DIY Cookie Mix in a Jar: The $5 Gift People Ask Me to Make Every Year

DIY Cookie Mix in a Jar: The $5 Gift People Ask Me to Make Every Year

I almost ruined Christmas with a funnel and a bag of brown sugar. That’s the short version. The long version involves my kitchen floor, a very judgmental cat, and the moment I accidentally invented what is now my most-requested holiday gift: a cookie mix in a jar gift that costs about five dollars to make … Read more

The Cookie Box That Saved My Relationship With My Mother-in-Law (No Joke)

The Cookie Box That Saved My Relationship With My Mother-in-Law (No Joke)

I still remember standing in my kitchen at 11 p.m. on a Thursday, covered in powdered sugar, with a sink full of dirty bowls and approximately zero functioning brain cells left — all because I had promised my mother-in-law, Diane, that I would bring “something homemade” to Easter dinner. Diane, bless her heart, is the … Read more

Cookie Gift Baskets for Every Occasion: I Made 30 of These Last Holiday Season

Cookie Gift Baskets for Every Occasion: I Made 30 of These Last Holiday Season

I want to tell you about the year I confidently committed to making thirty — yes, thirty — cookie gift baskets homemade from scratch, announced it to my entire extended family in a group chat, and then completely forgot that December also contains things like school concerts, work deadlines, and the basic human need for … Read more

12 Cookies That Ship Beautifully: My Tested Mail-Order Cookie List

12 Cookies That Ship Beautifully: My Tested Mail-Order Cookie List

Let me tell you about the Great Cookie Catastrophe of last December, which is what my sister now refers to as “the incident.” I had spent an entire weekend baking what I believed were gorgeous, perfectly iced sugar cookies — little snowflakes, mittens, the whole festive lineup — and shipped them off to my college … Read more

How to Package Homemade Cookies as Gifts: Presentation That Makes People Actually Cry

How to Package Homemade Cookies as Gifts: Presentation That Makes People Actually Cry

I almost didn’t give them away. It was the night before my mother-in-law’s retirement party, and I had spent an entire Saturday baking four dozen brown butter chocolate chip cookies — the kind with sea salt flakes on top and crispy edges and a center that stays soft for days. I had flour in my … Read more