The three winning cookie recipes for the 39th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest all pay tribute to bakers from years ago; whether it’s a mother, grandmother or a best friend’s mom.

Here are the recipes for Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents, the first-place recipe by Janet Lapen; Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies, the second-place recipe by Lauren Wagner; and MMMM Cookies (Mom’s Mandelbread Modified for Marty), the third-place recipe by Elyse Tish.

To learn about what inspired these readers to create these recipes, read the story here. Happy baking!

First place: Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents

The Tribune holiday cookie contest first-place winner, the Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents by Janet Lapen of Downers Grove. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

My favorite cookie of all time is the Czech pracny. I first tasted this cookie at age 6, soon after my family moved to Forest Park. That’s where I met my best friend, Marion, whose mother, Blanche, was an exceptional baker. Every Christmas, Blanche made pracny cookies, which are richly flavored with cinnamon, clove and cocoa, and pressed into ornate molds before baking. As a young girl, Blanche had learned to make pracny with her neighbor, who later passed down the treasured molds to her. Each year, Blanche invited my mother, Marion and me to help press the dough, filling her kitchen with the scent of spice and laughter. After Blanche passed, Marion and I continued the tradition. I made the dough, she brought the molds and together we baked!

Now, more than 60 years later, our daughters join us in the kitchen to carry on this tradition. What began as a childhood memory has become a beloved family pastime, connecting generations. Wanting to share that magic, I created an easier version of pracny, a simple recipe without a cookie mold that still captures the same warmth, love and spiced aroma of Blanche’s original cookies that I hope all can enjoy! — Janet Lapen, Downers Grove

Prep time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Refrigeration time: 1 hour (optional)

Bake time: 15-18 minutes

Yield: 45 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter (salted)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus more for dredging cookies when cooled)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Directions

Cream butter and powdered sugar together until thoroughly mixed. Add vanilla.
Mix flour, spices and cocoa powder in a separate bowl.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and nuts to the butter and sugar mix.
Mix until completely combined. Chill the dough for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Form generous tablespoon portions of dough into crescent shapes.
Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets, space cookies about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Let cookies cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to the cooling rack.
Dredge completely cooled cookies in powdered sugar or sift powdered sugar on top of cookies.

Note: We did not find it necessary to chill the dough. We recommend sifting the powdered sugar for a better consistency.

Second place: Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies

The Tribune holiday cookie contest second-place winner, the Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies by Lauren Wagner of Joliet. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Every December, the first thing that meant “Christmas” to me wasn’t the tree or the lights — it was the sound of my grandma pouring eggnog into three little glasses for her, my mom and me. We’d sit by the window, watching the snow fall, talking about what cookies to bake next. Eggnog was our shared comfort — creamy, sweet and full of warmth — and it always meant we were together. I created these Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies as a tribute to those afternoons. They capture that cozy flavor I grew up with, but turn it into something elegant and new — a soft cookie infused with eggnog and a touch of warm spice, topped with a silky eggnog glaze and a crackly caramelized sugar top. Each bite has the rich nostalgia of the holidays with a little sparkle of creativity. This cookie reminds me that tradition doesn’t have to stay the same to stay special. It’s a blend of my family’s favorite winter drink and my love of baking, a recipe that bridges generations. When I crack through the brûlée top and taste the creamy sweetness underneath, I’m right back in that kitchen — three generations laughing, baking and sharing a glass of eggnog on a cold winter day. — Lauren Wagner, Joliet

Prep time: 20 minutes

Refrigeration time: 30 minutes (optional)

Bake time: 10-12 minutes

Yield: 32 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract (optional)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons eggnog
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Brûlée topping:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugars until fluffy in a large bowl — about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg, eggnog, vanilla and rum extract (if using) and mix until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. The dough will be soft — chill it for 30 minutes if it’s too sticky.
Scoop about a tablespoon of dough for each cookie and flatten slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden. Let cool completely.
Make the glaze while the cookies cool: whisk powdered sugar, eggnog, vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth.
Spread a teaspoon of glaze on each cookie. Sprinkle the sugar and nutmeg mixture on top and carefully torch it to caramelize, or broil briefly on a low temperature while watching closely. Let it cool for a few minutes until the sugar sets.

Note: We recommend using a torch instead of broiling the cookies.

Third place: MMMM Cookies (Mom‘s Mandelbread Modified for Marty)

The Tribune holiday cookie contest third-place winner, the MMMM Cookies, Mom’s Mandelbread Modified for Marty, by Elyse Tish of Glenview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

My mother was not much of a cook or baker, but she had a few items in regular rotation. One was the Jewish cookie mandelbread — but with an unusual twist. Instead of raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips, Mom used candied fruit and citrus peel (the kind sold around Christmas for fruitcakes) and added that to the dough. She would stock up on candied fruit/peel mix at seasonal sales, and kept them in her cabinet year-round. The cookies were hard and dry — but OK dunked in coffee. (Mom had a pot-a-day caffeine habit, more if the neighbors dropped by for a cup and a chat. And she always pulled a couple of her cookies out of the freezer for them.) Mom is gone now. My husband, Marty, is not a coffee drinker. He never liked Mom’s mandelbread. Too tough and crunchy, and not enough chocolate. I modified the recipe to his favorite flavor combo — orange and chocolate. The added cocoa also changed the texture, resulting in a soft, chocolate cookie with a little citrus kick. Still delicious with a hot mug of coffee, but the MMMM recipe melts in your mouth, with a bit of orange chew. The orange icing is just to make it fancy. I add it only for special occasions. — Elyse Tish, Glenview

