8th Annual Cookie Swap

Hayley, winner of the last cookie swap, moved to Price, Utah to die. This is the kind of crazy she served up in the past.

Unable to defend her title, a new crop of first time winners popped up and took her place. Here's the skinny on this year's shindig.

 We ate some food

People brought their treats. I have to say--the competition is steep, and every year the competitors raise the bar another notch higher. The judges agreed that this was the tastiest batch yet.

The tried and true judges who are tasked with the heavy burden of tasting a million cookies without puking. Josh Bingham, Steve Leeflang, Travis Cripps, and Lance "The Common Man" Jacobs.

While we dined, the boys tallied the points, and then came out to present the winners. Ashley made a good attempt with some Wonder bread, but it didn't place.

Third place went to Carly, who suffered for her entry last year. She invented a recipe. Even worse, it was a sandwich cookie, so she had to make 144 cookies. She also burnt her hand, and was plagued with a hack job haircut. Times were tough, but this year she PREVAILED.

Second place went to our own beloved Susan Lucci. After losing seven long years in a row, she finally won!

And first place went to...Hillary Ford. The kid I used to nanny for. She's a real adult now. When I met her she was 3, and in a regrettable Pocahantas phase. I reminded her of this, and she retaliated by bringing up my loser 90's boyfriends. Touche.

The blue ribbon winners

 Time to swap!

We paid homage to Hayley and her crazy ways, faking indignation and outrage over the chosen winners.

But then a Christmas miracle happened. I was going through these photos, and found this one of Carly.

Who needs Hayley? We have our own new crazy. And she ain't moving to Price anytime soon!

PS--your cookies may be delicious, but your hot dogs are poor in taste. B wanted me to let you know.

7th Annual Cookie Swap--AKA Hayley's Redemption

Cookie Time is always big around these parts. This year was my 7th annual cookie swap. It may or may not have been two weeks ago now. I have no idea what day or month it is, or what I've been doing until 2 AM for the last weeks, but it sure wasn't blogging. It's a blur of parties, trees, lights, and candy.

Partying is hard biz with a baby whose "job" consists of following you around making messes where once things were clean and orderly. But I prevailed like the party girl that I am, and threw this party like a seasoned pro. Probably not, but nobody likes a Negative Nelly, right?

Let's start with the judges. It's the same crew as always. They're seasoned professionals, though I'm contemplating flying Greg out next year since he takes his role as a judge very seriously. Seriously, Greg. It's always the first Sunday in December. Pencil me in now!

The judges consist of a professional chef, 2 amazing cooks, one amazing baker, and 2 everyday gents who decide what the masses would like. I won't tell you who's who...expect that Lancer is one of the everyday gents. His proximity to me automatically makes him a judge. Lucky him! And, hey, maybe the other dude is a great baker or cook. Invite me over for a gourmet meal, and I may upgrade you to "great cook" next year.

It's a tough job. It really is. I would puke about 12 cookies in, and they had to eat 34 of them. Oh my Pepto.

The ladies stepped up the competition, and baked up some tasty offerings. Here they are on display in their sugary glory.



As the judges ate, deliberated, and tallied up the votes, we got to sit around and enjoy a tasty dinner. This year, I made white chicken chili. Everyone asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Nanny's White Chicken Chili

3 cans of white northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
3+ cloves garlic
2 4oz cans green chilies, diced
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 t cayenne pepper--omit if you don't like the heat
1 t oregano
1/2 t salt
One whole cooked chicken, shredded
1 large (49 oz can or box) chicken broth
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in the crockpot, and cook on High 3-4 hours. Serve with grated white cheese (Jack, Muenster, Mozzarella) and corn chips.


The lovely bakers

Somebody even burnt their hand on a hot pan. Settle down, girl! It's not like you're vying for an Ultimate Grand Supreme title--though I think you would rule mini-guns.

The judges came out and delivered the anxiously awaited results.

The lovely and talented baker Natalia placed third. She has placed every single year for the last 5 years. Her tree now has 5 gingerbread ornaments to serve as reminders of her greatness.

Candace won second place this year. Last year, she placed first, and three years ago she placed second. She is clearly a talented baker as well.

And the first place prize goes to....the long-suffering, always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride, multiple loser......HAYLEY ATWOOD!!! PS...your hair looked fab!

She was so excited to win that she hugged my family out of sheer joy. Beezie found this suspect....because she clearly remembered last year, when Hayley was ALL KINDS of crazy about losing for the 4th year in a row.

