Sunday Special: ’Tis the Season for Cookies

Get three months half price when you switch to an unlimited SIM with three. That means quick streaming, faster downloads and more money to spend on the things you love. Join the UK's fastest 5G network and get your unlimited SIM today. Buy now in store or see 3.co.uk. Unlimited 24-month light plan. Proof of switching required, based on Euclis B test intelligence data, 2H 2025. Full rights reserved, subject to credit checks and turns. Welcome everyone to the Sunday special, I'm Gilbert Cruz. The holidays are upon us and that means so many people are doing a lot of cooking and baking and hosting parties, all of that fun stuff. Here at the New York Times, it's Cookie Week. We all love cookies. Cookies are great, cookies are wonderful. I personally can only eat gluten free ones, which is probably why I just never realized what a big deal Cookie Week was around here, or frankly even what it was. My guests today are two people who think a lot about cookies of course, but also about hot baking and cooking and entertaining. Because it's their job to do so, Melissa Clark and Vaughn Vrilyn. Melissa Clark has been writing about food for the times for almost 20 years. She is a weekly column, she writes one of our cooking newsletters. And is it true I read this in your bio, have you written 45 cookbooks? That is true. 45. Yeah, you know, cookbooks are a volume business. Okay. Maybe we'll get it to that. I didn't know that was possible. Welcome Melissa. Thank you so great to be here. And Vaughn Vrilyn writes the big time newsletter. Cookie is also the editor of a new cookbook just out this fall titled simply cookies. Cookies. Vaughn, welcome. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. I'm very excited for what we're going to do here, which is talk about cookie week and also to eat some cookies. So let's start with the basics. Tell us about cookie week. Cookie week. Okay. So in 2020, we were kind of figuring out ways of bringing people together. So we were kind of thinking, you know, holidays, people might feel very isolated. How are we going to ultimately try to have something where people feel very engaged online? And we decided to host a virtual cookie exchange. It was at first a small kind of handheld operation where everybody was just filming themselves in their apartments or their homes, making cookies that meant a lot to them. And then the next year we invited people back to our studio for year two. And then it just kind of snowballed, pardon the awful pun. And into this thing that was just bigger than itself. Yeah. Well, I mean, cookies have always been part of our holiday coverage because you can't do the holidays without doing cookies. We've done cookie boxes. We've done cookie swaps. We have done reader cookies. But then in 2020, we decided to really codify it and make it a thing and a celebratory thing. And it's taken off. And it's just so fun because it's something that people look forward to every year. What are the New York Times cookies going to be for cookie week? While we celebrate all the cookies that we have in our database, we also have seven specific cookies, one that we highlight every single day. And you, Vaughn, are like the, are you the organizer at the MC of this all? Like what is that? Yeah, I would say now I'm more so the MC of kind of the, the, the, what are your responsibilities as MC? Well, we have some live events that we do. Apart from that, kind of the planning phases, trying to figure out, you know, is there a theme this year? Like who do we want to be involved in this? It's a lot of, I feel like I'm the MC in Cabaret where I'm just like, I'm behind the scenes pulling the strings. But you have your own number. That's true. You do have your own number. And I'm causing chaos, of course. But yeah, so I think that that's kind of, that's my job is just to like, you know, be a, be a purveyor of a fun. That's what baking is. That's what cookies are. They're fun. The Cabaret MC is very creepy. I'm not getting creepy vibes from you. Well, it depends on your today. That is true. That is true. So was there a theme for the cookies this year? Yes. This year our theme was, but make it a cookie. So we, the last two years have been just kind of trying to like identify themes that have really jumped out at us for what cookies are popular with people. It seems like a lot of times we have these flavor profiles that people might not necessarily associate with the cookie, right? Like a drink turned into a cookie. And you've done a lot of that. Yeah. So we, I think not to, to my own horn or anything like that, but I think that those cookies a lot of times people, they're like, oh, I didn't realize that we could have a gingerbread latte, but as a cookie. So this year we kind of ran with that theme a lot. Yeah. And it's a good way, it's also a good way to get people, I mean, you know, we're using the same flavors, you know, there's only a limited number of flavors you can really use in a cookie, but we're spinning it a little different. And that makes it more fun, I think, because it's like a gingerbread latte cookie. So it's adding a little bit of coffee to a gingerbread, right? So that's a fun twist. And then calling it latte makes it really fun. It just takes it up a notch. Well speaking of, I mean, you're cookie this year really. I was like so pleasantly surprised when I tasted that cookie. Well, it's not even really