Prep time: 15 minutes

Refrigeration time: 2 hours

Bake time: 40 minutes

Yield: 48 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract or emulsion
Zest of one orange
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa (dark)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
4 ounces diced candied orange peel

Icing:

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar (more as needed to get to drizzle texture)
Zest of one orange (about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (more as needed to get to drizzle texture)

Directions:

Mix together oil and sugar until combined, then add eggs one at a time. Add orange extract and zest.
Sift together all the dry ingredients and add to the sugar/egg mixture.
Once the dough is smooth and sticky, add the chocolate chips and candied orange peel in and mix.
Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 350. Using your hands, take chilled dough and form four long cylinders, each 8-9 inches long. Place two on each of two cookie sheets lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
Take the mandelbread out. Cool and then slice the mandelbread about 1/2 inch pieces. If you like a dryer, crunchier cookie, (more biscotti-like) toast the sliced pieces for 15 minutes in a 250-degree Fahrenheit oven.
While cookies are cooling, make the icing by mixing powdered sugar, orange zest and juice.
When cookies are completely cool, pipe on or drizzle on orange icing. Let icing dry to solid.

Note: When cutting the cookies, we recommend cutting straight across and not on a bias; the cookies will hold their shape better. If you have trouble sourcing the candied orange peel, which is a seasonal item, you can use orange zest instead and double the chocolate chips for additional texture.

The cover of the Chicago Tribune’s book “Holiday Cookies, Second Edition.” (Chicago Tribune)

For more winning cookie recipes from all four decades of the Tribune’s Holiday Cookie Contest, grab a copy of our cookbook, “Holiday Cookies, 2nd Edition,” at chicagotribune.com/holidaycookies.

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/2025-cookie-contest-recipes/ 

As the presumptive future home of the Chicago Bears, the northwest suburbs continue to find themselves in the spotlight, garnering more attention than folks in that area are typically accustomed to getting. As the Bears push for things like property tax certainty to make their move as cost-effective as possible, area homeowners are wishing they could get the same thing.

Instead, they’re concerned major hikes could be on the horizon, as Township High School District 214 flirts with a potential referendum that could raise as much as $850 million.

We think the district, which serves Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows and Elk Grove Village, must first ensure its own house is in order.

Officials recently launched an independent audit of its purchasing-card system after a district employee allegedly used his district credit card to make more than $37,000 in unauthorized Home Depot purchases, the Daily Herald reported. That employee, Jorge V. Villagómez, was the former building and grounds supervisor at Prospect High School. He was charged Oct. 3.

Now the district has to make sure there aren’t any other issues. The $45,000 audit, conducted by the law firm of Baker Tilly, will examine purchases made using 91 district-issued cards, with results and a proposed plan of action expected in early 2026.

We like financial responsibility, and we appreciate when public officials demand accountability when something goes wrong. So we applaud the district’s efforts to ensure there’s no other abuse occurring — and taxpayers can take some comfort in knowing this recent loss will be covered by insurance.

That reassurance won’t erase residents’ concerns about what comes next, though.

A significant referendum would mean annual property tax bills would rise by hundreds of dollars — a prospect that drew little enthusiasm in the district’s own feedback process. It appears the district may be scaling back any potential referendum request as a result. 

District 214 officials have been asking residents to share their thoughts on these proposals, and unsurprisingly received word that residents want a more cost-conscious plan. Given three options — a low-, medium- and high-end amount — respondents opted for the lowest figure offered, a referendum to raise $400 million that district officials said would add $198 in property taxes for a home worth $396,500. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they wouldn’t support any additional funding. We recognize that district facilities have maintenance needs, but we can’t imagine asking voters to approve anything more than $400 million, and we’d prefer to see any proposal come in well under that amount.

District 214 includes schools like Prospect High School, John Hersey High School and Buffalo Grove High School, which find themselves on the top of the list for high-performing secondary schools in the state. Like many districts across Illinois, however, 214’s enrollment is declining, with its student population dropping by nearly 300 since 2018, according to state data. We would hope any renovation proposals would take that into account. 

All things considered, we understand that safe, functional school buildings are an essential part of our education system. Nobody questions that, and residents certainly want kids to have what they need. The problem is in the disconnect between the eye-popping tax bills homeowners are already paying and district officials telling them it needs more revenue. 

Findings from the district’s audit should give taxpayers clarity on its employee credit card accountability long before they’re asked to weigh in on any potential referendum. We hope that those in charge don’t pursue a plan that would price out the families who’ve long called the northwest suburbs home.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/district-214-arlington-heights-mount-prospect-school-referendum-audit-credit-card/ 

Of all the decisions a president can make, the most perilous is going to war. The Vietnam War doomed Lyndon Johnson, just as the Korean War did Harry Truman. The Iraq invasion was a political debacle for George W. Bush. The lesson is that presidents should avoid war at almost any cost. 

But Donald Trump, no student of history, has not absorbed that lesson. For months, he has been courting war with Venezuela: blowing up boats alleged to be smuggling drugs, massing naval forces and fighter jets in the Caribbean, demanding the resignation of President Nicolás Maduro and declaring the closure of Venezuela’s airspace. 

He may hope these measures will be enough to get rid of Maduro. If they aren’t, Trump appears poised to launch direct attacks on Venezuela. In a Thanksgiving address to U.S. troops, he said those strikes are “going to start very soon.” 

Why he would be willing to take such a hazardous step is not obvious. Trump ran on a promise to stay out of foreign conflicts. He has no idealistic mission to spread democracy. Venezuela hasn’t attacked U.S. targets or built weapons of mass destruction. Most of his supporters don’t care who governs Venezuela, or how. 