In case you needed a visual reminder about her breakdown. See below.

The winners showing off their prizes. I loved each and every piece I gave away this year, and thought twice about squirreling them away in the Party Shed, and giving them crap prizes instead. This is always my litmus test to see if the prizes are good. They were.

The swap begins while the boys eat some dinner, and dodge the angry ladies who felt cheated. This scene is always awkward.



Thanks to all who made the 7th Annual Cookie Swap a sweet and tasty success. But mostly I would like to thank the judges who made Crazycakes Hayley the first place winner. I feel like January through November of 2012 will be much more enjoyable without her constant bellyaching and ballyhooing. That makes me the real winner. Now give me back that gorgeous red pedestal bowl!

Bow Down to the Mostess

I AM The Hostess With the Mostess. How do I know this?

In addition to throwing my own cookie exchange last Sunday, I attended a second one this evening thrown by friends in another city. I wanted a chance to compete and WIN. There were 47 entries to beat. I was confident--I have good taste.

I made these

I swapped them for all of these

AND THEN I WON 2ND PLACE!

In other words, I beat Hayley. The best part is, she re-created the cookie that took first place at my party in hopes that the baking magic would wear off on her, and her 5 year losing streak would be broken. No such luck.

I offered her my prize to take home to Tat and lie about her second loss in one short week. Turns out she has a shred of pride left. I'm hoping to elminate that very last shred with another loss next year. Here's to 2011!

Sugar Rush

Tonight I hosted my 6th annual cookie exchange. It's easily my favorite party of the year because the competition is HEAVY--the people want to win, and they want to win bad. I'm glad I've always had a panel of judges because it keeps people from bringing crap for cookies. When there's an adorable gift at stake, people bake well.

We had a packed house, and an elaborate treat table. There were about 25 entries this year!

Here is the judge's table, ready for sampling. I pity the fool who volunteers for this job. It sounds fun, but 25 different cookies in one night is not for the weak of heart...or stomach. I just ate a handful of Tums, and I wasn't even a judge.

While the boys judged the entries, the ladies dined in the living room. It was a packed house!

This year we had homemade sloppy joes--recipe here--chips and dip, and a green salad. It took 3 hours to make the sloppy joe. I quadrupled the recipe so we would have leftovers during Christmas. Nummy, nummy.

The entries looked so amazing! I think this year had the most variety--there were also no duplicates, which was a first!



Our amazing judges right before the reveal. We had Travis Cripps, Josh Bingham, Lancer, Steve Leeflang (he's been a judge all 6 years now!) and newcomer Dave Ashby. Everyone agreed with the winners, so this panel clearly got it right!

3rd place went to Sharla Webb for her tasty treat! She did a bark that was white chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow, and roasted nuts.

2nd place went to Miranda Murdock, who was feeling under the weather, and took off early. Her treat was an Oreo truffle--Ashley Carter totally approves. Dave was happy to accept her prize for her.

And first place went to baker extroidannaire Candace Ashby! She placed 2nd last year, so her win this year makes her the new person to beat. She now has 2 gingerbread "trophies" for her Christmas tree. Her treat was a light and airy lacy cookie that was so beautiful, it looked like it came from a bakery. Nice work, girl!

Per her usual, Crackpot Hayley was all kinds of crazy, wagging her finger around and demanding a recount. I like to torture her about losing year after year. It's hilarious. She gets me back by blasting David Archuletta on her blog. We love each other. In all fairness to La Loca, she did come in 4th. Too bad there's no prize for that.

The swapping begins!

Check out that platter! Lancer is going to take it into work and casually mention that I "did a little baking" over the weekend. I can't wait to take all the credit for these goodies. Thanks for making me look good, ladies!




This is us missing our besties, Heather and Sarah. We missed sitting around with them, gossiping about who should or should not have won. Look at that weird angle on my arm--it's like it belongs to someone else. Not the most natural of poses.

Got a little time in for the family after the group left. It's certainly tougher to throw a party with a newborn, but I'm intent on keeping the fun going. It's work.

Beezie snuggled up with Crazy Auntie Hayley, and had to listen as Hayley listed her gripes and grievances.

Poor Beezie--she can't talk, so she was held captive. See how she's looking for an escape?

Thanks for another wonderful exchange everyone. Start planning your winning cookies for next year!

Hayley, I think 2011 will totally be your year!!!