar, they’re festive too.

You’ll need: a hunk of cheddar, some plastic wrap for forming your log of dough, and an open mind.

Tiramisu Snowball Cookies

“This is a crowd-pleaser cookie, easy to make and easy to love,” deputy food editor Hana Asbrink says. These cocoa-dusted bites marry the richness of the coffee in tiramisu with the buttery, crumbly texture of a classic snowball—a one-bowl recipe with plenty of flair.

You’ll need: a fine-mesh sieve for dusting the cookies and an apron—unless you want to look like a snowball cookie.

Pro Tips

Digital production assistant Li Goldstein polled our food editors for their sweetest tips for throwing a legendary cookie swap. Listen up:

Line your table with parchment paper. That way guests can write the names of their cookies directly on the table, no sticky notes required. Bonus: Cleanup is a breezy crumple-and-toss affair.

Note any allergens. Another benefit of the parchment-as-tablecloth method: Everyone can (and very much should) jot down any ingredients worth calling out, like nuts or dairy.

Don’t forget the food. One cannot survive on sugar alone! If you want the party to last, you need some real food. Make sure to provide apps—like a cheese ball, perhaps?—for easy noshing.

Buy a set of bakery boxes. Leftover cookies are the best party favors. Cardboard bakery boxes, which are relatively cheap and easy to find online or at craft or baking supply stores, are a pretty and practical option.

Delegate beverage duty. All that sugar makes a person thirsty. Task any partygoers who aren’t into baking with bringing festive drinks, like hot cocoa, tea, wine, or a fun cocktail.

Make recipes easy to access. Create a shared document or folder with all of the recipes, or print them out ahead of time so that people can recreate any of the cookies that they loved later.