For the second year running, FIJI Water and the Lower Eastside Girls Club in New York are sponsoring a really sweet way to enjoy the best of the holiday season, and contribute to charity, too.

The 2nd Annual Holiday Cookie Swap and Bake-Off happens Saturday, December 18, from 1 to 4 p.m. at La Vie Restaurant and Lounge in the East Village of Manhattan. Proceeds from the event go to the Girls Club’s job training programs.

Have Your Cookies and Eat Them, Too

The idea for the charity cookie swap came from old-fashioned cookie swaps, where friends or family members bake a big batch of cookies, then come together and divvy them up. Last year’s swap was a hit: Despite a massive blizzard, guests poured in and we sold every cookie.

Besides FIJI Water, the event is sponsored by King Arthur Flour, Mionetto Prosecco, and Green & Black’s Chocolate. (I feel a recipe coming on already…)

On the day of the event, 25 volunteer bakers will stake out space in La Vie with their wares. Each baker will have a minimum of six dozen cookies each (25 bakers X 6 dozen = at least 1,800 holiday cookies!).

Arriving guests receive an empty holiday cookie tin and a complimentary glass of Mionetto Prosecco with admittance, and then are set loose to fill their tins: Cookies are on sale for $0.50-2.00 each. 

At the end of the day, cookies will be judged by a panel of celebrity chefs and bakers. The winner will be awarded the King Arthur Flour Best Cookie Award and a “Baker’s Basket” of amazing kitchen ingredients and accessories valued at over $500.

But this is a cookie swap, so everybody is a winner.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Proceeds go towards the the Girls Club’s job training programs.

The scene at last year's swap.

A Sweet Event for a Sweet Cause

Proceeds from this event will benefit job-training programs in the culinary arts for economically disadvantaged Lower East Side teens.

Every year, the Lower Eastside Girls Club trains girls and young women to work in its commercial bakery through its Cookie Academy program. This program offers much needed professional skills development to Lower East Side teens, and give them that “first job” experience. With teen unemployment at over 50% nationally, and way higher on the Lower East Side, there is a great need for this type of programming.

FIJI Water, the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and all of our co-sponsors are proud to offer a youth-run venture that will satisfy your palate and sweet tooth at an affordable price.