The Holiday Cookie Swap Episode | Hetal Vasavada
Suzy Chase: When two podcasts collide, magic happens. Welcome to Dinner Party, the podcast where I bring together my two hit shows, cookery by the book and decorating by the book around here. We're all about cooking, sharing stories behind recipes, and creating a cozy home. I'm your host, Suzy Chase, a West Village wife, mom and home cook. Inspired by Martha Stewart trying to live in a Nora Ephron movie, surrounded by toile, plaid cookbooks, decorating books and magazines, cooking in my galley kitchen and living my best life in my darling New York City apartment in the cutest neighborhood in the city, the West Village. So come hang out and let's get into the show.
Hetal Vasavada: Hi, my name's Hetal Vasavada and I'm here to chat about holiday cookie exchanges.
Suzy Chase: Cookie season is synonymous with the holiday season and cookie swaps are super popular this time of year. Cookie swaps are more than just fun and festive. They're also a great way to discover and take home new cookie recipes to try out. This week on the show, I'm thrilled to welcome Hetal Vasavada cookbook, author of Milk and Cardamom, and the newly released Desi Bakes, season six Master Chef contestant, baker and blogger. So today it's all about the perfect holiday cookie swap. But before we dive in, I'd love to hear about baking your very first batch of cookies. I know you've mentioned that your mom never made cookies when you were growing up as most households in India don't typically have ovens. So your mother didn't grow up baking cakes, brownies, or cookies. Now how did you get started baking?
Hetal Vasavada: I got started because my organic chemistry professor told me that you could bake, you would pass lab, and I went to school. I did my undergraduate in biochemistry, so organic chem was very important to pass. So I started baking out of cake box mixes like everyone does when they first start baking. And then I started challenging myself to bake from scratch. And as I understood the chemistry and how everything worked, I started then developing my own recipes and that's how I got started. But cookie memories, my first batch of cookies was the saddest batch of chocolate chip cookies you've ever seen. They still held their shape because I had too much flour in the cookies. The bottoms were burnt. It was one of those old school electric coil ovens that was in my dorm. I think I baked it on foils. So the bottom was even more cooked than the tops. All the mistakes you can make making cookies I did in that first round. And I'm like, I don't know what I did wrong, but of course all my dorm mates are like, they're great, they're wonderful.
Suzy Chase: We'll just have one.
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah, exactly. It was, I did not get beginner's luck,
That's for sure.
Suzy Chase: So last week you kicked off your holiday cookie season and your first cookie is a Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie.
Hetal Vasavada: So this cookie stemmed from the fact that my daughter lost all privileges to her Halloween candy. Oh, wow. She ate, bought a bag of Skittles from the discount Halloween candy, and I woke up two days later and almost all those Skittles in that bag were gone. And I'm like, where did they go? She went to the library solely to eat Skittles candy and leave the wrappers in the trash at the library and then come back. So she's sneaky, but she'll fuss up if you ask her. She still hasn't figured out the lying bit yet. Wait, how old is she? She's eight. And I'm like, you have eaten enough candy. Your Halloween candy is now forfeit to us because you have eaten at least three months worth of candy in a singular day. So I took all her Reese's and I was like, I'm going to make a cookie with this or something.
And that's where the recipe idea started was, I have all these Reese's, I'm going to put 'em in a cookie. And the other was I wanted them to look dynamic, so I wanted to swir all the chocolate and peanut butter together. So I used black cocoa to cover it, and then I also wanted them to stay soft, kind of like the center of Reese's peanut butter. It's kind of like soft melt in your mouth. So I substituted some of the sugar with corn syrup. The corn syrup was a game changer. It makes the cookies so soft, but the edges get really chewy. So it's got this chewy on the outside, really soft texture in the center and they stay soft for days. And I put bittersweet chocolate and Reese's together. The Reese's was a little bit too sweet, so I cut it with a little bit of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate works too. So it's got this nice hint of dark chocolate and then a super sweet and lots of salt to balance it out, but it's a nice salty sweet cookie that's soft and chewy.
Suzy Chase: So we can DM you for that recipe?
