December is for Cookies

Baking, bar dinners, and rainbow cookies

Dec 16, 2024

Hi friends,

While I was sick, I watched a lot of mesmerizing cookie videos on YouTube. Much like certain retail stores exist as museums of creation and design, some cookie videos seem purely theoretical and aspirational. I grew up baking and have a decent amount of counter space thanks to my Ikea island, but I do not have the wherewithal to make some of these recipes. I admire those who do—it’s an art form. But outside of a test kitchen or an enormous suburban home with multiple fridges and spacious ovens, having space to roll and freeze and dip and bake and cool and glaze and drizzle is not feasible for me. I see recipes recommend putting two sheet pans in the freezer and then into the oven. My oven fits one sheet tray at best (only if the tray is slightly shrunk, new ones don’t fit, it’s a quirk) and my freezer certainly couldn’t fit two.

When I talked to my friend Rose, an expert baker, I was relived that she related to my questions about these cookies. She baked up a storm over the past week, making delicious cookie boxes that she hand delivered to lucky friends (I had her delicious sandwich cookies for breakfast today). I asked her how she did it and she told me about her meticulous schedule, the makeshift counters she had to build, and the air conditioning she had been running to keep the dough chilled (she’s a hero, hi Rose!). It’s a labor of love. All the holiday magic takes a whole lot of work and I am so grateful so many people (predominantly women) take it on during this time of year. For some people, it’s a zen process that brings a lot of joy (and there is so much joy in cooking for loved ones). Joy also coexists with stress sometimes and that’s okay.

When it came time for me to make some cookies for an upcoming dinner party, I went back and forth. Should I try something new and festive? Should I get out my food processor and construct a double boiler? Should I clear out the freezer? In the end, I decided to make my favorite chocolate chip cookies with a few festive twists (I added holiday sprinkles and vanilla bean paste). Even with a recipe that I’ve made countless times, it still took forever. I made the dough on Saturday and chilled it. On Sunday, I rolled out the balls and topped them each with flakey salt and more sprinkles (I couldn’t do this all at once because of space). After four rounds in the oven and a bit of cooling rack tetris, they were ready to go. They look great and I can’t wait to share them with my friends. I also still have to do the dishes after I finish writing this.

The other cookies I got this week came from Fortunato Brother’s, an Italian Bakery that makes holiday cookies on a scale I can’t even comprehend. I picked up some rainbow cookies and other treats on my walk home from the dentist and they turned a chilly Friday around. If you have cookies on the mind (they’re all over my apartment and Instagram feed), let’s chat in the comments. Do you bake, host, buy, eat, or all of the above? I’ve never been to a cookie party but am intrigued by the concept. Drop a recipe too if you’re in the mood

Now, lets’s dive in.

Something to cook:

First off, here is the chocolate chip cookie recipe I love. I stirred in some sprinkles with the chips and added more as a topping. Supernatural sprinkles are the best.

If I’m seeing you tomorrow, this is a spoiler alert.

I made

carla lalli music

’s one pan pasta ceci and she was right, it does only take 30 minutes. It was super delicious and hearty and made for great leftovers. The recipe is on her YouTube and it’s very intuitive if you’ve made chickpea pasta before. I stirred in spinach, just like I do with my other chickpea pasta recipe (it’s two pans since you make a rosemary finishing oil).

I had a lot of very good sandwiches for lunch this week thanks to Ayoh (client), which is absolutely delicious! We set up a sandwich station in the office kitchen and each brought different ingredients. The dill pickle mayo is my favorite—it has chunks of pickles in it and made a simple cheese and veggie sandwich beyond delicious. Sandwiches are full of possibility

Something to order:

We had our Isetta team holiday party at Thief, which becomes a holiday bar this time of year. Even my Diet Coke was served in a festive glass and we brought in tacos and chips from Casa Publica across the street. I’m always grateful to work with such lovely people.

Isa and I caught up on a chilly night at Oma Grassa, a pizza place in Fort Greene, that’s not too loud or crowded, an ideal setting. The pizzas were very good—we got a classic cheese pie with mushrooms and the greens pie, which is a white pie with lots of arugula. Their house made chili flakes were actually spicy too. Ivy came through with this recommendation!

Holidng space for Isa’s incredible Wicked inspired manicure

We celebrated Hillary’s birthday at Monte’s in Greenwich Village, which has been open since 1918! It reminded me of Bamonte’s, which is of a similar age and vibe, which means I loved it. We got carafes of wine and housemade pasta. I had the fettuccine with mushroom sauce, which was so good and savory. The desserts are fabulous—the tartufo was the crowd favorite but you can’t go wrong.

Frida celebrated her birthday with karaoke at Chino Grande, which starts at 10:30, and at least on the night we were there, attracted some very good singers. Before our late call time, I had a solo bar dinner at Cozy Royale, which is always a delight.