For a while now, I’ve been seeing these cookie exchanges everywhere. I’ve never really known what they were about, it seems people bake cookies, and then give them to others. What says on the tin…

Recently, I was invited to take part in an online cookie exchange, go figure! It came at about the same time I was wondering about how it all worked. The cookie exchange is done thanks to Patience Brewster, an artist that creates hand painted Christmas ornaments, as well as gifts for holiday and everyday decor. You can see their Facebook page here, where they’re showing some other recipes.

I’ve been trying to bake cakes these days, and unfortunately, I almost forgot about this exchange! However, here I am, right at the last minute, taking part in the 2014 cookie exchange.

The cookies I chose are a favourite from when I was a kid. They’re not Christmas cookies themselves, but I love them so much I decided to go with them. I found the recipe online, but I made a couple of adjustments because the recipe didn’t work as I expected, so here it is.

Galletas Campurrianas

Ingredients for 25-30 cookies:

• 125g butter
• 125g sugar
• 1 egg
• 450g sifted flour
• 1/2 baking powder sachet
• A bit of water might be needed

The recipe usually have ground almonds (60g), but I didn’t have any, so they ended up being more like sugar cookies or some sort of shortbread. Epic fail, I guess.

I had to add water to it, just a few drops, because the recipe ended up being too crumbly and there was no way to make the cookies, which was frustrating.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut the butter in dice and leave to melt at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so. Add sugar and whisk together, until combined and we end up with a creamy texture.

Crack the egg and add it to the mixture. Continue mixing until combined.

Add the sifted flour and the baking powder (and the almonds, if using them) and keep mixing slowly. Use a spatula to make sure everything is well mixed. Mix until the texture is smooth and without any lumps.

Make small dough balls and flatten them slightly with your hand. You don’t want them to end up too thin or flat!

Place the cookies on an oven tray, lined with baking paper, and make sure there’s space between them to avoid them sticking to each other when baking.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes (although oven temperatures differ, so make sure you check they’re done!)

Take from oven and let them cool before removing them from the sheet, to avoid breaking the cookies.

That’s it! Keep in a closed container.

Do you have any great recipes for treats? What are your favourite cookies?