Classic chocolate chip cookies are a year-round favorite, but here’s a fun way to give them a citrusy, wintery kick: add orange zest and walnuts. more ›

Here are some new recipes to inspire your baking, courtesy of Lottie + Doof. more ›

Recreated for you here on Chicagoist, here is a recipe for gingersnaps that is over 60 years old. more ›

We're in a cookie state of mind. Forget needing an occasion to bake these, spritz are a very simple standby cookie that can probably be made from any baker's stock of regular ingredients. more ›

Frankly, we're not particularly excited about the new Mrs. Fields store on State Street. We've never actually purchased one of their cookies (though we've had many brought in to office parties) and there are enough decent coffeeshops and bakeries in this town to keep our attention. But, free cookies are free cookies! Today, until 9 PM, the new Mrs. Fields store on State Street will be giving away free cookies and free lattes. If you work in the loop, or you're taking the red line somewhere, stop in and gobble them up. more ›

Now all Skynet needs to do is build a cute little Girl Scout to sell these cookies and fund its operations to take over the planet. more ›

Mama Green’s legacy rolled out to the masses this week, as truck owner Shatoia Starks brings her grandmother’s recipes to the streets of Chicago on her new food truck. more ›

Baked goods are the downfall of many a healthy eater. There are few things as deliciously decadent as freshly baked cookies and cakes. Sadly, they are not often the healthiest of choices. Baked goods tend to be high in sugar, processed carbs, trans-fats, and even preservatives. Of course, this does not have to be the case. Thanks to the culinary artistry of the folks at B True Bakery, pastry lovers can now be true to themselves. more ›

Anyone who didn't watch Top Chef last night should watch this video immediately. Anyone who did? Relive the memories. The Top Chef gang was joined by some of the Muppets from Sesame Street, who judged a cookie making challenge. Cookie Monster (who spent much of his time trying to eat the tablecloth) Elmo and Telly joked, snarked and eventually judged. The contestants look like they can't decide whether to be thrilled to meet childhood heroes or appalled that their cuisine is being judged by hand puppets. As one of our tweeps remarked, after about ten seconds, we might've put Elmo under the salamander. We kid! more ›

It will hardly shock you that my holiday traditions to share with the readers of Chicagoist are about… you guessed it… food. And alcohol. Lord, the alcohol. But to me, and many of you out there, the holidays are just that: people you simultaneously love and can’t stand, in one room, eating and drinking until someone can’t take it anymore and bursts into flames. Or until the wine is gone. Same difference. more ›

Do you have a favorite holiday cookie? ‘Tis the season for holiday cookie exchanges, where friends get together to swap recipes in preparation for the year’s busiest baking season. Participants take away their favorite cookie recipes to add to their repertoires at home. We set out to find the best homemade cookies in Chicago. more ›

Open for just a few months, Cookie Bar is carving a unique niche for itself. These are not your average cookies. They are made without trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup. They even have less sugar than the norm. What the folks at Cookie Bar cut in things that are bad for you, they more than make up for with adventurous flavors and great presentation. They even cater to vegans and allergy sufferers with a special selection of treats that are dairy or gluten free, so that everyone can indulge. more ›

Fans of Maurice Lenell can find cause to celebrate with the launch of a new online store. The Sun-Times reports today that Consolidated Biscuit Co., the Ohio-based company that owns the Lenell brand, is looking to relaunch Lenell with new flavors, cookie styles and even a possible local outlet store. Lenell's Norridge outlet closed at the end of 2008. more ›

• Sheffield's annual Christmas cookies and beer pairing takes place this evening at the Beer School bar from 7-10 p.m. They'll be pairing cookies with various beers, including Southern Tier's Pumking and Great Lakes Christmas Ale. (3258 N. Sheffield)
• Nacional 27's Adam Seger will be the guest bartender this evening from 8 p.m. until closing at Fulton Lounge (955 W. Fulton). Seger's doing the hard holiday pimping of his Hum Spirit with $7 "you call it" Hum cocktails all night long.
• Registration opens today for World Kitchen's Winter 2010 calendar of events at Gallery 37 center for the Arts (66 E. Randolph). We've included a . each class costs $30, to RSVP call 312-742-8497, visit the World Kitchen website or buy tickets directly at the box office from noon-6 p.m.

