THE ONLINE MAGAZINE THAT LOVES FOOD BLOGGERS, THEIR RECIPES & PHOTOGRAPHY
Festive
Foodies
and their
sweets,
treats &

entertaining
eats
FOOD BLOGGERS
GIVE BACK IN
THE GREAT FOOD
BLOGGER COOKIE SWAP
P
L
U
S
Chocolate
Dipped

Cranberry
Orange
Shortbread
from
JELLY TOAST BLOG
and more!
contents
H
o
l
i

the publisher. The opinions expressed by our contributors are
their own and do not necessarily represent the of the publisher.
We have sought to ensure accuracy and completeness of our
content wherever possible, but neither FoodieCrush LLC nor the
publisher assumes responsibility for claims or recipes submitted
or reprinted by our contributors, errors, inaccuracies, omissions,
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Neither FoodieCrush LLC nor the publisher is responsible for
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responsible for anyone’s reliance on the content herein.
COURTNEY
BANKHEAD

is literally counting
down the days
to receiving her
BFA degree in
Graphic Design.
As a FoodieCrush
intern, aka left-
over blog post for
lunch recipe taste
tester, Courtney
curated this
issue’s product
pages with a
spiced twist.
When she isn’t
mountain biking

from about the
globe. See more
of Hayley’s foodie
adventures at her
blog Tiptoes in
the Kitchen.
It’s all about the giving. And the cookies.
Let’s face it. When it comes to holiday eats, it’s all
about desserts—baking them, giving them and de-
nitely craving them. So why pretend to be interested
in anything but the sweet stu this time of year?
That’s why in this issue you’ll nd a bevy of sweet
treats, including two food blogging gal pals who’ve
teamed up to create the ultimate cookie swap, bring-
ing food bloggers together online and o and in the
process raising money for an amazing cause. You’ll also
be introduced to six food bloggers who share tradi-
tional desserts that travel the distance from Croatia to
Texas, plus a blogger (he’s a guy with a sweet tooth!)
whose recipe for Peppermint Bark is worth every bite.
But because we can’t subsist on sugar alone, we
made sure to even the stakes and share some favorite
cheese boards and party tips, plus some favorite swag
that’s sure to get you and yours saying ho-ho-ho.
Happy holidays, have fun and bake on.
xoxo,
Heidi Larsen
CHIEF FOODIECRUSH-ER AKA DISHWASHER
GET MORE ONLINE ISSUES AT FOODIECRUSH.COM
Bourbon,


e

A
n
g

l
s
portrait by ROBYN STONE of ADD A PINCH .com
F
How did the two of you become
friends?
We were online friends before we 'met'
in real life. We actually missed our rst
chance to meet, in 2010 at Food Blog
Forum Atlanta. We were both there and
yet failed to meet. We nally
did meet the following year
when Julie organized Food
Blog Forum Orlando where
Lindsay spoke. We’ve been
besties ever since.
You’re both erce bakers in
the kitchen. What was the nugget of
inspiration for you to start the Great
Food Blogger Cookie Swap?
Honestly? The entire swap started with
a single tweet and a late night cookie
craving. Lindsay tweeted something like

We set out to raise over $10,000 for
CFKC this year, with the help of our
generous brand partners (Dixie Crystals,
Gold Medal Flour, Grandma's Molasses
and OXO). And sure enough, we did it!
Our total, with matching funds, came to
over $13,700. That’s a total over of over
$17,000 for an amazing charity.
Other than the charity component,
we really feel that the cookie swap
brings the food blogging community
together. People come away with not
only a few dozen delicious cookies, but
also friendships with bloggers they may
not have fostered otherwise.
ood bloggers Lindsay Landis of Love and Olive Oil and
Julie Deily of The Little Kitchen have taken the concept of a
cookie swap party to a whole new level. Created by Lindsay and
Julie, 2013 marks the third year of The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.
Beginning with sugar, our and a whole lot of organization, the event is
a philanthropic endeavor that benets more than just the cookie-loving
recipients. It syncs hundreds of food blogging participants and their cookies
in a massive, countrywide sweet-treat exchange, raising funds for the charity
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
BOURBON, BROWN BUTTER,
AND VANILLA BEAN
SHORTBREAD COOKIES
makes 30 cookies
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup packed light brown sugar

about half of the dry ingredients have been
added, mix in bourbon, then add remain-
ing dry ingredients and beat until mixture
comes together into a crumbly dough.
3. Divide dough into two portions, then
place in the center of a sheet of plastic wrap,
forming into a 10-inch log. Roll tightly with
plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough.
You should end up with two 10-inch logs ap-
proximately 1-3/4 inches in diameter (about
the size of a paper towel tube). Refrigerate
for at least 3 hours or overnight, until rm.
You can place the logs in a paper towel tube
if you like, which will help them keep their
round shape when refrigerated.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking
sheets with parchment paper or a silicone
mat.
5. Remove logs from refrigerator; remove
and discard plastic wrap. With a sharp knife,
cut into 3/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on
baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space
between each cookie. Bake for 10 to 12
minutes or until cookies are set and bottom
edges are light golden brown. Let cool for
5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to
a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will
keep, stored in an airtight container, for up
to 1 week.


