OP: The Wellesley Cookie Exchange Cookbook

Simon & Schuster, New York, 1988. Paperback. Near Fine.

In 1971, a group of friends and neighbors in Wellesley, Massachusetts had the inspired idea of an annual cookie swap to foster community and to share recipes. Much like our store holiday cookie (and fruitcake) contests, the spirit of the Exchange is one of good cheer and tasty treats and has encouraged other industrious bakers and their familiars to initiate similar traditions.

While the founders, Mary Bevilacqua and Laurel Gabel, agree that if you do anything even just twice it can be called tradition, their 15 years of experience prior to the book’s publication firmly established which recipes were winners and, in fact, expected every year. The Wellesley Cookie Exchange Cookbook (1986) presents more than 200 of the best with a little something for everyone.

There are Austrian topfen (cheese)-filled phyllo triangles with rum raisins and lemon zest; “weird wonders”—a meringue with Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, nuts, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut folded in; three variations on lebkuchen; and chocolate-walnut pinwheels.

Of course, all the classics like double fudge brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and snickerdoodles are here, too. The perfect gift for a cookie fanatic or someone brushing up for our next store contest…

A Near Fine paperback copy, clean and unmarked save for a sweet gift inscription to the inside of the front wrapper. And we’d be remiss not to mention the charming black and white line illustrations by Lisa Amoroso.