I didn’t see this one coming. I had no plans to post this recipe, but I was curious about these baby cinnamon rolls from one of my all-time favorites, Alice Medrich. They are so ridiculously good, I could not not include them.

Today, you go on an adventure.

Katie has been my dearest friend for most of my life. She pops up on the blog every once in a while in stories (and sometimes pictures). She is the coolest person ever. She has taught in Chicago Public Schools for the past ten years, which leaves me in awe of both her and her commitment to educating young people. Katie is also one of my favorite writers. Writing comes more naturally to her than to anyone I have ever met. It is a real gift. She recently started an awesome blog which she hasn’t been sharing with anyone. That seems like a shame and so I want to help change that today.

It is called The Fundmentalist, and is her space for trying to figure out the things she doesn’t understand in this world, fundamentals that she somehow missed. The list is diverse and includes things such as sponges, Madeline Albright and the G-spot. Each post brilliantly written and each topic explored through a range of methods—interviews, experiments, musical numbers. As usual, I am totally impressed, my favorite post, so far, is this one.

One of the items on her list was cookies. She had never made cookies, and so she asked for my help. I’ll let her tell you the rest and share a recipe for some very tasty Cherry, Pistachio and Oatmeal cookies that we baked together a couple of weeks ago.

Post and Recipe HERE. See you back here tomorrow! Say hi to Katie for me. ; )

Halfway through! I am keeping the cookie exhaustion at bay, thanks, in part, to cookies like these poppy seed and honey gems. I love these cookies. Bryan doesn’t love them, he just likes them. Take what you will from that. But remember, I’m usually right.

I like them because of the poppy seeds and honey and because they aren’t too sweet. They are delicious with a cup of tea, or even a glass of wine. The recipe can easily be halved if you don’t want 5 dozen cookies. I’ve never actually made the whole recipe, it would be a lot of cookies and I think these are most tasty for the first 24 hours of their life. I will still happily eat them for another couple of days, but their texture becomes less interesting. They soften and no longer have the crunch they had on day one. I’m excited to make these for Hanukkah.

I first had one of Mathew Rice’s desserts at my friend David’s birthday party. The party was in the cozy downstairs of Nightwood, where Mathew is the pastry chef. Everything at Nightwood is always delightful, but this was a particularly fun night. Mathew made a brown butter cake with rhubarb filling and some sort of cream cheese pistachio frosting, or at least that is how I remember it. It was really delicious and it got me excited to try more of his desserts.

The thing that is brilliant about the sweets that Mathew makes is that they are at once familiar and comforting and yet totally original. In my book, that is as good as it gets. And every time I eat at Nightwood I look forward to dessert.

I was thrilled that Mathew agreed to share this recipe for one of my favorites, Gooey Butter Cookies. Mathew came to Chicago from St. Louis, famous for it’s gooey butter cake, and so this is the perfect contribution to our city and to the 12 Days of Cookies.

Who needs another rugelach recipe?

I thought I didn’t.

I did.

We wanted to make rugelach for Dose Market and so I researched recipes looking for the best one. Maybe there was some technique out there that would push mine over the top—I didn’t find much. Then, one lazy Sunday afternoon, I was watching an old episode of Baking with Julia. It featured Nancy Silverton. She wasn’t making rugelach, but I loved what she was wearing. She looked like a french baker from the 1930′s via Berkeley in the 1970s. I was thinking to myself that I had never thought of Nancy Silverton as a style icon, but that (at least in the late 90′s, I haven’t seen her recently) she was pretty rad. While thinking about that, I picked up my copy of the Baking With Julia book and opened it to this recipe.

I am so pleased to have Amelia Morris from Bon Appétempt as my first guest for this round of the 12 Days of Cookies.

Since the first time I clicked over to her blog, I knew she was something special. Amelia is a talented writer, recipe curator, performer (!!!) and cook. But more important than any of that, she makes me laugh—something that is often missing from food sites. She has created one of the most enjoyable, refreshing blogs out there and I look forward to every post. I’m so inspired by Amelia and Bon Appétempt. She reminds us that we need to make sure we have fun with these little corners of the internet that we rule. The ability to do anything we want with our sites should not be taken for granted. So let’s make some Evergreen Shortbread!

I first saw this recipe over on The Kitchn, where Faith Durand claimed it was her favorite cookie. I tend to like the recipes that Faith recommends, so I took this cookie seriously. She didn’t let me down, they are great. The Fig Newton-lovers of the world will be very pleased with these grown-up versions of those iconic treats.

Once again, I am pleased to bring you 12 Days of Cookies!! Over the next 12 days I (along with some very special guests) will be bringing you a collection of cookie recipes to share with your friends, family or self. I am super excited to be tackling this project, even if it means putting myself at risk for Cookie Exhaustion.

The cookie celebration unofficially kicked off yesterday at Dose Market, where my friend Sandra and I sold some delicious cookies to market-goers. Dose is a monthly market that brings together local food and fashion vendors to pedal their wares in a beautiful, light-filled space in downtown Chicago. I’m a huge fan of the market and was thrilled to participate this time. It was a bit of a preview of the fun that is about to come your way.

Radiometer! I admit to not totally understanding the science behind this, but the vane inside of this glass bulb moves when exposed to light. It is one of the prettiest objects in my house and a fun conversation piece. (More info on radiometers here.)

Extension Cord, aka The Most Beautiful Extension Cord in the World. I know it is extravagant to spend money on something that would cost you $2 at the hardware store—but come on people! Isn’t that what gifts are about? Look at this thing! And it is perfect for spots where an extension cord can’t be hidden.

Red Rock. Red Rock is the newest creation of Wisconsin cheesemaker Chris Roelli. It is a sharp cheddar with blue veining and is the most beautiful cheese I have ever seen. It looks like a geode, I could stare at it for hours. It is also one of the best things I ate in 2011. I haven’t been this excited about a cheese since last year’s bandaged cheddar. Remember, cheese is always the perfect gift.

So many people have problems with raisins, I began to think that I didn’t like them. But that’s crazy, I love them.

My love was unexpectedly affirmed shortly before Halloween when Bryan and I stopped by Hoosier Mama (the best pie shop in the world) to buy a pie. They had a sour cream and apple pie that looked amazing and seemed like the obvious choice. But for some reason I told Bryan he could pick. He picked a funeral pie which I found out was an Amish raisin pie (Hoosier Mama’s version had a healthy dose of rum). I spent the rest of the day asking Bryan: What kind of weirdo picks a raisin pie?! Well, you can see where this is going. Pie in my face. The funeral pie was incredible and it got me thinking about raisins.