As the creators of the swap, do you
nd yourselves putting extra pres-
sure on yourselves to create a stun-
ning cookie recipe for the swap?
Of course! It's denitely a challenge to
come up with a delicious cookie that holds
up well for shipping. Many standard cookies
dry out too quickly and so you're forced to
think outside (er, inside?) the box.
The web is full of some pretty cre-
ative food bloggers. Have you had
a recipe come through that you
thought, “Oh wow! Why didn’t I think
of that?”
Honestly it’s more that we’re just in awe
of the sheer number of cookies that
come about as a result of this swap.
Last year we calculated there were over
22,000 cookies sent around the world.
IT ALL STARTED WITH 96,000 COOKIES
Upon 2-year-old Liam Witt's diagnosis with
neuroblastoma in 2007, his parents Gretch-
en and Larry Witt were shocked to learn of
the lack of effective treatments for pediatric
cancers due to lack of funding. That was
all it took for them to pledge to support
the development of research for safer, more
effective treatments.
It all began with a cookie drive. With
the help of 250 volunteers, his mom Gretchen

n

m
o
r

The thought of that many cookies ying
through the air makes our hearts happy.
The other amazing aspect of this is,
Veronica, a blogger who organizes a
non-blogger cookie swap (see sidebar.)
She’s a postal service employee and
has told us time and time again how
appreciative she is of the sheer vol-
ume that food bloggers send packages
through the US Postal Service.
What happens if someone missed the
opportunity to participate this year?
We are denitely planning to do
it again next year! Sign up
to receive notications here:
We'll
send out an email to this list when
sign ups open for next years' swap.
You two are both well respected
recipe creators, photographers,
designers and content creators. It
seems like you do it all. How do you
manage to create new initiatives like
this, and the Food BlogForum

before the inaugural
Great Food Blogger
Cookie Swap was
launched. My version
is meant to rekindle
interest in sending
mail, and I thought
a nation-wide cook-
ie swap would be a
perfect addition to
the project since it
generates many extra
packages for the post
oce. Not to men-
tion how much joy
and cheer it spreads,
another main goal of
my project.
Since the Great
Food Blogger Cookie
Swap is for food blog-
gers only, I thought
it would be great to
provide a separate
swap for non-blog-
gers as part of my
project. I am so glad
Julie and Lindsay
came up with this
great idea, and that

WITH SEA SALT
makes 24 cookies
3 ¼ cups unbleached
all-purpose our
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
(two sticks), softened
4 ounces cream cheese,
softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces bittersweet
chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chunks sea salt
1.
Mix dry ingredients to-
gether in a medium-sized
mixing bowl.
2. In the bowl of a stand
mixer (and using a at
beater) or large mixing bowl
(and using an electric mix-
er), beat cream cheese and
butter. Add both sugars and

from oven and place parch-
ment paper with cookies
on top directly on a cooling
rack. Store in an airtight
container to maintain chew-
iness.

//
Julie
//

thelittlekitchen.net
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cup all-purpose our
½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1
/
3 cup milk
1 cup confectioner’s sugar,
for rolling the dough in
1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch
Baking Chips
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line cookie


//
Jessica
//

a-kitchen-addiction.com
With hundreds of food bloggers
participating in the Great Food Blog
Cookie Swap, choosing a small
selection of recipes to feature was no
small task. Here are a few favorites
that caught our eye.
2 cups butter (4 sticks) softened,
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
5 cups all-purpose our
1 large egg
Re d and green food coloring
Sanding sugar
1. In an electric mixer tted with a pad-
dle attachment, cream butter and sugar
until well blended. Add vanilla extract
and salt. With the mixer on low, gradu-
ally add our, scraping down the sides.
HOLIDAY
CHECKERBOARD COOKIES
makes 96 cookies
2. Turn dough out onto a
clean work surface; it will be

set, to create a checkerboard
eect. Brush tops and in
between the strips with the
egg wash. Gently press strips
together. Repeat, forming
second and third layers,
alternating colors to create
a checkerboard eect. Wrap
assembled log in plastic.
Repeat process with green
for second log. Refrigerate
30 minutes, or freeze 15
minutes.
5. If you have extra dough
continue repeating the pro-
cess until all dough is used.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Line a baking sheet with a
parchment paper. Slice each
log into ¼-inch thick slices;
placing on baking sheet.
Brush with egg wash and
sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake until done, 10 to 12
minutes. Remove baking
sheet from oven, and let
cookies cool 2 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack
to cool completely.