A few weeks back at Chicago Gourmet, we heard Mindy Segal, the chef/owner of Hot Chocolate, expounding the virtues of cookies to the audience. She particularly plugged her bacon chocolate-chip cookies. It's possible that an audible gasp escaped our mouth at this revelation, and we determined to try them at once! more ›

Alliance Bakery on Division St. has created a wonderful way to capitalize on commemorate Michael Jackson. Face cookies. That you eat. Get there quickly to get one with a good nose (really, they're all different and some are hideous.) While we found something tragic about eating Michael Jackson's face, these cookies got us thinking, are there any celebrities we would actually like to see be displayed on food items upon their death? Would you want to stretch out and chew on pink Spencer Pratt face taffy or slice and devour a Kim Jong Il face cake? Or would you feel better eating a beloved Katherine Heigl face scone? Ok. We're creeped out. No more face dessert. more ›

Today a Chicago institution closes. The Maurice Lennell cookie outlet in Norridge will be selling its final pinwheels, butter cookies and other tooth-cracking monstrosities as the land on which the outlet resides is slated to become a Costco. Lennell is said to be sourcing its production to overseas companies. more ›

Sheffield's (3258 N. Sheffield) opened up a brand new beer bar in the back of the tavern at the beginning of summer. Since then, Ric Hess and company have been featuring a rotating list of rare draft craft beers and have established a "Beer School" series of fixed price dinners, lectures and events that rivals Map Room's "Beer School," Goose Island Clybourn's "Masters of Beer Appreciation" series, or hanging out with yours truly any given night of the week. more ›

November is National Vegan Month and to celebrate we will be bringing you recipes, reviews and food pr0n of vegan dishes and restaurants. We found this animal product-free cookie recipe from an excellent source for vegan recipes and news- Chef Beverly Lynn Bennett's website, The Vegan Chef. We swapped a few ingredients for others and added a few of our own (because we lurve coconut) and made some pretty delicious cookies. Although, we must admit, the absence of butter, refined sugar and eggs were missed. Vegans: we'd love to hear your cookie-baking insights and secret ingredients below... more ›

Gallup. Rasmussen. Zogby. USA Today. Network news and 24-hour cable news. Real Clear Politics averages. All have poll results all over the compass regarding who's winning the presidential race. more ›

A truck hauling 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos crashed on I-80 early this morning, spilling plastic sleeves of cookies all over the highway. The truck's driver fell asleep, according to police, and crashed into a median near Morris, about 50 miles southwest of here. Sayeth the AP, "No charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies." more ›

Maurice Lenell Cookies are the source of many childhood memories, usually involving the way those bone dry pinwheels, jelly stars and other cookies could soak up a pot of coffee and still crack your teeth if you bit down on them. Lenell cookies are ubiquitous staples of local homes come Christmastime. In fact, we can't remember seeing them past the holidays in recent years. more ›

Last week when we made slow-cooked beef roast with vegetables and calico bell pepper muffins we also made cowboy cookies. This is a recipe that has been in our family's repertoire for generations, but funny enough, we don't know how they got their name. A cowboy cookie is basically a crispy oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips. That cowboys like? No idea. But they're good on their own, and great with a cold glass of milk. more ›

If your Valentine has a sweet tooth and you're looking for something special to make for him or her on the big day, this chocolate-dipped shortbread may be just the thing. These cookies only have six ingredients, all of which we had in our kitchen already. Score! Love it when that happens. more ›

We just pissed away, oh, an hour perusing the Chicago Postcard Museum. Howdy, The City Beautiful, Hi, Hi There Toots and the Aragon are our faves. more ›