Trump has framed his policy as essential to smashing drug cartels and stopping the flow of lethal drugs. But fentanyl is what accounts for most U.S. overdose deaths, and it comes mostly from China and Mexico. What comes from Venezuela is cocaine, the majority of which goes to Europe. 

This dubious pretext lost all credibility, though, when Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández. He was serving a 45-year prison sentence for working with cartels to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. — or, as he reportedly put it, “shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.” 

A war against Venezuela has several possible outcomes, most of them bad. It could fail, cementing Maduro in power as the leader who vanquished the Yanquis. It could force him out only to plunge his country into violent chaos. It could mean new waves of Venezuelans trudging toward our southern border. It could lead to a U.S. ground invasion and insurgent warfare. 

So what is driving Trump to risk his presidency on a war that the public doesn’t want? It may be foolish to attribute rational purposes to someone so impulsive and destructive. But one obvious motive is his insatiable desire to exert his power abroad as well as at home. He needs not only to dominate others, but also to be seen as dominant. 

Being an incurable bully, Trump looks for weaker nations he can abuse, as when he threatened to seize Greenland from Denmark, take back the Panama Canal from Panama and make Canada the 51st state. 

He also has unfinished business. In his first term, Trump adopted a “maximum pressure policy” against the Venezuelan ruler, vowing that “Maduro’s grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken.” It wasn’t, and though the American people have forgotten his failure, Trump has not. His appetite for retribution has no limit.

But with this president, it’s also important to follow the money. Trump has a cash register where his heart should be. Running in 2016, Trump offered his plan for the U.S. role in Iraq: “Take the oil.” As president, he said he was keeping troops in Syria “only for the oil.” 

This year, he forced Ukraine to agree to share vast sums in future revenues from its mineral resources with the U.S. Trump never stops looking for targets to plunder and treasure to extract.

In peace talks, The Wall Street Journal reports, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian negotiators have been “charting a path to bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold — with American businesses first in line to beat European competitors to the dividends.” Russian oligarchs “have sent representatives to quietly meet American companies to explore rare-earth mining and energy deals.” 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk took a dim view of the administration’s approach: “We know this is not about peace. It’s about business.” 

The same motive is undoubtedly behind Trump’s obsession with Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves. Replacing Maduro is meant to open up an array of lucrative opportunities — which Trump could distribute to enrich himself, reward his cronies and bend corporations to his will. 

The looming conflict brings to mind an earlier war in which Ulysses S. Grant saw combat. “I do not think there was ever a more wicked war than that waged by the United States on Mexico,” the former general and president lamented late in life. “I am always ashamed of my country when I think of that invasion.”

But not every president is capable of shame.

Steve Chapman was a member of the Tribune Editorial Board from 1981 to 2021. His columns, exclusive to the Tribune, now appear the first week of every month. He can be reached at stephenjchapman@icloud.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/opinion-donald-trump-venezuela-war-chapman/ 

The Service Employees International Union is looking to beef up its ranks within Chicago Public Schools, a development with significant implications both for the workers it is looking to organize — and for city politics.

SEIU Local 73 filed a petition to add about 1,600 school-based CPS workers to its ranks with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Nov. 10. But the union’s one-time ally, the Chicago Teachers Union, contends that some of those workers rightfully belong to the CTU.

The dispute is the latest development in a feud between the two progressive labor unions that has its roots in a turf war over other jobs within the school district.

The two politically powerful labor unions worked together to help elect Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, but have feuded bitterly over the last year.

Both SEIU and CTU say the so-called “miscellaneous” workers — who work in a wide variety of support roles including as tutors and recess monitors — are poorly paid and receive no benefits. Both unions argue that the workers are sometimes misclassified, filling roles that unionized support staff in either SEIU or CTU also perform, but for less pay and no benefits.

Local 73’s president, however, said an “overwhelming majority” of the miscellaneous workers want to join SEIU.

“After years and years of working with no union protections or collective voice on the job, miscellaneous workers have taken bold action to organize an overwhelming majority of their coworkers to join with SEIU 73,” the local’s president, Dian Palmer, said in a statement.

CTU, meanwhile, maintains that some of the miscellaneous workers are rightfully theirs.

In 2022, the union filed a grievance against the school district, alleging that some of those workers fall within its ranks. The grievance is still pending, CTU says.

The union said that miscellaneous workers are “frequently misused” and asked to fill in for jobs including teachers assistants and school clerks.

“We have long requested that CPS recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of miscellaneous employees performing CTU bargaining unit work,” CTU’s deputy general counsel, Thad Goodchild, said in a statement.

CTU said that it filed an information request with CPS this week for the precise role of each miscellaneous worker.

The teachers union could have also filed a petition to intervene in SEIU’s petition to represent the miscellaneous workers and force an election between the unions. Doing so would have required it to have the support of at least 15% of the workers in question.

No petitions to intervene had been filed in the case, the state labor board confirmed Monday.

CPS could also object to SEIU’s petition to unionize the miscellaneous workers and has until Dec. 8 to do so, according to the labor board. On Tuesday, a representative for the board said no objections had yet been filed in the case.

A spokesperson for CPS said in a statement that the district does not comment on pending litigation, and did not offer further comment on the dispute or SEIU’s petition.

Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden told the Tribune he was aware of CTU’s grievances, and his priority is that the district “respect all of our workers.” He noted CPS may still need “hash out” their representation.

“I don’t know that it’s our place to really designate on (which union) they should be,” Harden said. “But ultimately, on whatever side they land on, they should be treated fairly.”

SEIU said it was full steam ahead on bringing the miscellaneous workers into its fold.

“We are committed to bringing these low wage workers, who are barely scraping by, to the bargaining table as soon as possible,” Palmer, of SEIU, said. “We will continue through the legal organizing process.”