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah. Is that right? You can DM me. It's also on my blog. MilkandCardamom.com
Suzy Chase: So gathering friends and familie together for one of these parties is also a great chance to catch up, build community, and get creative in the kitchen. So the first step is party planning and the guest list. Now, is there a perfect number for the guest list? Can there be too many people?
Hetal Vasavada: For a cookie swap I think so because you need to have the counter space to host all those cookies because not only do you need space to put all the cookies down, you also need space for the guests to sit and enjoy the cookies or enjoy a small snack or something. If you have an island, that's great, you could put all the cookies on the island, leave the dining table open for appetizers and drinks and snacks. But there can be too many for sure. It depends on your space. For me, I have a six by three table and then I am very lucky and I have a 12 foot island, and with that I would probably invite maybe 15 people. The foot per person is what you're going to need. And then if you want to double it, you could put the cookies behind another set of cookies if you'd like. You have a bigger space to host that many people, but everyone's going to have boxes of cookies. You don't want people running into each other and dropping stuff or knocking things out of their hands space that they can comfortably reach and grab something rather than feeling like they're squeezing between people to grab something. No fun.
Suzy Chase: So how can we encourage guests to avoid bringing duplicates? Should we have a signup system, some kind of a spreadsheet?
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah, I would do a signup or a spreadsheet for sure. And also make sure that you get allergen information from your guests first maybe. So maybe invite everyone and then ask them if they have any allergies or issues with certain foods and then send that out maybe a week later after they invite or after everyone's RSVP, send an email out with the signup sheet afterwards, please just name the cookie you're going to get. Here are the allergens and stuff that we have, and then you as a host just in case no one brings anything. That's for those people with the allergens or dietary restrictions, you also make something for them just in case, because not everyone will make a gluten-free cookie or a vegan cookie or whatever it may be, but you should make those just in case there's nothing for them.
Suzy Chase: Number two, the cookie selection and baking. Do you have a favorite go-to cookie for your holiday cookie swap?
Hetal Vasavada: I have a Lemon Cardamom Snickerdoodle on my blog that I love. It's super fragrant cozy because as the cardamom in it, the lemon makes it a little different because most holiday season you'll get peppermint, cinnamon caramels, brown butters, things like that. But it's rare that you get a fruit-based flavor and it just kind of sets it apart. It cuts through all the richness that's in a lot of the cookies during the holidays and it's super fragrant. It smells amazing. So lemon is my go-to egg-free, and it's a really easy, you don't even need cream of tartar. I use a baking powder in the recipe since not everyone has cream of tartar in their house. I think like a specialty ingredient for the most part. I use cream of tartar maybe once every 10 years. Exactly, exactly. I'm like, it's a bay leaf. Yep. But you need it for sticker doles typically to that texture, but you could do get the same exact with baking powder and it's a really easy recipe. I have a small batch version, so it only makes exactly 12 cookies and it's easy to double, triple if needed and easy for kids to make with you.
Suzy Chase: What are your thoughts on incorporating savory cookies or unconventional flavors?
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah, especially in Indian culture. Savory cookies are huge. We have cain cookies that we do. We have spicy shortbread that we'll do. It's extremely common to have as part of tea and breakfast within the Indian culture. I'm all about it. I actually recently was thinking about like, oh, you know what would be really good a boursin, the garlic and chive boursin. If I do a thumb cookie with that and then filled it with pepper jelly, a thumbprint cookie and then filled it inside with a pepper jelly, like a spicy savory jelly. I was like, that would be such a cute cheeseboard edition. Or do a cheddar cheese one with pepper jelly or play around with it a little bit. I think the sweet savory, I'm here for it.
Suzy Chase: So apparently in the news it says egg prices are on the rise again. Do you have any egg list cookie recipes? So I was thinking like rice crispy treats or no bake oatmeal cookies. What are your ideas?