a cookie. Oh, wait, it was a big, we have a debate here. This is a big debate in the cookie world. Is it, okay, here's a question. Should we put it to Gilbert? It's a brownie, a cookie. I mean, this is really like a hot dog sandwich. Exactly. Exactly. It's a cookie addition. Well, when I saw your recipe, my first question was, oh, we're brownies or cookies now. I have not come to a conclusion on it, but I'd love to hear what the debate was about your, well, tell us about your quote cookie. I'm going with it. I think brownies are absolutely cookie. Well, first of all, cookies, I feel like we need a nice broad definition, especially around the holidays when you're making a cookie box. You want as many options as possible. So brownies are in, blondies are in. And the cookie that I did this year is a Vietnamese coffee brownie. So it has the flavors of Vietnamese coffee. So it's got that espresso, you want like a bitter espresso. And then you want the contrast of sweetened condensed milk. And it's both of those things in a brownie. And it's said to, I mean, if you think about those flavors, they work really well together. And then putting in a brownie form with that chew and a little, you know, crunchy edges, it's so good. Okay. I feel like you're slightly avoiding the cookie as a brownie. That's a true question here. Is it okay? Okay. Yes. Okay. Well, so what is a, define a cookie? Webster is defined as cookie as. No, Gilbert. If Melissa says it's so, it is so. You know, that's the real answer. That's the real answer. There we go. I mean, auditions change. Definitions change. Dictionary definitions change. But don't you think a cookie is a sweet little thing that you pick up that you can, you know, it's like a little small bite of something that is sweet and delicious. You were the one to convince me. I mean, I would follow you blindly in the book, obviously with pretty much everything. But yeah, I mean, I think if we can call any sort of bar cookie, like if a blondie is a cookie, then why can't a brownie be a cookie? I don't know. Or a lemon bar is a lemon bar cookie. Blonds can't have all the fun. I also love the idea. Gilbert will talk about cookie tins as like an item, but opening up one of these things and seeing a brownie or a bar or something in there that sort of mixes up just like the visuals of it. If you're going to call, if you want to have cookie week and you want to include brownies, it's going to make more people happy. Therefore, it is a cookie. That is just a good definition right there. Let me ask you, Vaughn, about your cookie, which when I first saw the title of it as someone who loves movies, I said, oh, this is interesting. Then I saw all the ingredients and I was like, I don't know about this. Then I saw the video of you making it. I was like, I would like to make that. Thank you. Well, so my cookie this year is a popcorn bucket cookie because one of my favorite things about, well, just life in general, but also the holidays is watching movies with people that I love. The popcorn bucket cookie has all of your favorite movie theater candy in it. It's brushed and butter rolled in crushed popcorn baked topped with a little flaky sea salt. It is kind of like my, I would say childhood dream, but also my like 32 year old dream of just like getting a handful of popcorn raisinets, sour patch kids, Kit Katz all of them. So you can customize this cookie with whatever candy you want. What candy would you put in there? Well, I would put Heath bars in there. Junior mints. Junior mints. Just because you know, Junior mints, like that's my favorite movie candy. Oh, yeah, that would actually be really good. You know, the only one that I'm not rocking with, I think is maybe a milk dud. Milk dud, they're hard to chew. Milk, yeah, they are so, they're too much. I think they're going to get. And I think that they would bake, yeah, they would bake up weird snow caps. We're like a little, what do we think about whoppers? Oh, I love a whopper. Oh, that would be good. You got to chop it up. Yeah, whopper would be good. I actually did put whoppers in one of my tests. It was fantastic. Tell us about a fail. Tell us about two flavors you tried to put together. Oh, I mean, gummy bears and raisinets. I think, well, that's specific to this cookie, but I also learned the hard way that you cannot put gummy bears in the oven. Yes, yes. It's got it. I mean, it was a molten mess. It was like the, just imagine what that looks like. Melissa, it was the tenth circle of hell in my oven. I opened it up and it was smoky because it had somehow crept over the edge of my rimed baking sheet. Oh, my God. It was alive. Yeah, it was alive. The gummy bears were revolting in the oven. They were trying to escape. So what are some of the other cookies that we have as part of cookie week this year? So we've got a mortadella cookie, which is actually really interesting. It's kind of, it's made to look like the salume, but it's got free-stried strawberries and almond paste in it and it has the pistachios that you would find in mortadella, but then also macadamia nuts, which is kind of like harkens that little pocket of fat. The little, the little white fat. Yeah, yeah. Those are fantastic. Those are great. They also look a lot like mortadella, which is kind of creepy. Yeah. I think it has freaked some people out. I don't want my cookies to look like meat, but again, I watched the video and I was sold. I