Jury · Christmas with friends · Baking season
Host a Christmas cookie contest
Everyone has a cookie they swear by. Turn the cookie swap into a contest: each baker brings one batch, everyone rates every kind in secret, and the best baker is revealed at the end.
- Bakers
- Four to ten
- Per person
- One cookie of each kind
- Time
- About an hour
Updated
How to do it
Invite the bakers.
Each person bakes one kind of cookie, enough for everyone to have one, plus a few to take home if it’s also a swap.
Hide the bakers.
One person puts the cookies on identical plates with numbers, and is the only one who knows who baked what.
Rate one kind per round.
Each kind of cookie is a round. Everyone gives scores from 1 to 10 without saying anything.
Reveal the winner.
Turn the cards after each round, or save it all for a big finale. Only then do the bakers step forward.
Criteria for cookies
Three or four is plenty. “Recipe, please” is a good overall criterion: would you ask for the recipe?
Contest or cookie swap?
You can do both. Rate the cookies first, while nobody knows who baked what, and then share out the rest so everyone goes home with a mixed tin.
- Agree on a theme if you like: classic, spiced, chocolate, or a recipe from your family.
- Serve everything at room temperature, so a warm cookie doesn’t win just for being warm.
- Keep water or coffee on the table between rounds.
- Write down the winning recipe with the result, so you can bake it again next year.
Questions and answers
How many cookies should each baker bring?
One per guest for the contest, plus extra if you’re also swapping.
Can bakers rate their own cookies?
Yes. Everyone rates everything, and it’s fun to see who is their own harshest critic.
What if someone brings shop-bought cookies?
Let them. A shop-bought round is a good test of whether homemade really wins.
More from christmas with friends
Ready for the first round?
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