Hetal Vasavada: I did a whole series on egg list cookies last year for Christmas. So I have 12 egg endless cookie recipes. I have way more. I always include egg substitute for almost all my bakes if the egg can be substituted. If you're doing drop cookies, you can substitute up to two eggs. I usually do a quarter cup of applesauce per egg in drop cookies. If you're doing sugar cookies or shortbread, you can substitute the egg with about two tablespoons of heavy cream. And the only ones that I wouldn't substitute eggs on is meringue based cookies, but that's it in most cookies. You can substitute the egg out. I just shared a cinnamon blossom cookie that's egg list. I have chocolate chip cookies that are egg list. I have a variety of egg list cookie recipes on my blog and website. And in my new cookbook I have egg substitutes for all the recipes where it can be made egg less.
Suzy Chase: So moving on to logistics and presentation, how many cookies should our guests bring?
Hetal Vasavada: I say two per guest. Nothing's worse than having a cookie and you're like, oh my God, that was delicious. And then you don't have another one in your bucket, right? Or your box. So I say bring two per guest, and then if they feel like it, give them the option to bring extras if they'd like. But two per guest is easy enough.
Suzy Chase: Should the guests present their own cookies? Should they bring their own trays or is that for the host to do?
Hetal Vasavada: I think the host should have the trays and items because most guests are probably bringing their cookies in their Tupperware typically. So I think the host should have the trays for the guests to lay the cookies out on. Also, it makes it more uniform and a little bit new looking. If you're there for the aesthetic, then yes, have trays out. If you don't mind, just have them open that Tupperware, put the lid underneath it and plop it on the table. There's nothing wrong with that either. But if the aesthetic matters, I say have the trays and have everything ready. What I like to do is actually I'll take parchment paper, like brown parchment paper and I'll roll it across the entire island or table and then I'll make lines. So there's little boxes on where everyone can put their cookies, and then when they come, they'll have a sharpie and they can just write what kind of cookie it is and if there's any allergens or anything in it like nuts or eggs or dairy or whatever it may be. And then they can pile their cookies in the center of that little box of parchment paper. So then it's just one sheet, very little cleanup. You just compost that right after and call it a day.
Suzy Chase: Yeah. That brings me to cookie labels, so I guess that's your label.
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah.-
Suzy Chase: So smart.
Hetal Vasavada: Yeah, just make sure you have a foot by foot space for each person and then a little space on the bottom where they can label it and write out what the name of their cookie is.
Suzy Chase: And what about recipe cards?
Hetal Vasavada: I think send them out after. I think that's a fun post party email. Ask everyone, Hey, can you drop your recipe links or your recipe in this document and have that sent out to everyone afterwards?
Suzy Chase: Should we be voting on these? Is it a voting situation? Is that cute?
Hetal Vasavada: I think it depends on your friend group. If your friends are competitive and they can take the heat, I say go for. I think it'd be really fun and maybe you can even have a little package of maybe some butter, sugar, eggs and a little baking tray or a golden whisk or something that every year someone wins. Start a fun tradition with your friends and family. If you know that your family members, someone's going to get hurt or someone's feelings are going to be upset if they didn't win, I would avoid at all costs. Okay. It's like you have to know, right? The people,
Suzy Chase: You have to read the room.
Hetal Vasavada: Is Aunt Sally going to be able to handle this?
Suzy Chase: Yeah.
Hetal Vasavada: Is she going to be upset that her cookies didn't win? Maybe we just skip it and just enjoy everyone's cookies and tell her how great hers are.
Suzy Chase: Okay, so what about food and drink? Should we be serving appetizers? Should we be serving snacks? Lunch?
Hetal Vasavada: I come from the firm belief that if you invite people to your house and it's during a mealtime, so if it's during breakfast, lunch or dinner, you need to have a meal for them, then I feel awful If I have to leave, people have to leave because they have to feed themselves or their kids. I've done it, I've gone to people's houses and then lunchtime rolls around and there's nothing there, and you're like, oh my God, we need to eat. I'm so sorry. We've got to head out. So you need to have food there for sure. I think some sort of light dinner could be served easily. You could do a casserole or two and keep it really simple for yourself. For drinks, I would do the fun, hot cocoa and milk and non-dairy options if you need it. And then I would have some wine in the typical alcohol that you would have.