LEMON COOKIES
makes 48 cookies
1. Preheat oven to 375° F. In a large
bowl, whisk together our, baking soda,
cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt. Set
aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat togeth-
er butter, coconut oil, and sugars until
combined. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Then
add molasses, lemon zest, lemon juice,
and fresh ginger, beat until combined.
Then add in the dry ingredients, mix
until just combined.
3. Roll the dough into small balls (about
1 inch in diameter). Fill a small bowl with
turbinado sugar, and roll each ball in the
sugar until it’s well coated. Place dough
on cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart
and bake for about 10 minutes. Once
they are done, remove from the oven,
press the crystallized ginger pieces
lightly on top and let cool for a minute
or two before transferring to a wire
rack to cool completely.

//
Ashley
//


20 minutes until lightly golden, turning
the trays and swapping their position in
the oven halfway through.

//
Amanda
//
chewtown.com
Chocolate covered
honeycomb can
be purchased as
a candy bar
in Australia.
There are many
recipes to make
your own by
searching online.
“
”
3 cups all-purpose our
1
/
3 cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted
butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2 tablespoons instant

low speed, beating just until
incorporated.
4. Roll tablespoons of dough
into 1-inch balls and coat in
remaining ½ cup sugar. Place
onto baking sheet and bake
until outside is crackly, but
center is still moist, about
9-10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let
cool 2-3 minutes before top-
ping with a Candy Cane Kiss
in the center of each cookie.

//
Chung-Ah
//
damndelicious.net
SALTED DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
makes 36 cookies
1 cup all-purpose our
½ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
(or unsweetened Dutch-process
cocoa powder )
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces coarsely chopped dark
chocolate
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chocolate chips

with a pinch of sea salt. Bake
until cookies are at and sur-
faces begin to crack, about
12-15 minutes. (Do not over-
bake these, or they will dry
out.) Transfer on parchment
to wire racks and let cool.
4. Serve immediately, or
store in a sealed container
for up to 3 weeks.

//
Ali
//
gimmesomeoven.com
1. Preheat oven 350° F. Line baking sheet
with a baking mat or parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, brown your but-
ter: Over medium heat, melt the butter.
Whisking frequently, let the butter turn
into an amber color. It will foam a little.
Once it subsides and brown specks
appears at the bottom of the pan, it
will begin to have a nutty aroma. Once
butter turns a light golden brown color,
transfer to a bowl to cool or stick it in
the freezer to cool faster.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together our,
baking soda, and salt.
4. In a bowl with electric mixer attach-

½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1
/
3 cup chocolate chips
6 Oreo cookies, chopped
The cream
cheese in this
recipe helps
the cookies
stay soft for
a long time.
“
”
ORANGE SHORTBREAD
WITH DARK CHOCOLATE
AND PISTACHIOS
makes 36 cookies
2 cups salted butter,
softened
¾ cup light brown
sugar
4 ½ cups all-purpose
our
Zest of 1 navel orange
1 cup dark chocolate

be rm and uniform,
not sticky, but only dry
enough to crack slightly
when pressed. Leave
the dough to rest for
at least 1 hour at room
temperature. This
allows for the avors to
meld and for the butter
to be completely ab-
sorbed by the our.
3. Once it is rested, roll
the dough out to ¼”
thick on a lightly oured
surface. Cut out cookies
in whatever shape you
like. Press the tines of
a fork into each side
of the squares, giving
them a ridged eect.
Lastly they are pierced
three times with the
fork, making 3 rows
of 4 small holes in the
top. If you choose to
make round cookies or
other shapes, pricking
them will help ensure
that they bake up at
and smooth. Not prick-

of chocolate on top)
and roll through the
nely chopped pista-
chios. Place the choco-
late coated cookies on
the same parchment
lined cookie sheet and
allow the chocolate to
rm up.
6. To store, keep these
tightly sealed for up to
2 weeks at room tem-
perature.
2 sticks butter,
room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon light
corn syrup
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
bean paste
2 ½ cups our
1 4-ounce package
French vanilla
instant pudding mix
2 teaspoons cream of
tartar
1 teaspoon baking
soda
1 ¼ teaspoon kosher

