A few weeks ago I got invited to be part of a cookie swap.

This is where you bring a few dozen cookies to a party and “swap” them with the others who show up with cookies, too. You share your recipe, you get a few new ones, it’s a win-win all the way around.

But this cookie swap was different.

There was no real “party.” And the “swap” part wouldn’t be done in person.

This was a virtual swap — called The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap — hosted by bloggers (and my Instagram and Twitter pals) Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen.

Here’s how it worked: we were e-mailed the names of three other food bloggers to whom we would mail a dozen cookies. I sent my cookies — kakimochi chocolate chip sweetheart cookies — to three food bloggers: Katherine Crepeau (@katherine_june), Heather Eure (@hleure), and Monica Rodriguez (@iarethefoodsnob).

Apparently, mine were among the 22,000 cookies that were mailed around the world as part of this swap.

That’s a lot of cookies.

And as part of this “swap,” we’re sharing our recipes with you, too. (No, I’m not mailing out any more cookies!)

So here’s what I baked and shipped. Hope you enjoy them, too.

If you’re interested in participating next year, sign up here.

Kakimochi chocolate chip sweetheart cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup crushed kakimochi (arare, mochi crunch or Japanese rice crackers)
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Enough heart-shaped kakimochi to decorate each cookie

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-1/2-by-13-inch pan with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray (such as Pam).

Pour about 4 ounces of kakimochi — or half an 8-ounce bag — into a plastic, sealable freezer bag. Using a rolling pin — or, like me, your hands and some brawn — crush the rice crackers into small pieces. Do NOT pulverize in a blender or food processor. Set aside.

In a bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Combine this mixture with the wet ingredients. Then add the crushed kakimochi and about 6 ounces (or half a 12-ounce bag) of mini chocolate chips. Don’t overmix the batter. (If you do, the gluten would overdevelop and result in a denser cookie with an unpleasant texture.)

Spoon a small ball onto the prepped cookie sheets and press them down slightly. Place the heart-shaped kakimochi (or any shape, really) onto the middle of each flattened ball.

Bake about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, then store in refrigerator.

Adding dry ingredients

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In a separate bowl, blend flour and baking soda. Then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Once you've added the dry ingredients, don't overmix. That can lead to dense cookies with an unpleasant texture.