Every year I try some new cookies. I flip through half a dozen cookbooks and pick out something to try. This year I landed on rugelach. A traditional Jewish cookie that is frequently served around Hanukkah, which is conveniently happening right now.

I picked these because I love their cute crescent shape and the fact that you can fill them with just about anything.

In my research, I landed on an article from The Kitchn that encouraged experimenting with fillings. I used their method for the dough but got creative with my own fillings. Out of this came two delicious cookies, Mango Macadamia, and Cinnamon Raisin Walnut. Cinnamon Raisin is a little more traditional, but Mango Macadamia holds a unique spot of its own.

The dough made of butter, flour and cream cheese tastes horrible until you bake it. This isn’t one you will be licking the spoon, however, makes a delicious flaky cookie. Since you are going for a flaky cookie you will want to make sure to leave little chunks of butter in your dough just like you do when you make a pie crust.

These delicious recipes are just a couple of many that you can find during The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange Week.

60+ blog friends are sharing gorgeous cookie recipes from today through next Saturday, and today, I’ve teamed up with 50 other bloggers to bring you The Sweetest Season’s Sweetest Cookie Giveaway! We’ve put together an incredible cookie baking prize package, and we can’t wait to tell you more about it.

row one: Wit Wisdom Food | Beth Cakes | Alyssa and Carla | The Rustic Willow | Chez Catey Lou | Joybilee Farm | Arousing Appetites | The Food in My Beard | Lizzy is Dizzy | Lemon Sugar

row two: The Speckled Palate | The Gift of Gab | think fruitful | Majorly Delicious | Sugar Dish Me | An Oregon Cottage | A Savory Feast | The Foodie Patootie | Twin Stripe | Hidden Fruits and Veggies

row three: Appeasing a Food Geek | DC Girl in Pearls | Bessie Bakes | Brunch with Joy | Cooking With Libby | 2 Cookin Mamas | Lou Lou Biscuit | Me and My Pink Mixer | Wetherills Say I Do | The Little Epicurean |

row four: The Emotional Baker | Cake ‘n Knife | Glisten and Grace | Meredith Noelle | The Secret Ingredient [is love] | SammaSpot | Hey There Sunshine | Natasha Red Blog | Flavors & Sabores | Macheesmo

row five: Beer Girl Cooks | My California Roots | Butchers Niche | The Skinny Pot | Sustaining the Powers | Feast + West | Not Your Average Southern Belle | Vanilla And Bean | Our Life Inspired | That Square Plate

Be sure to check out our blogs to see all of our cookie recipes throughout the week! We’re using the hashtag #sweetestseasoncookies on social media this week, and we’re joining even more bloggers baking cookies, so it’s going to be a grand time!

Now, on to the giveaway!

A whopping 51 bloggers teamed up to bring you an awesome cookie-centric giveaway! We picked out a stand mixer and other goodies to make baking this season go smoothly. And, a big thank you goes out to the generous sponsors who helped with The Sweetest Season by organizing, as well as providing products to the participating bloggers and donating some incredible prizes for our giveaway! Be sure to check out Imperial Sugar, Dixie Crystals, Bob’s Red Mill, Cabot Creamery and The Crumby Cupcake for lots of great recipe ideas. And check out Garnishing Co., who designed our graphics.

We’re giving away The Sweetest Cookie Prize Pack, and it is worth $690! See the Rafflecopter below to enter to win this amazing set of cookie baking goodies. The prize pack includes:

• One KitchenAid 5-Qt. Artisan Design Series Stand Mixer with Glass Bowl in Sugar Pearl Silver // $315 value
• One $50 Bob’s Red Mill gift card and one exclusive set of Bob’s Red Mill products: One 5-lb. bag Organic All Purpose Flour, one 5-lb. bag Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, one 40-oz. bag Almond Meal, one 28-oz. bag Sparkling Sugar, one 28-oz. bag Cane Sugar // $95 value
• Two 4-lb. bags of Imperial Sugar/Dixie Crystals granulated sugar, one My First Cookbook and a silicone baking mat // $50 value
• Coupons for $40 worth of Cabot Creamery products, including butter and yogurt // $40 value
• One OXO Good Grips 5-Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl // $35 value
• One Jenaluca Stainless Steel Medium Cookie Scoop // $33 value
• One 2-piece Calphalon Nonstick Baking Sheet Set // $30 value
• One 10” x 15” Stainless Steel Metal Cooling Rack // $25 value
• One 7-piece OXO Good Grips Multi-colored Nesting Measuring Beaker Set // $20 value
• One GIR: Get It Right Ultimate Spatula in Gray // $19 value
• One 5-piece R & M Snowflake Cookie Cutter Set // $10 value
• One OXO Good Grips 11” Balloon Whisk // $10 value
• One OXO Good Grips Silicone Cookie Spatula // $8 value

Giveaway rules:

1. Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter widget below. Everyone gets a free entry! You can enter multiple times, up to 65 total entries by following the giveaway sponsors on social media. (If you’ve followed in the past, that counts! Just enter the information as prompted.) All entries will be verified. No purchase is necessary to win.
2. The giveaway is open until Saturday, December 19, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. CST. One winner will be chosen at random and e-mailed within 48 hours. Winners must claim prize within 48 hours of initial contact. The retail value of the prize is $690. Prizes listed above are the only ones available.
3. Open to U.S. residents with a valid shipping address only. Must be 18 years of age as of December 5, 2015.
4. To read all giveaway terms and conditions, visit the giveaway terms and conditions page or click the option in the Rafflecopter below to review them.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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