In a statement provided through Local 73, miscellaneous worker Elizabeth Espitia of the Frank W. Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy in Brighton Park said that she believed a union would “[ensure] that decisions about our working conditions, compensation, and resources are made fairly and transparently.”

Local 73 already represents about 13,000 support staff within CPS, including security officers, bus aides and special education classroom assistants. CTU, meanwhile, represents about 30,000 workers within the district, the majority of whom are teachers.

Then Chicago Teachers Union president Jesse Sharkey, right, walks with SEIU 73 president Dian Palmer, left, and other members of both unions, as they enter Yates Elementary School in Chicago on Nov. 1, 2019. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

The fracture between the once-allied unions has its roots in a dispute over special education jobs. Last year, SEIU accused the teachers’ union of trying to pass a contract proposal that it said would effectively take jobs from SEIU and give them to CTU.

The teachers union pushed back against that characterization, and CTU members ultimately approved a contract without the controversial proposal earlier this year, but not before SEIU threatened to sue the district over CTU’s proposal and then passed a statewide resolution declaring itself “under attack” by the teachers union.

The fractured relationship between the two politically powerful labor organizations, which has manifested in public spats and bullying accusations, has political implications in Chicago.

The CTU, for which Johnson once worked as an organizer, is the only major union that has publicly supported the mayor in his challenging third budget fight this fall. SEIU, once a major labor ally for Johnson, has stayed on the sidelines, taking away some of the mayor’s political firepower as he works to pass a budget that reflects his progressive vision for the city.

Neither union offered further comment on their relationship. CTU instead blamed the district for sowing division.

“We understand that CPS has also misused some miscellaneous employees to serve as school security officers, custodial workers, and other SEIU position titles,” Goodchild, of CTU, said. “Rather than working with its employees’ unions to resolve these issues, CPS managers are deciding to shortchange school staff and opting to attempt to create conflict the CTU is determined to prevent among workers and their unions.”

The teachers’ union is also looking to add workers to its CPS ranks: In October, CTU filed a petition to organize social and emotional learning specialists. The union did not say how many workers were included in the petition.

Tribune reporter Alice Yin contributed. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/seiu-cps-workers-dispute/ 

Mix Dickens with Dante, then sprinkle in some offbeat celestial humor à la “Good Omens,” and you’ll get something like “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol.” Written by Tom Mula, this solo play follows the travails of Ebenezer Scrooge’s late business partner as he navigates the afterlife, which involves a surprising amount of paperwork. Now onstage at Lifeline Theatre, this minimalist production blends the snarky, the sweet and the supernatural.

Solo retellings of classics are in vogue across the Anglophone theater world (see Andrew Scott’s “Vanya,” Eddie Izzard’s “Hamlet” and Sarah Snook’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”), and I’ve grown somewhat skeptical of this genre’s dramatic value. No matter how well done, such adaptations often seem intended to showcase the star’s acting prowess rather than shed new light on an old story.

Happily, that’s not the case with this production, in which Lifeline ensemble member Phil Timberlake reprises the 19 roles that earned him a Jeff Award nomination last season. To be sure, Timberlake impresses with his range of dialects, facial expressions and physicality as he nimbly hops between characters, but this feat never feels self-indulgent. Rather, the simple staging evokes the Victorian oral tradition of telling ghost stories at the holidays, a prime example being Dickens’ own public readings of “A Christmas Carol.” Plus, Mula’s script offers enough idiosyncrasies and plot twists to be engaging on its own merit, even if built on familiar scaffolding.

Given that Mula first wrote this story as a novella (published in 1995 by Adams Media) and NPR later broadcast an audio version, it makes sense that the stage adaptation, which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in 1998, relies more on language than visuals. With plenty of evocative descriptions in the dialogue, this production requires a vivid imagination from audience members — a refreshingly analog, aural experience in our digital-oriented, image-saturated world. Indeed, the only credited designer is production manager and lighting designer Diane Fairchild, whose effects range from soft starlight to ghastly greens.

When Marley awakens in the afterlife, he encounters a setting that’s oddly familiar to the former moneylender: a dreary counting house, where a decrepit record keeper informs the dead man that he’s deep underwater on the contract he was meant to fulfill in life. Readers of Dickens’ novella may recall that Marley’s ghost despairingly declares that, in life, “Mankind was my business,” a realization that comes too late for him. Mula takes this metaphor to its logical end, envisioning a comedically bureaucratic purgatory and hell in which Marley is given one last chance to redeem his own soul: before the next daybreak, he must effect a sincere change of heart in Scrooge.

With the companionship of an impish spirit, who prefers the archaic moniker of “bogle,” Marley sets out on this seemingly impossible task. When an initial visit to Scrooge in his own ghostly guise doesn’t do the trick, Marley returns in the form of a Cockney boy and claims to be the Ghost of Christmas Past. That’s right: in this play, ghosts can shapeshift, and Marley is present, in some way or another, with each of Scrooge’s otherworldly guests.

Mula clearly tries not to rehash too many scenes of Christmases past, present and future from the original, and one of his more creative solutions is to take Marley on a journey through his own past while Scrooge is separately engulfed in his respective memories. The plot meanders and the pace lags a bit in the second act, but the Bogle’s sassy commentary and the fast-approaching dawn ultimately keep Marley on track.

While Mula leans into Dickens’ supernatural elements and retains his wholesome themes, his world-building is altogether more fantastical and whimsical. There’s a delightfully folkloric quality to the Bogle and the universe he inhabits that reminds me of Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” or Oliver Darkshire’s “Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil,” one of my favorite fantasy novels of the past year. I could almost swear that Mula, a longtime Chicago artist who starred as the Goodman’s Scrooge in the 1990s, moonlights as a British fantasy author.