feel like for me, actually seeing the way that these things come together make me more likely to want to try something. You get to see the people having fun, you know? We have a lot of fun when we do this. Oh, they're great. And people also, I mean, it makes it easier for people to really understand the process. I mean, a mortadella cookie. Like, what is that? Even if you see the picture, you're not exactly sure. And then to watch, Claire make them, like all of a sudden, in all clicks. So there's the mortadella cookie. There's a coconut. The coconut cake snowballs, which are really fun. The developer who made them Samantha, Santa Verrata wanted to kind of play with the idea of those hostess snowballs that you get, but also I remember the fond light. But also like a beautiful coconut cake. So they don't have that chocolate center like you would get in the hostess version, but it's just like this gorgeous tender coconut cake ball that's made into a cookie. It's like a miniature coconut cake. It's so good. It's like a bite size. I mean, so then is that a cookie? Of course, it's a cookie. Absolutely. It's like a rectangular square, right? Like I think it's all kind of, to me, what you said, if you have fun with it, then that's a cookie. I love the, I love the payday cookies. The peanut ones are so good. Those are delicious. Those are like salty peanut caramel crunchy. It's like the candy bar payday, which I love. There's also, I believe, Eric Kim had a chocolate mint. This is like a, it's like a bark, right? It's like a bark. Okay. And that one's great because it's like this creamy mint topping on top of a cookie. And then it's got chocolate. It's like the flavors of, you know, those andy's candies, those little andy's mints. Yeah, the ones they leave on your in the hotel. Hotel pillow. Exactly. So that's the, those are the flavors. And they're just, it's creamy. It's minty. It's chocolatey. Vaughn, you spoke at the beginning about this idea of taking a cocktail and making it into a dessert or a sweet or a cookie. And there is one on this list that falls right into that category. Ah, yes. The darkened stormy, I do love a beverage as a cookie. So your brownie, Melissa and the darkened stormy could be two of my favorites on this list. The darkened stormy cookie is this ginger cookie that's got like chopped up crystallized ginger in it. And then it also has a rum lime glaze. And when you bite into it, it's like actually really, it's pretty runny. Like that's what I love. It's incredible. It's incredible. It's incredible. When you hear the words, you want to taste the flavors. Yes. What do you do? Like, oh, like last year, your buttered rum cookie? Oh, yeah. That was one of my favorite cookies of all times. Did you have that one that one? No, what tell us about this? Okay, so that is actually, it's a gluten-free cookie. It is made with almond flour. And it is like a little macaroon almost in it. I mean, I'm talking about your cookie. You should be talking about your cookie, but I'm going to go on anyway because I love it so much. And it's got sliced almonds. So almond flour, sliced almonds in a little ball. And then you just brush buttered like butter and rum right on top of it. And that makes it so delicious. I told you, I'm a maximalist at home these days. That sounds so good. I like to guild the lily. So that one is just, it really is one of my all-time favorite cookies. Oh, what was that? Thank you. I think before we go much further, it'd be sort of perverse to do so much talking about cookies without eating some cookies. Please. I have to admit something. I sort of nodded to this at the beginning, but I don't eat cookies much anymore because I learned eight, 10 years ago, I can't remember now. It feels like it's always been far in my life. Then I cannot eat gluten. I have a celiac condition, which changed my entire relationship to food, to bread, to pastries, to beer, to all the wonderful things, wonderful things in this world. Cookies being one of them. Melissa, you were so nice. You brought in some cookies, however, that are gluten-free. It did. That I can eat. Oh, I'm excited for you to try. This is a recipe that is on NWT cooking, and it's for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. This is the kindest thing that someone has done for me in Kauai. I'm going to open this plastic. This beautiful plastic container. The container here. This is good, though, because I haven't had breakfast. How long? I'm so used to not eating on, like, when I'm trying to talk, because we're all just going to be sloppy together. No, I know. This is possibly a terrible idea, because we're supposed to be doing a lot of talking, and now I have a cookie in my mouth. It's just delicious. They're good. Ooh, they're good. I don't bake and I don't cook. Can I bake these? Is it? Yeah, they're so easy. They're so easy. Okay. Just like a regular chocolate chip cookie, which is a really simple thing. You cream the butter. You add your sugar, your egg, and then you add almond flour. The almond flour, really, it just makes them very tender. I feel like these are particularly tender to eat them in fun. Oh, yeah. This is a fantastic recipe. You have to let the dough sit. You do not have to let the dough sit. I think that that is where you would shine. You'll burn. Is doing nothing? Well, I feel like a lot of novice bakers. I agree. Instant gratification. And especially with a chocolate chip cookie, usually a glutinous one. You have to let it sit, let the flour hydrate, let the flavors develop. But this, you can just bake right away. Yeah. In fact, and the dough is excellent. That is very good dough. Yes, we ate a lot of the dough. My kid and I, we enjoyed the dough and enjoyed the cookies. Those were delicious. Thank you very much. Oh, I am so glad you enjoyed them. All right. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we'll answer some reed of questions about cookies, holiday, entertaining, and more. We might even have a cocktail question in there. Ooh. We'll be right back. Hi, this is Ashley. I live in San Francisco with my boyfriend. We would love to officially share my New York time subscription with separate logins. We both love cooking, love being in the kitchen, but I'm at 30 minute and under efficient dinner early. I want a sheet pan meal. He is very elaborate. He wants to get into the storytelling. I want to be able to save my easy meals and check off the ones that I've completed. And I think him having his own profile would be great. Ashley, we heard you. Introducing the New York Times family subscription. You get your own login and Mr. elaborate gets his. Plus room for two others. Find out more at nytimes.com slash family. Okay. So a few weeks ago, we asked New York Times readers to send us questions about holiday baking, cooking, and entertaining, and we got a ton. Thank you so much to everyone who sent in a question. Since we only have so much time, we've picked questions that in most cases, many people wrote us about. And we're going to take on cookie questions first. Kathleen in Dallas, Texas wants to know if there are three cookie varieties that, quote, use the same based dough, unquote, and can save our time by just mixing up what the final additions to that dough might be. Yeah. So I love that question because that's exactly how I bake a lot of my Christmas cookies. The way to think about it is when you take, so you take your base dough, let's just say it's a shortbread dough. You make a double or triple batch, you have a lot of it, and then you put it in, you divide it up. And after you divide it up, that's when you can start personalizing it. And what you want to do, you want to do two things. You want to add flavor, and then you want to change the shape. So visually your cookies need to look different, and then they need to taste different. So what I would do is I would add spices, or I would make a sandwich cookie out of them. So you could put jam in the middle, or you could put buttercream in the middle. You could dip them in chocolate. You could put nuts on top of them. Oh my god. All of the nature balls, and then you could roll them in coconut. You could roll them out with a rolling pin, and you can cut them into shapes. So you have so many options. The thing about shortbreads, I find that they are the most versatile because you can do so many things with them. You know, like chocolate chip cookies are always going to have that chewy texture, and then you add different add-ins, right? Brownies are always going to have that brownie texture. So, but something like a gingerbread or a shortbread are going to give you the most options because you can change the shape. Another reader, Sam in Boston, says that, quote, four decades at holiday time, specifically on Christmas Eve, my family and I would bring treats to our local fire department. Last year, a close friend who was a firefighter reported that his fire department gets inundated with cookies at holiday time. Unquote. This is good to know. Sam from Boston wants to know if there are savory items that they could be making instead. Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm from North Carolina, so my mom makes cheese straws all the time. You know, there's like, it actually kind of... It actually does are good. So I think cheese straws would be a really fun bake to go with, and then you pair that with pimento cheese. Oh. That's gilding the lily. I think that cheese on cheese. Cheese on cheese, why not? Give it a little, add a little cayenne into the cheese straws because that little bit of spice that comes on the back end keeps them going back for more. Oh, God. Love that. Love, love. Listeners, we're recording this in 10 of the morning. I'm so hungry right now. Do you have any suggestions, Melissa, for savory options? Well, yeah, so... Spice knots. Just like delicious spicy knots. That's very simple. Yeah, very simple, but they're really good. We also have a couple of recipes for sweet and spicy knots that you do with a little bit of egg white and you can make them on the sweeter side, on the spicier side. I personally love them with rosemary, lemon zest, and then they just get real in salt, of course, good salt. They're just like the perfect thing to just snack on and very satisfying in the crunch. Firefighters, notoriously hungry people. Hungry people. Vandy, in Oakland, California asks, quote, why do some cookies taste as good or better in days three, four, and beyond, while others are only truly good the day they are baked? How do I pick recipes or pack cookies to last? I think that there's a variety of different factors of how cookies can keep. Obviously, what you're storing them in, Melissa brought the cookies in today and an airtight container. Always suggest that. If you're storing them in like a zip top bag, for example, there is room for a lot of air to kind of