sweet swap recipe ideas

[watsonlane]

I have been invited to a sweet swap...same as a cookie swap but any sweet goes. this is the hosts first year, so she's invited 14 people which means I need to make 15 DOZEN of something sweet to take. Any ideas on a sweet that will make A LOT at one time so i'm not stuck in the kitchen for hours on end???

 

[abifae]

OOOoooh! Yes! Lots....

*rumages through her recipes*

I'm just going to list a few recipes that are simple (well, *I* consider them simple) and are easy to double/triple/quadruple...

Molasses Cookies bonus here is only ten minutes to bake. That means it's pretty realistic to keep batches swapping out all day without wasting lots of time...

Burnt Milk Fudge Fairly easy and you can just cut smaller bars and get more out of it >.>

White Chocolate Mint Truffles bonus here is rolling into balls goes FAST! The recipe is for 5 dozen. This IS a two day process as it sits overnight before you roll them out.

Chocolate Truffles Same as the other truffles, only less chill time. Just one hour.

Swedish Dream Cookies These are fun and easy HOWEVER... I think they're best fresh so I don't know how they do for an exchange this big...

Gingersnaps 8 minutes bake time and makes TONS.

 

[watsonlane]

Those look good! Thanks!

 

[abifae]

No problem!!!

I miss group baking days.

 

[Javamama]

Buckeyes! (Peanut butter balls dunked in chocolate) My favorite sweet ever.

My mom always made Russian Tea cakes in white and chocolate. Delicious and easy. I do not have her recipe, but I'll google it and see what I can find.
I found the white ones already.

Here we go: from Pillsbury.com

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar for coating



1. Heat oven to 400F.
2. Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

 

[Javamama]

Had to call Mom for the chocolate recipe I can't believe I didn't have these yet.

Mocha Nut Butter Balls

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups finely chopped pecans
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar for rolling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Stir together the flour, cocoa, coffee crystals and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Mix in the dry ingredients just until blended. Stir in the pecans. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets and roll in confectioners' sugar while still warm. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature.

 

[watsonlane]

Wow Thanks!

 

[BeccaOH]

Just as told of this food blog today. She has some awesome looking bar cookies and more.
http://annies-eats.com/

 

[freemotion]

Any bars take far less time than cookies! Also shortbread is quick and cheap and pretty if you use round pans and cut it into wedges and drizzle melted chocolate chips very lightly across them.

 

[Bethanial]

Might be too late for this, but I'd be making
Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-1/2 cup quick cooking oats

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and butter in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Drop by tablespoonful on waxed paper. Cool until set.

notes: I ALWAYS double this one because I love these cookies so much. You can use smooth or crunchy pb; I prefer crunchy, and have even been known to thrown in a couple handfuls of roasted peanuts too. You can use regular - as opposed to "quick" - oats, but the texture is different. Not bad, just different, kinda chewier. Actually, I usually make them with regular oats, cuz I like 'em chewier.