Usher

Planning on giving away holiday cookie trays this year? To save on stress from long kitchen hours, plan on something else: a cookie swap.

The swap is a simple, fun and tasty way to not only to stock up on a few extra cookies and recipes, but to spend time with friends and get in the holiday spirit, says Julia M. Usher, author of “Cookie Swap.”

“For me, there is no better way to entertain than through a cookie swap where everyone jumps into the party spirit — and helps ease the workload — by sharing his or her favorite cookies and recipes, and, most importantly, the memories and stories that go along with those recipes,” Usher says.

She will share her own cookies and recipes as well as talk about the art of the cookie swap — and how to do them all year long, not just around the holidays — at 1 p.m. Sunday at The Bay Leaf, 717 Mass.

Usher plans to share recipes and sign copies of her book, which is charted as the No. 3 cookie book currently on Amazon.com.

For more information, go to www.juliausher.com.