| Good Saturday morning, everyone. I hope you had baking on your weekend agenda — or that you're willing to be persuaded — because after many months of work, I can finally say this: It's holiday cookie time! The Post's 21st annual collection of seasonal treats is officially out in the world, and I am so happy to be able to share it with you in this, my seventh year overseeing the reader-favorite tradition. While we have our usual mix of chocolate and spice, chewy and crisp, big and little, what I am most excited about with this year's 11 new recipes is that eight of them don't require any kind of mixer. Everyone should be able to make (and receive) cookies, no matter their skill level or equipment, so if you can stir together a dough or batter, you're well on your way to baking bliss here. I'm a firm believer that dietary needs shouldn't hold you back either, which is why there are vegan and gluten-free options for all of our new recipes that didn't already meet those requirements. You'll find the full lineup below, but allow me to preview a few recipes I'll be adding to my repertoire. First up: pastry chef Kareem Queeman's Strawberry Oat Crumble Bars, a one-bowl, pantry-friendly recipe that uses the same melted butter, oat and sugar mixture for both the base and topping. My tasters loved this one so much, I had to send it out to a few people before it was even published. Regular readers know I'm a big tea drinker, particularly Earl Grey, meaning cookbook author Nicole Rucker's London Fog Crinkle Cookies were a no-brainer to include. Based on a coffee house favorite, these big, cakey cookies with a delightfully crisp exterior come together especially easily because there's no need to let the butter come up to room temperature. I may love chocolate even more than tea, so I couldn't get enough of pastry chef Rochelle Cooper's Fruitcake Mosaiko. This Greek no-bake confection, similar to chocolate salami, is pretty much a sliceable ganache. It's packed with chopped cookies, nuts and freeze-dried fruit, which create an eye-catching stained glass appearance when sliced. If you can't imagine the holiday season without decorating cookies, have I got a treat for you. We recruited cookbook author and Food Network star Molly Yeh to share her Sugar Cookies With Buttercream 'Embroidery' as our showcase cookie project. Even less confident decorators (hi, it's me) can follow the step-by-step instructions — with photos — to create cute snowmen, snowflakes and more. Even if making scenes out of little dots is not your thing, know that the sugar cookie, with or without the glaze, is a tasty, simple treat. I hope you enjoy baking and eating this year's cookies as much as I did, but if you need more inspiration, check out our updated holiday cookie generator, which features more than 400 recipes from the last 21 years. Not already a Post subscriber? Both of the links here will take you to an offer for a special $7 week pass, no commitment required, that will give you unlimited access to all our cookie content and recipes, as well as the entire Post website, for seven days. While not a cookie per se, Ellie Krieger's Tahini Crunch Chocolate Bark is another option for giving to friends and family. The topping of tahini, shredded wheat cereal and sesame seeds brings both crunch and a bit of nutrition. We offered more than desserts this week, of course. The Shrimp Pilau that Aaron Hutcherson shared from culinary historian and cookbook author Michael W. Twitty is a weeknight-friendly version of a classic pilaf from South Carolina's Lowcountry. Cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon's Dan Dan Noodle Salad, featured in Daniela Galarza's Eat Voraciously newsletter, is a vegan take on the popular Sichuan dish typically made with meat. Here, broccoli and baby bok choy take center stage along with ramen noodles and a creamy, spicy dressing. Have a cooking question Aaron and I can help with? We'll be hosting our last live chat of 2025 next Wednesday at noon Eastern before we take a break for the holidays. Send along those inquiries now, then be sure to come back when we kick things off. Until next week, happy cooking — and baking. |
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