I happily received all my cookie swap matches last week, and have been in Cookie Heaven! I’ve been nomming away at my stash with friends, family, and coworkers, discussing the different merits of each cookie.

My three matches really went above and beyond in quality and awesomeness this year, and I was so very pleased to be the recipient of these cookies! And a huge and hearty *!!!Thank You!!!* to all three of my swap match senders for doing such an excellent job of packaging your cookies; each box came to me in perfect shape, with not a single cookie broken or even bent. You guys rock!!!

These Beurre and Sel Jammers cookies by Dorie Greenspan were my gift from Amanda at Once Upon a Recipe, and called to mind the honest truth that sometimes the simplest ingredients make the most tender, most flavourful, most wonderful cookies!  The streusel topping surrounded the exact right-sized dollop of delicious jam (2 different kinds, no less!) on the most perfect shortbread cookie I have ever eaten…how could I not love them?  They were also a huge hit with everyone I shared them with.

While it’s always hard for me to choose a favourite, they rose to the top this year as my personal “must-have” because they were so unexpectedly perfectly delicious; I could rhapsodize all day about them!

The Ginger Citrus cookies from Laurel at her beautiful blog, Wanna Come With? were another delightful surprise; perfect chewy gingery molasses cookies with a hint of candied orange peel in almost every bite.

They looked absolutely perfect, too; nice and round, with the cutest crackled tops! I love the matter-of-fact way that Laurel casually mentioned making her own candied orange peel for this recipe; bravo to you, and thank you for sending me such delicious cookies. I brought your cookies into the office to share last Friday, and not only did my coworkers love them, but my boss told me yesterday that your cookies were so delicious it totally made her day…and that she didn’t share any with her family!

Oh! … and I totally forgot to mention those DELICIOUS bourbon caramels that came with her cookies!!! They were so delicious, I really need to make some myself and SOON! Thank you again for those, Laurel!

The Salted Caramel Vanilla Bean Cookies by Claude of A La Claude were visually lovely; I could tell that so much care and preparation had gone into these! The star-shaped vanilla Linzer cookie, sandwiching a salted caramel filling, and designed with a star-shaped strip of vanilla bean flavoured sweetness all around the cookie; what’s not to love? Delicious!

I also love how Claude made his own Salted Caramel Spread for these cookies, too (as one does, mais oui…). Claude is the first male food blogger from whom I have received cookies since I first participated in this cookie swap, and I love the look of his blog. Very spare, with elegant, clean lines, and probably just like his personality! Thank you, Claude, for these yummy cookies!

All in all, I’m very impressed with my cookie swap matches this year, and once again, THANK YOU to all my senders for doing such a great job. I hope your own swap matches were as great as mine were!

Happy holidays!