Made cookies last Sunday. Called my second son's live in girlfriend and we baked together! Just as I started to warm up the oven the element went out! I did have a back up down stairs as I have my old gas stove hooked up there so we had to go up and down all day but got the job done. The guys who were watching football in the family room watched the times for things to come out of the oven. Nine different kinds of bars or cookies later we are eating our hearts out and putting on the pounds! My 20 year old grandson and his girlfriend came and helped frost cutouts which I thought was nice. He heard from his dad that we were doing cookies and he likes to eat them so........! We had lots of willing eaters for the rejects. Connie

Just a couple of ideas off the top of my head: Maybe you could add a list of 'cookie catagories' to your invitation. Ask each person to RSVP with the catagory they want to make. Then the first RSVP you get that says 'Shortbread' is the one that brings shortbread. Any that come after that could be asked to choose something else. Or they could pick their first, second, and third choice of category. You could let them know, after all RSVPs are in, which one to make. Using the 'first come first served' way of assinging the categories. Or you could simply request each person to let you know a couple of weeks in advance, the kind of cookie they intend to bring. Of course, the 'rules' would have to be clearly (and diplomaticly) stated on the invitation so that everyone understands that you are trying to insure a lot of choices for the participants. It takes a wide variety of cookies to make a good and fun exchange. Rusty

I have done a HUGE Christmas party for years that centers around a cookie exchange. My word of warning--it is so fun that no one will ever stop insisting you give it! My kids feel it is the centerpiece of the Christmas season, and I start getting questions about when it will be starting before Thanksgiving. We invite well over 100 people (families). We ask people to bring "a plate" of cookies to share. I make a lot of extra cookies--my top pleaser with the kids are Rice Krispie bars wrapped with fruit rollup to look like little presents. I also make coconut macaroons out of Silver Palate (dead easy) and dip them in chocolate so they look fancy. I have a number of other easy recipes as well. I make two huge pots of soup--a Moroccan soup and pumpkin-peanut soup (wouldn't work for you, obviously), buy a ham and rolls, and provide a few other food items. I also have drinks plus mulled wine and hot cider. My top lessons learned: --soup is hugely popular. --have paper plates and foil available and people take home cookies on that, or on the plate they brought --people are often really intimidated by baking. If they express any reservations, I tell them not to bring anything. I always have plenty. --I end up with all of the cookies that nobody wants. I gave myself permission a few years ago to just throw out anything I didn't think we would eat. Otherwise, it got depressing with the rock hard gingerbread, my sweet neighbor's tasteless cookies with candied fruit, and the occasional bag of Chips Ahoy. --I don't ask for an RSVP because I don't get them anyway--and if I don't ask, I don't need to sweat it. There are always plenty of cookies if we run out of other stuff.

Here's my recipe for the Chocolate Caramel Treasures: Cookie type: formed These are another variation of thumbprint cookie. This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999. This makes about 2 dozen cookies. Ingredients For the cookies: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teas vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tbsp whole milk 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ teas salt 1 egg white, lightly beaten ½ cup chopped hazelnuts For the filling: 10 (1 x ½ inch)plain caramels 2 tbsp heavy cream For the drizzle: 3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Directions For the cookies: Beat together butter, yolk, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, and roll in nuts. Place balls 1 ½ inches apart on a greased baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of the balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again with a spoon. Let cool. Make the filling while cookies are cooling. Heat caramels and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely. Make chocolate drizzle one hour before serving. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to form a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes. Hints, tips, tricks and how to cheat I usually donÂt bother with the chocolate drizzle. TheyÂre showy and chocolatey enough.