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!

Cookies, Candies & Treats....oh my!

I threw my 5th annual cookie exchange this evening. I have a stomachache to end all stomachaches right now, and I have no one to blame but myself. It was fantastic fun.

The cookie swap was started by my sister, Eriika. She started hers in Colorado about 10 years ago. I didn't want to be the only sister without a tray of treats, so I joined in the cookie fun. In short, people bring 72 cookies and take home 72 different cookies. It's genius.

This picture has nothing to do with the cookie party; rather, it's to illustrate why it's a good idea to get married. Because when you don't, you eat pizza like this, because "it's too hard to cut it." Yes, Lance is married. To me. But I was busy with cookies and such. Poor Lancer has been batchin' it.

The cookie party is kinda low-key. It's all about the cookies, so dinner is secondary. Here's what I served up. Limeade...

...homemade chili, cornbread with whipped honey butter, and a green salad. And no dessert, cause that's what the cookies are for.

Here are my gluten free offerings. I did traditional peanut butter blossoms because A. I can eat them and B. No one else would make them because they would never, ever win the cookie contest. And that's what this whole deal is all about peeps--the prizes. More info to come.

Presiding over the table '0' treats. The amount of treats actually grew after this. Crazy.

Here are shots of all the treats. Take it in. There are 26 different treats here. All tasty.

The ladies, taking time to chat and catch up. There are a few girls I only see once a year at this party, and I love it. We had several new people, too, so the title for best cookie was totally up for grabs.

The cookies for the judges--lucky boys.

And here are the judges! Jesse on the left is an amazing baker with lovely blue eyes. Next is Travis who brought a salad to this Easter party--a salad I still dream about. Bon-Bon loves Travis, and often asks about him. He's so great, he even wins over moms! Next is Steve Leeflang who had whipped up some of the greatest treats I have ever eaten. And last is Hooman, an amazing professional Chef. We were lucky to have such a talented pool to judge our tasty treats.

The ladies checking out the various entries, trying to figure out who would place.

And look who popped by! Edward! His sign says it all. Click on it to enlarge. I wish I were in his special diet, though being sampled by a Werewolf is also appealing.

Exiled baby. It was for his own good. And for our cookies.

And...the judges arrive to announce the winners! This is like waiting for the Olympic scores, except for the lame Russian who is totally biased.

The ladies in waiting

Lindsay, a new party-goer, won 3rd place. She got a red cake stand in addition to the goodies all the girls get--spatula, cookie magazine, cookie plate for Santa, towel, cookie cutter, and a gingerbread man ornament for bragging rights during the holidays. Her winning entry was absolutely gorgeous. It was a cookie with 2 types of custard and topped with fresh strawberries with glaze. In fact, somebody tried to railroad her attendance in fear that she would place. As it turns out, this fear was founded. Better luck next year, girl! Though I am quite excited for you to be angry about it all year. Haha. Love ya, H.

Candace won 2nd place--she got a cute green polka dot bowl along with her goodies. Her winning entry was a flat cookie with a chocolate coating with nuts. Sorry, I don't have a better description--I can't eat them.

And first prize went to Sarah! She was so surprised--it's nice to see a happy winner. Her main prize was a set of red nesting bowls I almost kept for myself. Congrats, girl! Her winning entry was a date ball.

Once the boys announce the winners, the swap begins. The girls get their platters, and start filling their trays with treaties.

Go, ladies, go!

For my effort, I get the following:

It's a fair exchange--and then some. Thanks to everyone for another successful swap. See you in 2010. Until then...enjoy your treats!