All this to say: tonally, “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” was a pleasant surprise to me, and it’s a clever twist on a well-trod story. I suspect the show would benefit from a shorter runtime with no intermission, but nevertheless, what Mula and Timberlake achieve here is quite charming.

Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.

Review: “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” (3 stars)

When: Through Dec. 21

Where: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N Glenwood Ave

Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Tickets: $45 at lifelinetheatre.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/review-jacob-marley-carol/ 

For the 39th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, 32 readers submitted recipes for sweet treats, including biscotti and shortbread, bars and balls, and classic chocolate chip and sugar cookies. Some recipes were decades old, passed down from grandparents, aunts, neighbors and friends, and tweaked as the years have gone by.

We saw takes on viral flavors, such as Dubai chocolate, and classic holiday flavors, including gluhwein and eggnog. Some entries included more nontraditional cookie ingredients, such as avocado and hummus, while others embraced classic seasonal spices, such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Some recipes had roots in Jewish, Czech and Italian traditions.

More than 1,800 readers cast over 3,800 votes to decide the 12 finalists that Tribune staffers baked for judging. Guest judges Justin Lerias of Del Sur, Reema Patel, previously of Sarima Cafe, and Asa Balanoff Naiditch of Blame Butter selected Janet Lapen’s Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents as this year’s top cookie.

“Many people may not be familiar with the pracny cookie,” Balanoff Naiditch said, “so it could be a new experience for a lot of people.”

She praised the cookie’s versatility, noting that bakers could customize it to their preference by using different nuts or flavored sugar.

“It’s a homey cookie that you eat and feel warm inside,” Patel said. “It’s a well-done classic cookie, the texture and flavor are perfect, and I could eat five with a coffee.”

For the second-place treat, an Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookie by Lauren Wagner, the judges praised the cookie’s concept, with Balanoff Naiditch noting that it perfectly captured festive winter vibes of snowflakes with the glaze and a cozy fireplace with the torched sugar topping.

“It’s a unique cookie that you could find in a bakery,” Lerias said. “I liked the texture, the crack of the creme brulee top and the soft cookie underneath. It was so obvious what it was and the flavor was there.”

For the third-place recipe, Elyse Tish’s MMMM Cookies (Mom’s Mandelbread modified for Marty), the judges praised the flavor combination of chocolate and orange.

Thank you to all the readers who submitted recipes and voted in this year’s contest. We love this cozy holiday tradition, and hope these recipes are a delicious addition to your gatherings this holiday season and beyond.

— Kayla Samoy, food editor

The 12 finalists

Mutty’s Holiday Hug Cookies by Carl Ioos of Vernon Hills
Apricot Squares Cookies by Gail Schneiderman of Wilmette
Cinnamon Pumpkin Pillow Cookies by Sarah McLoud of Gurnee
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies Decorated with Almond Royal Icing by Tracy McDonald of Plano
Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents by Janet Lapen of Downers Grove
Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies by Lauren Wagner of Joliet
Decadent Almond Bars by Janet Malone of Munster, Indiana
Christmas Holiday Biscotti by Raymond Orsolini of Villa Park
Chocolate Surprise by Cathy Lenkaitis of Peru
Sharon’s Dark Chocolate Toffee Bars by Sharon McHugh of Chicago
Grandma Viola’s Christmas Jewish Butter Cookies by Jeff Hale of Chicago
MMMM Cookies (Mom’s Mandelbread Modified for Marty) by Elyse Tish of Glenview

First place

Janet Lapen: Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents

The 39th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest first-place winner Janet Lapen, of Downers Grove, with her Pracny-inspired nut crescents. Lapen learned the recipe when she was 6 and has been making the cookies for over 60 years. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

“It’s a spice cookie,” said Janet Lapen of Downers Grove, our first-place winner. “With clove and cinnamon, and a little bit of cocoa.”

Her recipe for the winning Pracny-Inspired Nut Crescents was adapted from a childhood holiday cookie called pracny, pronounced PRATS-ny, in Czech.

Lapen, 68, has been making the original recipe for more than 60 years with her best friend and neighbor Marion Nyhoff. It was Nyhoff’s mother, Blanche Mohus, who taught the girls how to bake pracny when they were 6 years old, in their old neighborhood in Forest Park.

“The recipe was like a pound of butter, a pound of nuts, a pound of powdered sugar,” said Lapen, a retired operating room nurse. “What made them so special were the molds.”

A neighbor lady had a collection of little individual metal cookie molds, which they all borrowed. Mohus herself learned how to make the traditional cookie as a young girl from that neighbor.

The dough had to be made a day before, then pressed into a thin layer to line the molds. The pracny would bake into crisp, fragrant and nutty shells.

The cookie molds were so treasured that they were willed to Mohus, who would pass them on to her daughter. She still has the molds, and bakes with her best friend, along with their daughters, who remember the woman who became known as Grandma Blanche.

But Lapen wanted to create a recipe that’s easier and doesn’t require inherited cookie molds.

“I tried with this cookie two years ago,” she said. That recipe for Grandma Blanche’s Deconstructed Pracny Cookie was a finalist in 2023. “And I kind of just zhuzhed it up a little bit for this year’s cookie.”

The Tribune holiday cookie contest first-place winner, the Pracny inspired nut crescents by Janet Lapen of Downers Grove. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The pracny she once made is not the same cookie that her recipe has become.

“I chop the nuts a little bit coarser instead of finely grinding them,” said our baker, who uses walnuts instead of the original hazelnuts, and simply shapes the dough into a crescent. “It’s crunchy and just a lovely texture.”