Wine and beer, keep it very simple that way I wouldn't have more than that. And then obviously some water or tea for food. I think a really nice cheeseboard. It's like the full opposite of the cookies. So it'd be a great way to cut through. Maybe they're munching on some of the cookies that they've put in their box and they can go grab some cheese and crackers. Or you could do charcuterie if you eat meat, obviously for a meal. I say make your life easy. Just do a casserole or cater something in. I've done Chipotle catering at parties. It's fine. No one hates it. It's great. People are there to hang out, try each other's cookies have fun. They will not care whether you made it from scratch or not. In that sense, I promise. I'm pretty sure half the cookies might not, but be from scratch. Take the pressure off yourself. Know what you're capable and what you're not capable of based on how busy you are outside of this party. Buy the cheeseboard from the store if you need to. You don't need to make your own semi homemade is totally fine in my world.
Suzy Chase: Okay, now to takeaways for the guests. So should we be sending them home with Ziploc bags, cookie boxes, or should we be getting creative?
Hetal Vasavada: I like to do boxes. I just buy them off of Amazon. They always have Christmas themed ones if you want. And if you can find decently priced ones, sometimes at the dollar stores you'll find cookie tins like little round metal tins that people can take. The only thing with that is you don't know how big people's cookies are going to be, so they might not all fit in the tins. So I always try to do an eight inch square bakery box, and that way the cookies can lay flat on the bottom of it, and if the cookies are puffier or bigger, it's okay. They can kind of jumble in altogether. So I feel like the bakery boxes are the safest in the end.
Suzy Chase: Now for my segment called The Perfect Bite where I ask you to describe your perfect bite of your favorite holiday cookie.
Hetal Vasavada: The recipe's coming out soon, but a Toasted Milk Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie, and it is the coziest warmest cookie. It is crispy on the outside, really soft and chewy in the center, and instead of using chocolate chips, I use chunks of chocolate, the Guittard semi-sweet chunk chips that they have. I like my cookies cold because I like the bite that the chocolate has. I like that texture change. I don't like the chocolate to be completely melted and then immediately chased with a glass of milk.
Suzy Chase: I know that you're involved in Challenge Butter and Cookies for Kids Cancer this season, so can you talk a little bit about that?
Hetal Vasavada: Well, the holiday season is all about giving and Challenge Butter has partnered with Cookies for Kids Cancer to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, which is much needed. And the way they're going about it is they have a challenge for a cure initiative, which is they're hoping people will hold bake sales or just raise funds and make donations to cancer research for children. And in doing so, they'll also go and take pictures of their cookies. And if you don't know what cookies to make Challenge has holiday packaging with a stained glass sugar cookie recipe, which I promise you looks complicated but is very easy to make, which is the best type of dessert where you're like, oh, that looks so complicated, but it wasn't . Inside the packaging they have the recipe for them and they want you to take photos of the cookies and post them on Instagram and tag them @challenge butter and @cookiesforkids and use #challengeforacure in the hopes that one inspires your friends and families to hold bake sales and raise funds for cookies for kids' cancer. And two, Challenge Butter is matching donations to a certain point for every post that's posted in this season of giving. I think this is a great way We're all baking anyway. So to share a photo on your Instagram and you tag them is a great way to kind of easily give back.
Suzy Chase: Where can we find you on the web and social media?
Hetal Vasavada: You can find me at Milk and Cardamom on Instagram and MilkandCardamom.com as my blog and my website.
Suzy Chase: So I'm going to have to have you back for a full conversation on Desi Bake. But in the meantime, thanks so much Hetal for coming on Dinner Party podcast and happy holiday cookie baking.
Hetal Vasavada: Thank you.
Suzy Chase: Okay, so where can you listen to the new Dinner Party podcast series? Well, it's on Substack SuzyChase.substack.com. You can also subscribe to Dinner Party for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Additionally, the episodes will be available on both Decorating by the Book and Cookery by the Book. Long story short, you'll be able to listen to it virtually everywhere. Thanks for listening. Bye!