get in there and steal your cookies out. But ultimately, it kind of just depends on the ratios of fat in the recipe a lot of the time. Or if there's oats, for example, in a recipe, those are going to draw a lot of moisture out of your cookie. I love a snickerdoodle cookie because the traditional snickerdoodle has cream of tartar in it. Cream of tartar is this kind of acidic thing that honestly makes the cookies better and softer on day two or day three a lot of the time. I think that those types of cookies do keep really well. You're like softer, chewier cookies, but also a shortbread if it's very snappy and tender. I think is a good cookie that will keep for a long time. I have this brownie cookie recipe that also I think tastes better on day two or day three. If you're storing them correctly, they're not going to stale as much. I think that the only ones that really are the best on the day that they're made are the chocolate chips. Chocolate chip cookies are just amazing on day one. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies however last a lot longer. I'm glad I got them on day two here at Melissa. No, but gluten free is actually a different chemical. No, they're very good. But no, chocolate chip cookies, because you want them soft, right? You want them and you want them a little warm. I mean, that's the real joy of it is within a few hours so that they keep that texture. Otherwise, I think most cookies keep pretty well. Cookies with spices and cookies that have chocolate in them get better because they're flavor settle. If you're looking for cookies that get better after day two, day three, find a spice cookie, like a stick or doodle, for example, that would have nutmeg in it or gingerbread, of course, keeps... Gingerbread keeps like a month. It really does because there are so many spices in there. You put them in as long as you store them properly airtight. They're going to last. One more question on this theme. This is from Polly and Stafford, Virginia. She says that she and a friend they have this tradition of baking all their holiday cookies together over the course of, you know, a long weekend. She says, quote, it's a chance for us to visit. We go home with dozens and dozens of cookies. What is the best way to wrap cookies to store in the freezer for later? You really want an airtight container with layers of parchment in between the cookies. I actually have a few of these. I have these big airtight containers. You do one layer of cookies. You make sure that they are not overlapping. You want them flat in the container. Then you take some parchment paper, lay it on top and then do another layer. You really need a lot of freezer space because the containers are big, but they freeze perfectly. They really do... The cookies that freeze well, if you freeze them like that, I think most cookies really do freeze pretty well. I mean, not morangs, morangs don't freeze well. But, you know, your average cookies are going to freeze perfectly. I do them that way and they'll last at least a month if not more. You know, I learned this trick. It might have been for you. I can't remember if it was for you or not Melissa, but if you crumple up the parchment paper, it kind of fills in the pockets of the space in your airtight container. So it almost acts more like a tissue paper that's food safe. And that also keeps the cookies a little bit more protected, a little bit more insulated. Also a good way to ship cookies, too. If you want to ship cookies to your friends, again, pick those cookies that are going to be better on kind of day two or day three, obviously. But yeah. So it's real, these are real projects right here. I really forgot about to say that. That is such an important nuance there. Okay. We are going to move on now from cookies and into more general holiday entertaining questions. We had a few people asking about signature cocktails for a party. This question is from Alicia in Hopewell, Junction, New York. She says, quote, with fewer people drinking alcohol these days, side note, not me. I'd love some recipes for a sophisticated holiday punch or drink base, no sprite or sherbet that is delicious both with or without liquor. Do you want to take that? I feel like, well, first of all, I have to preface this by saying Melissa is the person who got me into batch cocktails, but you will also be hearing from my lawyer because you first time that I ever made a batch of Manhattan's was last year at Thanksgiving. And I learned the hard way that if you're making a batch of Manhattan's, you need to kitty proof all of the corners in your home because I tripped and fell and split my head up. Oh, God. So first of all, drink responsibly. Sorry. I don't know if I should be blamed for that. No, no, no, I'm just kidding. But I think, you know, I love at the holidays a cider. Any type of like apple cider that you can add lots of warming spices to citrus to you can steep those ingredients in the cider. And then, you know, you just have people spike it. Some people like rum, some people like bourbon, some people want vodka. And there's, you know, I think that that's a fun way of kind of creating something that pleases all sorts of drinkers. And what I like to do also is I like to do a simple syrup that's infused with something some really intense aromatics like I love rosemary and lemon. That's a flavor profile that work really well with a bunch of different alcohols. And it's