Her Pracny Inspired Nut Crescents are a wholly different cookie, she added, but the flavors have stayed the same.

“I’m so very humbled by it all,” said Lapen, mother to two adult daughters. Kaitlyn Lapen is a doctor, and Chloe Lapen is a 3D artist. Our baker’s husband, Bob Lapen, died of cancer at 59 in 2013.

“And I’m a five-year cancer-free survivor too,” she said.

This year for her holiday treats, she’s planning to make a pecan square, a fudge and the date nut breads for which she’s been known among family and friends, that is, until her first-place winning recipe.

“I’m tickled pink about the whole thing,” said Lapen. “I feel like I’m going to be immortal now.”

— Louisa Kung Liu Chu

Second place

Lauren Wagner: Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies 

Lauren Wagner, of Joliet, with her Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies on Nov. 17, 2025, was awarded second place in the 39th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Inspired by her husband’s random purchase of a blowtorch, Lauren Wagner did what any proper home baker would do: Create a recipe just to use the blowtorch.

Wagner, a Joliet resident and mental health therapist, loves using eggnog in her baked goods as an ode to her family’s favorite Christmastime drink. But she hadn’t nailed down an eggnog-inspired cookie yet. When her husband turned up with a torch, she immediately thought, “I could brûlée the tops!”

“I tied together (the flavors of) creme brûlée with eggnog with a crackly caramelized topping for the cookies — it’s a fun one,” Wagner, 33, told the Tribune.

The cookie contest gave her another excuse to bake, she said, noting that she often uses baking as a way to unwind and decompress. As a young girl, Wagner said she spent countless hours in the kitchen with her mom, who would bring home tools and techniques from her Wilton baking and decorating classes. Wagner’s grandma was always around, too, effortlessly throwing together layer cakes and fruit pies.

The Tribune holiday cookie contest second-place winner, the Eggnog Crème Brûlée Cookies by Lauren Wagner of Joliet. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Wagner’s second-place winning cookie captures the cozy flavors Wagner grew up with — sweet, creamy, warm with a touch of spice. In addition to the usual flour, leavening agents, sugar and butter, the soft cookie has a dash of nutmeg and a one-fourth cup of eggnog. Rum extract is optional, but Wagner said she loves the addition. For the creme brûlée element, a couple tablespoons of eggnog are whisked into powdered sugar to create a glaze, which is then sprinkled with a sugar and nutmeg mixture before the blowtorch treatment. (If you don’t have a blowtorch, Wagner suggests popping the cookies under an oven broiler for a minute or less.)

Wagner said the recipe reminded her that traditions don’t have to stay the same to be special.

“It’s a blend of my family’s favorite winter drink and my love of baking, a recipe that bridges generations,” she said. “When I crack through the brûlée top and taste the creamy sweetness underneath, I’m right back in that kitchen — three generations laughing, baking and sharing a glass of eggnog on a cold winter day.”

— Zareen Syed

Third place

Elyse Tish: MMMM Cookies (Mom’s Mandelbread Modified for Marty)

Elyse Tish, of Glenview, the third-place winner of the 39th annual Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, on Nov. 18, 2025 with her MMMM cookies. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

After her husband, Marty, described her mother’s favored mandelbread recipe as “hard enough to pound nails,” Elyse Tish took on a challenge to develop the recipe she entered this year.

Our judges awarded her Mom’s Mandelbread Modified for Marty third place for its classic orange-and-chocolatey flavor combination. They suggested elevating its profile by infusing espresso powder.

But Tish said her husband doesn’t drink coffee. He likes Pepperidge Farm’s orange-flavored Milano cookies, so she modeled the flavor after them. Her mandelbread cookie is soft, dense and leagues away from hammer-like, tough or crunchy: “The MMMM recipe melts in your mouth,” she wrote in her recipe submission essay.

The Glenview resident was nervous for her first entry to face stiff competition in the cookie contest, yet she made an effort on social media to encourage friends and family to vote her into the top 12 finalists.

“I actually have been playing with this recipe for years,” Tish said. “This is because I don’t bake cookies regularly. I’m not a regular homemaker. I’m a retired lawyer. I work as a lifeguard.”

Tish, 63, keeps herself busy beyond lifeguarding. She’s involved with her synagogue and the League of Women Voters, takes continuing education classes and has been married to Marty, who’s also a lawyer, for 35 years. They have a 30-year-old son who lives in Evanston.

She thinks her recipe is the kind a casual home baker can manage well, and it’s not too exotic or complicated, save for finding candied orange peel.

The icing is the latest addition to the recipe that took five years to perfect. Orange zest infused in the icing lends to the cookie’s fruity profile and adds a touch of sweetness, and a simple swirl makes it look pretty on a cookie tray, Tish said.

The Tribune holiday cookie contest third-place winner, the MMMM cookies, Mom‘s Mandelbread modified for Marty, by Elyse Tish of Glenview. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

She suggests icing the mandelbread after thawing and baking if preparing the recipe ahead of time. The icing part can be done in less than five minutes to make it fancier for a spontaneous visitor.

“I also think that makes it very special, because nobody, nobody puts icing on mandelbread. That is not a thing,” she said.

Though the chocolate mandelbread is not at all like the traditional Jewish cookie, or the one her late mother Blossom Skolnick made, she said she bakes it to remember her at her best, when she’d host neighbors over for coffee for hours on end at her home in Skokie.

“What my mother was really good at was making people feel welcome,” Tish said. “That idea that if somebody drops by, there’s always cookies in the freezer that you can just thaw out.”

“Now I’m sharing this little piece of that hospitality with another generation,” she said.