porated.
4. Cover bowl with
plastic wrap and chill for
at least one hour and up
to overnight.
5. Preheat oven to
350°F. Prepare a baking
sheet with parchment
paper or baking mat.
6. Scoop dough out in
rounded tablespoons,
approximately one inch
apart, on the baking
sheet.
7. Bake for 18-20 min-
utes then remove from
the oven. Allow to rm
up on the cookie sheet
for 2 minutes, then re-
move from cookie sheet
onto a wire cooling rack.
½ heaping cup dried
sour cherries
½ cup orange juice
4 tablespoons butter,
at room tempera-
ture
1 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon salt

dineanddish.net

//
Melissa
//
luluthebaker.blogspot.com
into the cookie dough.
Spread the dough on a
cookie sheet covered
with parchment paper,
and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. When dough is thor-
oughly chilled, divide
dough in half and roll
each half into a 14-inch
cylinder on a oured
work surface. Preheat
the oven to 350°F and
line a fresh cookie sheet
with a clean sheet of
parchment paper. Place
the 2 chunks of dough
on the cookie sheet and
bake them for 30 min-
utes. Remove cookies
from oven and turn the
oven down to 275°F.
4. When the cookies
are cool enough to han-
dle, use a sharp knife to

gently roll each half of the dough
into a 1½-inch-diameter log.
Wrap logs tightly in the paper,
twisting the ends up, and refrig-
erate until rm, 1 to 1½ hours.
(To store longer, wrap log and
paper tightly with plastic wrap.)
2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Un-
wrap the logs and use a serrated
knife to slice the logs into
3
/
8 inch
slices. If the dough doesn’t slice
well, allow the it to sit at room
temperature for about 5 minutes
and try again. Arrange the slices,
about 1 inch apart, on baking
sheets.
3. Bake until slightly pued and
lightly golden around the edges,
15 to 20 minutes. Cool on the
baking sheets for 1 to 2 minutes
and then transfer them to a wire
rack to cool completely.
4. Place chocolate in a micro-
wave safe bowl. Microwave on
high for 30 seconds and then
stir. Microwave on high in 15
second intervals, stirring be-

¼ cup unsweetened
Dutch-process
cocoa powder
For the lling
1
/
3 cup shortening
¼ cup water
1 ¼ tablespoons
peppermint extract
1 pound powdered
sugar
½ teaspoon salt
crushed candy
canes, optional
CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT
SANDWICH COOKIES
makes about 24 sandwiches
For the shortbread dough
1. Cream butter, sugar and salt in a bowl
until well combined.
2. Sift our and cocoa into butter
mixture and blend just until mixture
forms a soft dough.
3. Divide dough in half and place each
half in between two sheets of parch-
ment paper. Roll the dough out to
roughly
¹
/

one circle, pipe with a piping bag and
#7 tip or spread it with a layer of pep-
permint lling and top with another
shortbread circle. Roll frosted edges in
crushed candy canes, if desired.

//
Kelly
//

kellybakes.com
1 ¼ cup confectioners sugar
1 cup ground almond meal
3 egg whites, from large eggs, room
temperature
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 drops food coloring or food gel
(optional)
Candy Cane Filling
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
4 ounces Wilton Candy Cane
Colorburst Candy Melts, melted
and slightly cooled
CANDY CANE
MACARONS
makes 24 cookies
1. Line 2-3 large baking sheets with
parchment paper and set aside.

2. Pair up same size macarons. Swirl
a small amount of lling on macaron
and gently sandwich paired macarons
together.
3. Store in an airtight container.

//
Jennifer
//
mothertyme.com
½ cup unsalted butter,
room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose our
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted hazelnuts,
half roughly chopped and
half nely chopped into
very tiny pieces
Sea salt
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup white chocolate
chips
HAZELNUT CRANBERRY COOKIES
WITH A CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

to get golden brown on the edges.
Let the cookies cool on the baking
sheet for 3-5 minutes and then
transfer them to a cooling rack.
Let cookies cool completely. While
cookies are cooling place the white
and dark chocolate (in separate
bowls) in the microwave.
8. Melt the chocolate for 30 sec-
onds and then stir. Repeat until
chocolate is just melted but not
very hot.
9. Place the chocolate in individ-
ual piping bags (or ziplocks with a
corner cut o).
10. Drizzle the chocolate over the
cooled cookies and let the choco-
late harden completely.

//
Stephanie
//

lifetasteslikefood.com
LINZER THUMBPRINT
COOKIES
makes 50-60 small cookies
¾ cup salted butter
¾ cup raw cane sugar
2 large egg yolks