also you can turn it into lemonade, right? With a sophisticated edge. So you make a simple syrup really easy equal parts sugar and water. And then you take some fresh rosemary and some lemon zest, let it simmer for a few minutes, strain it. And then you have this lovely, herbie, lemony, aromatic syrup. And then that is what you can use as the base for all kinds of punches. And mix it with celtzer. It's really good. It just makes this instant delicious soda that is so much better than Sprite, but you know, a crowd pleaser. Should I be embarrassed to admit that I buy simple syrup? Yes. It is so easy, Gilbert. Oh my God, you don't even have to. I appreciate your honesty. Just take sugar and water, hot water. You can boil a kettle, put it on the sugar. And it's sit there and boom. No, I mean, it's a little sour. You can setchully, I understand what you're saying. I make mine into microwave. Even better. You can literally just put equal parts sugar and water in a microwave, Gilbert. And in about two minutes, you've got it. Okay, we'll stop shaping him. If it's easier to buy it, buy it. You know what? No, if it works for people, it works for me. Exactly. So Gilbert, what is your kind of go to holiday? There is one that I made a couple years ago that I feel like I only break out around the holidays because there are way too many ingredients involved. But it's sort of like a cranberry orange Manhattan. Definitely, it's too sweet because after your sugar is way too high. But it's, you know, rye or bourbon, cranberry juice, you know, get some orange bitters in there or some orange juice. Maybe you top it off with a little ginger beer to give it a little kick. And you can batch it. That sounds great. I think that's it. I like the idea of what Melissa says, though, of adding your aromatics. I think whatever kind of base you're going with, adding rosemary, adding citrus, adding ginger root, those types of things are really going to kind of elevate your batch cocktail. I think it feels just a little bit more special. I think ginger beer is really smart too because you're adding that and you're giving it a kick. So in a way, ginger beer is like an infused thing that you don't have to actually make you can buy. So that's very smart. Pay attention when you're making this. You'd not put ginger beer in the cocktail shaker. Top it off. I've done it several times and I taste it like, oh, I messed this up again. Our next question is about what to serve for a holiday meal. I feel like we can do a whole episode on this, but there's one question here from Lauren in Levenia, Michigan. And Lauren asks, what's a good main course meat to serve that's not a ham or turkey, but not so easy to overcook or expensive like a prime root? Oh, I say I'm a big stew person, a breeze of stew, so like lamb shanks or short ribs because you can make it ahead. It's special because you're not going to buy a cut like that, but it's not as expensive as a prime rib. You can't overcook it. It's going to just fall off the bone and be delicious and you make the whole thing the day before. Heat it up on for your dinner. It's festive. It's special. It's not going to break the bank and it's low stress because you can do it ahead. Yeah. The idea of making something ahead, particularly when you're having people over, when you're hosting people, is really underrated. It's the life. I mean, I don't like to cook aluminum for anybody except my husband. Like, literally, I do not want to make. I don't want a chance at I want to do it ahead. No, Melissa is the queen of make ahead. Any time we're at a pitch meeting, it's like, make ahead Christmas. Yes. I think that's a fantastic idea. You know, when you were saying that, the wheels got turning and I'm like, what if you did that kind of turned it into like a Guinness pie of sorts, like a British, like, you know, add some short crust pastry pie dough, puff pastry on top and then bake it. You can do individual servings. You could do it as a large format thing. And that kind of makes it feel a little bit more festive too. Or like mashed potatoes. Yeah. The little chef or pie by cottage pie. I know. My answer for that was going to be pork tenderloin, but then that is also easy to overcook. I mean, I know for myself, it's like one glass of wine later and I didn't hear the time. Yeah. Our next question is it's less about food and drink and more about entertaining itself, specifically about party favors. Laura in Manhattan asks, other than the standard Christmas party crackers, what could I place on each plate that would be entertaining and festive and spark conversation at the dinner table? Okay. What about horoscopes, daily horoscopes for all your guests to find out their birthdays and cut them out. When you, I would like that. That is really fun. That is a great idea. It crackers is in like the open. Yes, the things that you pull and it makes a little snap. Oh, got it. Okay. First, I was like, my mind was going what to put on a charcootry board that's going to get the girls talking. I was like, I don't know. I'm like, my mind goes to conversation starters. Like, what movie have you seen the most in your life? What's that one song that can make you happy no matter what? You know, you can write that on. You can write down your questions on like festive paper and put them at each setting. Yeah, that's true. Everyone is responsible. At some point in the dinner for picking them up and entering