— Lauryn Azu

Recipes

The cover of the Chicago Tribune’s book “Holiday Cookies, Second Edition.” (Chicago Tribune)

To get the recipes for this year’s winning cookies, read our story here. For more winning cookie recipes from all four decades of the Tribune’s Holiday Cookie Contest, grab a copy of our cookbook, “Holiday Cookies, 2nd Edition,” at chicagotribune.com/holidaycookies.

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/2025-cookie-contest-winners/ 

Regarding the article “A border crosser. An execution killing. And political theater.”: I cannot believe the lengths reporters Joe Mahr and Gregory Royal Pratt go to to try to somehow blame President Donald Trump for not getting this accused killer off the street. It’s a hit piece that makes no sense whatsoever.

They state that ”Democratic policies for sure helped him stay on the streets,” and then in the next sentence, they state: ”But so did choices made by the Trump administration in its first five months before the killing, including not seeking a warrant that could have forced local cops to hold him.” This is ridiculous. Basically, their illogical argument is that even though the state and city have kept federal agents from arresting immigrants, it is Trump’s fault because he did not act fast enough to jump though the impediments put up by sanctuary policies. Meanwhile, local governments and police could have easily gotten this guy deported.

It’s very simple. If the state and the city used their resources to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement rather than fight ICE, then there would have never been an Operation Midway Blitz. I believe these sanctuary policies are exactly what caused the “collateral” arrests that our Illinois politicians purportedly abhor and have made it extremely difficult for ICE to actually find the criminals who are in clear view of the police.

— Philip Milord, Western Springs

Carrying ‘papers’

With continuing immigration angst and an increasing felt need to carry “papers” whenever out in public, I anticipate that need will soon become widespread. Even more important than phone, purse, keys and driver’s license, I never leave home without my papers: a copy of the Constitution of the United States.

— Mary Voiland, Naperville

Lying under oath

Based on the many articles I have read, it seems that Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and other federal agents have lied while testifying in court.

My last civics course was decades ago, but doesn’t this qualify as contempt of court and merit criminal charges? We must hold our public servants to high standards and expect them to obey the laws, not just make up the law as they go along.

For those who believe divine law is higher than human law, I would point to the commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”

Any way you look at it, this is wrong and should be stopped.

— Deborah Himelhoch, Northbrook

US attorney’s job

If the Tribune’s reporting on Operation Midway Blitz is accurate, then Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino lied while testifying under oath in U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis’ courtroom and in depositions. He admitted to doing so in subsequent testimony. Yet, there is no indication that the United States attorney has taken any steps to investigate, let alone indict, Bovino for his admitted perjury. Why?

— Roger J McFadden, Chicago

World AIDS Day

Among the latest erasures of our collective history and humanity is the federal discontinuation of observing World AIDS Day. Founded in 1988, this international observance on Dec. 1 unites us to raise public awareness, honor those who have died from HIV-related illnesses, support those living with HIV/AIDS, and promote education, prevention and care. For many of us, World AIDS Day is not abstract. It is personal.

My former student who became a close friend, Dino, was a funny, smart, creative, deeply compassionate young man with a twinkle in his eyes that could warm the hardest heart. In 1995, while working as a professional actor, he returned home to spend his final months surrounded by family and friends. He asked me to help him create an AIDS education program at the suburban high school where I still taught. The lessons I learned from him — about courage, clarity and humanity — remain with me still.

Since then, I have known men, women and children whose lives have been extended and strengthened by decades of research and medical progress. But the fight is not over. Continued attention, funding and innovation in prevention, care and potential cures remain essential. That progress cannot be taken for granted — yet it now stands at risk.

This year’s World AIDS Day theme, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” resonates painfully in a political climate defined by sweeping cuts to education, research and quality health care. These reductions jeopardize lives today and threaten to reverse hard-won progress into the future. Thoughtful rebuilding of systems is one thing; thoughtless disruption is something else entirely.

World AIDS Day exists because remembering matters, science matters and people’s lives matter. Discontinuing its federal observance does not erase the history — it only diminishes our commitment to a future in which fewer families lose someone like Dino.

— Barbara Turner, Darien

Tenant farming

The Friday article “Soybean farmers struggle with trade war, rising costs” was an eye-opener on the status of Illinois agriculture. If only one-quarter of Illinois farmland is family-owned, the outlook of consolidating farms for corporate investment is obvious. Investment platforms such as AcreTrader facilitate the purchase of bankrupted farms by investors who are not part of the community. Are we headed for tenant farming on a big scale?

The yearly cost of renting Illinois farmland has doubled to $269 per acre. That reminds me of the similarity to the plight of my great grandfather, a tenant farmer of County Mayo, Ireland.

In the 17th century, England used a system of land consolidation to take over small Irish farms, which led to tenant farming. The famine and emigration added to the poverty of tenant farmers who could never get ahead or never got reimbursed for improving the land by absentee owners. Illinois farmers are struggling, and the tariffs are running them out of business.

Did you know Vice President JD Vance has invested in AcreTrader? The Tribune should inform us about that side of the land grab.

— Colleen Oenning, Park Ridge

Targeting boats

Inasmuch as our country has had an overwhelming share of drug cartels pushing drugs into our country for far too long, it is understandable that something needed to be done. Taking aim at and blowing up what appear to be recreational boats out of the water indiscriminately doesn’t follow our reasonable rule of law.

First, are we 100% positive that the targeted boats did in fact have illegal drugs on board? Are we 100% sure that these boats were headed for United States waters with the intent to illegally distribute into our country? Does our presumptive premise give us the right to take military action in foreign waters?