that question. That's a good idea. I like that too. Everyone gets a different question, right? So one person is like, okay, what's the movie you've seen the most? The next person is like, okay. What song do you know by heart? I like that. We should do that. Okay. Let's do that. Let's do that. Holiday party. Holiday party. Before we move on to our game, I have one last question for the two of you, which is what are each of you planning on making for your holiday meals? I think Melissa's going to cook something ahead. I am. I've asked exactly what I'm doing. Also, Buko. So, also Buko. So, Viel Shank. And it's just this white wine with tomatoes. And I put some anchovy in there. Let it simmer the day before. And then for serving, you do like a fresh herb grommelata with lemon zest. See my favorite. So all the same things. I'm talking the same things. Lemon zest, fresh herbs, garlic right on top. And so I'm going to do that, I think. If you are shopping for Melissa Clark for the holidays, just get her a bat of lemon zest. Actually, just get me seriously. Like, you know, it would be the best present for me as my husband listening. I would like to, I'd like a subscription, like a citrus subscription. Like, you know, you get like a box of citrus from some warm and sunny place delivered to your house in cold New York. I would like that. That is a good gift. So, a couple of years ago, I made Melissa Clark's beef Wellington. And my family was like, you're never making anything other than that ever again for Christmas dinner. So, what an endorsement. I know, truly, I usually actually do. And I'm not just blowing smoke. I usually do pick a Melissa Clark centerpiece. You do have a poor cat recipe too, right? I have a poor cataport. Yeah, I've made that one before. But the beef Wellington is the thing that my whole entire family was like, yeah, that's it. It's an investment time financially, but it pays off. It's so, so good. And also, you can kind of make it ahead. You can make it most of it ahead. It's true, just pop it in the up. You assemble the whole thing and then you just bake it. And you just bake it, yeah. We'll be right back and when we return, as we do every week, we're going to play a little game. We give times employees a preview of cross-play from New York Times Games. And here's what they had to say. I can finally play with other people. I'm pretty competitive. It's fun to beat friends and co-workers. I have a J for 10 points. I'm guessing tanga is not a word. Let's see. Tenga is a word. Oh. As an English as a second language speaker, I like it to learn new words. Cross-play. The first two-player word game from New York Times Games. Download it for free today. OK. As we've been discussing, all episode food is a non-negotiable part of the holiday season. And to start noticing it, you sort of realize that you can't sing a festive song or watch a holiday movie without being constantly reminded about food. So we have three rounds in this game about food and holiday culture. And you are going to buzz in to answer. Ooh, you are going to win. I am called. I don't know. I don't know. Hands on buzzers if you please. And one, which we are calling, bring us some figure-putting. I am going to describe the favorite meal of an iconic character from a holiday movie. You name the character. Ready? This character loves a large cheese pizza from Little Neuros. And if it served in the back of a limousine on the way to Duncan's toy chest, that would be even better. Vaughn. Kevin McCallister. Kevin McCallister from Home Alone and Home Alone 2, Colin, lost in New York. Lost in New York. The better Home Alone. That is correct. This character likes spaghetti with maple syrup and chocolate syrup and M&Ms and marshmallows and a chocolate fudge-hop tart crumbled on top. Vaughn. Buddy the elf, what's your favorite color? Buddy the elf. Oh my god. From the peel. I have a list. I get it again here. Oh, and I'm really bad at this kind of thing. All right. I'm going to write a 19th century literature. Oh boy. And we rewrite the quiz in real time. This character would like a turkey, specifically the prize turkey from the front window of the Polterers, the one that's twice the size of Tiny Tim. Vaughn. Ebenezer Scrooge? Ebenezer Scrooge from a Christmas car, which is literally— I'm just trying to help you. I'm just trying to help you. I'm just trying to help you. I'll give you right. Tiny Tim did. Okay. This character would also like a turkey. But if the bumpest is dogs should happen to get loose, he'd settle for peaking duck. Preferably headless. Bumpest is dog. That's our clue, but I don't get it. Okay. I mean, I guess I'll throw a Hail Mary. Is this Ralph from a Christmas story? The right movie wrong character. Oh, what is his name? This is Dad or the Old Man from a Christmas story. Right, right, right. This isn't embarrassing people. This isn't embarrassing. Okay. This character would like anything but a twinky. And definitely not a thousand-year-old twinky found in the drawer at Nakatomi Plaza while he's hiding from terrorists on Christmas Eve. Fawn. Bruce Willis' character in Die Hard. John something—oh, what is it? It's iconic. John McClain. John McClain, I almost— Oh, John McClain. Oh, John McClain. Oh, John McClain. Oh, John McClain. Oh, John McClain. There should be no argument over it. Round two. Here we come a wastling. Here we come a wastling. Christmas songs are full of references to food. We're going to play you a bit of a Christmas song and you fill in the missing food. Bonus points, if you sing. Oh, there you go, Bob. Let us begin. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Everywhere you go, take a look in the five and ten. Listening once again. Fawn. With candy canes and silver lanes a glow. Candy canes, that is the correct answer. That is Perry Como's classic version of its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. It does its your signs of stopping and I've bought some. Fawn. Corn for Poppin. That is Let It Snow Asperformed by Country Legend George Straight. Nice. I tried to get my little twang in there, did you? Okay, I definitely heard it. Next song. Fawn. Caw Fee. If you could have chested up the open fire, I'll get it, but that's not the only one. That is the song Sleigh Ride, and that version is performed by the 80s soft rock icons Air Supply. Oh God. Of course. Of course. Oh, Hanukkah, Hanukkah, Hanukkah, the light, the menorah, let's have a party, we'll all dance the horror, gather around the table, we'll hear the retreat, sick off the nymph, play with it. Lottkas to eat, and while we are playing, the candles are burning, at least I can cut it. Well, listen, you got it, I got it. I got it, I got it. I got it. Lottkas, Lottkas. That is Hanukkah, Hanukkah, performed by the bear naked ladies. Was it actually bear naked ladies? That was bear naked ladies. That was so good. Yorah's cutly as a cactus, Yorah's charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch, Yorah bad. Banana with a greasy black pea. Vaughn, you are killing it. That is your main one, Mr. Grinch, performed by Theral Ravenscroft. Yes. So good. Who, in case you didn't know, was also the voice of Tony the Tiger. Oh, is he really? Yes. Yes, he was. For all the grainside, will take. A cup of something. Melissa, you want a big soda. We'll take a cup of something, kindness. Yes. Wow. Wow. Was that今天的 purudson. Wow.今天的 purudson purving all grainside. I'd recognize that vibrato anywhere. All right, we have one more clue in this category. Y'all are doing great. At least I got one, two. Two, you got two. Melissa. All right, here's my chestnuts. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. That is correct. That is Nat King Cole's immortal version of the Christmas song. Amazing work, you two. Amazing work. We have one more round. This is a round that we are calling milk and cookies, milk and cookies. We have to end where we started. Of course, with cookies, we're going to test your cookie knowledge. I'm going to give you a word and you have to tell me if it is a cookie or if it's not a cookie. Oh, good. All right. All right. Yeah. Let's begin. Chin-chin. It's a cookie. Is a cookie. They're celebratory biscuits popular in Nigeria and other African countries. Chin-chin. Okay. Kuchidati. Bon. Not a cookie? They are cookies. They're Italian fig holiday cookies. So keep that in mind for next year's cookie week. Kuchidati? Kuchidati. Not Kuchidati. Oh. What did you call me? All right. Next one. Metigull. Melissa. Not a cookie. Correct. That is not a cookie. It is a German dish of chopped pork served in the shape of a hedgehog. Of course. Of course. I'll make it every year. All right. Next one. Melomacarona. Melissa. It is a cookie. It's a delicious cookie. Yeah. I've had those. I have a recipe for those. I do it. Yeah. At NYT cookie. Absolutely right. Christmas cookies. Next one. Kalsari Kaniut. Melissa. I'm going to say no. That is not a cookie. It is the finished term for getting drunk at home in your underwear. What was that one again? Kalsari Kaniut. All right. You don't want that in your pocket. Okay. Next one. Alfa Hores. That is a cookie. Correct. That is a shortbread sandwich cookie. Just popular in Latin America. Next one. Sumo Tlubo Jack. Bon. I'm going to say it's not a cookie. That is not a cookie. That is correct. It is the Turkish word for slug translating literally to snot bug. Okay. I wrote this quiz. I love you. All right. Next one. Mamul. Melissa. Mamul is a cookie. Yes. It is a butter cookie filled with figs, dates or nuts. And that, Bon and Melissa, is our game. Oh, wow. Great job. Unfortunately, only one of you can win. I am being told that Vaughn, you are the winner of this week. It was close, but you are the winner of this quiz game. You'd like surged in rounds two and three. I could do the cookie thing. Yeah. I can't do the movie thing. Vaughn, you won. And we are giving you an actual prize. Oh, my. Something rare. It is a cheap golden trophy with my face on it, which we call that KELSE. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God. You like me, you really like me. I am going to treasure this forever. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Vaughn, for being on the Sunday special to talk about cookie week. Thank you. This was so fun. You know, cookie week extends beyond the confines of December 1 through 7th. You know, celebrated all your loans. It's a cookie month. Yeah, it's a cookie month. Come on. Melissa, thank you for being on. Oh, thanks for having us. This was so much fun. I loved it. This episode was produced by Tina and Tillini with help from Kate LaPresti. Our quizmaster is Alex Barron. We had production assistance from Dalia Hadad. It was edited by Wendy Dore. The Sunday special is engineered by Rowan Nemisto, original music by Dan Powell and Diane Wong. Thanks for listening, everyone. See you next week.