There must be a better way that is perfectly legal and within our rights. To deliberately kill people based on an assumption, without any legal process, is plain-and-simple wrong. We do not operate that way. We hold that every human being is innocent until proven guilty. The people operating the boats may or may not be aware of what the cargo is. If they were ignorant of the cargo but were paid to drive the boat to a particular destination, do they deserve to lose their life by actions of the United States military? Where is the due process?

While it could very well be true that these boats were carrying illegal drugs, how do we positively know that these boats’ intended destination was the United States? The actions directed by President Donald Trump cannot be rationalized as proper and just in any measure. It is so wrong on so many levels.

If we have irrefutable evidence that would prove without any reasonable doubt that these boats and people were destined to enter our waters with the intent to distribute, then capture the boats, people and drugs; charge them with crimes; and allow our justice process to be applied. It is not only the appropriate and fair method but also the human thing to do.

— Dave Roberts, Frankfort

Future havoc?

Afghan refugee Rahmanullah Lakanwal deserves nothing less than death if he is convicted of targeting and ambushing National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom, 20 and Andrew Wolfe, 24. Beckstrom was killed, and Wolfe is clinging to life in critical condition.

But in the meantime — and especially with the increase of anti-Donald Trump rhetoric — we have to wonder how many more people are waiting for just the right moment to wreak havoc in our country.

— JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater, Florida

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/letters-120325-ice-donald-trump-chicago/ 

Reading week is quiet at Northwestern University. It’s a time for students to write papers and study for exams and for professors to grade and prepare new courses for winter quarter. But right now, it’s a different kind of quiet. On Friday evening, Northwestern announced a “deal” with the federal government. Media reports thus far have made it seem like a no-brainer — why didn’t we do this sooner? The university will pay $75 million over three years and in return will receive 10 times that amount in the form of suspended grants that will be restored. The university will take steps, already in process, to stamp out the scourge of antisemitism on campus. What could go wrong?

Despite the matter-of-fact tone of the reporting on the terms of the deal, in fact it is not and never has been about antisemitism. It is about punishing universities and the higher education sector. It is about repressing political opponents. At times, the two overlap. 

The bottom line is that the agreement, strongly opposed by many faculty members, chips away at the values and rights that have made universities such as Northwestern the envy of the world. These include academic freedom, free inquiry, free speech and expression, openness to new ideas and new conversation partners, and, most crucially, the right to dissent. The agreement is a direct hit on all these protections.

For years, members of the current U.S. administration have depicted professors as the “enemy” of the American people. In a 2021 speech, now-Vice President JD Vance stated that “we have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities in this country.” Why? Because universities are spaces in which there is freedom to think, to dissent, to change one’s mind and to learn. Students may disagree with the actions and policies of the U.S. government (and other governments). To this administration, such dissent is unacceptable. To oppose the ideas of President Donald Trump is to become his enemy. As Trump baldly stated in September at a memorial for Charlie Kirk: “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them.”

First and foremost, then, the deal reflects the administration’s long-standing goal of crushing political opponents regardless of the cost. Those designated as “opponents” include many leftists and progressives, but this label also includes anyone who disagrees with the president. 

The suppression of political dissent and concentration of power are hallmarks of authoritarianism. This deal contributes to its consolidation.

The deal is also about support for the state of Israel, though not in the straightforward way one might assume, equating protection for Jews with support for Israel. Northwestern has ensured the government that it will make the campus safe for Jews. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the campus being safe for all communities including Jews. But it was never unsafe. And the presumption that it was, and that it perhaps remains unsafe, is a pretext that is being used to justify repression of free speech and dissent against U.S. and Israeli government policy at Northwestern and on other campuses around the country, as documented by the advocacy group Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff.

Jewish faculty members at Northwestern have spoken up to oppose the manipulation of their collective identity for purposes of political repression. As reported in The Daily Northwestern, in late April, a group of over 100 NU Jewish faculty members signed a letter protesting the use of antisemitism as a smoke screen for repression of political dissent. “To punish Northwestern financially or to limit academic freedom in the name of protecting Jewish students could itself spark antisemitism — and would be an injustice to those very students and an injury to American society at large,” the statement reads in part. 

Philosophy professor Sandy Goldberg told The Daily Northwestern that “as a Jewish faculty member, the one thing that’s really important to me (is) I don’t want the federal government acting in my name. They are using antisemitism as a cudgel to beat elite universities into submission, and that’s deeply disturbing to me.” History professor and director of Jewish and Israel studies David Shyovitz insisted that the public perception of Northwestern in the media is “dramatically disconnected” to his experience on campus. The director of Jewish and Israel studies said that Northwestern’s besmirched reputation is being used to justify policies that are counterproductive to combating antisemitism.

And this is the twisted and dispiriting takeaway of the deal: Policies that are alleged by the Trump administration to protect Jews on campus are creating the conditions for the suppression of free speech and action for the entire Northwestern community, Jewish and non-Jewish.

Singling out Jews in the agreement may seem like a way of protecting them. It isn’t. Singling out the state of Israel for special protection as a state exclusively for Jews may seem like a way of protecting Jews. Those premises and promises are up for debate. And should remain so.

For the government to punish dissent and debate on our campus protects no one. It is a sad day for Northwestern, and for the United States.

Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is a professor and chair of religious studies and a professor of political science at Northwestern University.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/03/opinion-northwestern-deal-federal-government-funding/ 

Serbia Faces ‘Lights Out’ As US Denies Sanctions Waiver To Russian-Owned Oil Refinery

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/03/2025 – 05:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/serbia-faces-lights-out-us-denies-sanctions-waiver-vital-russian-owned-oil-refinery 

UK Agrees To Pay More For US Medicines After Trade Negotiations

Tyler Durden
Wed, 12/03/2025 – 05:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uk-agrees-pay-more-us-medicines-after-trade-negotiations