There will be five new cookies to try -- and Rick Nelson and Lee with cookie books to sign -- at the 2025 Star Tribune Cookie Wonderland event at Southdale Shopping Center on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. (until the cookies and books run out). Get there early! The recipes for the new winning cookie recipes will be in the Minnesota Star Tribune that day. Lee and Rick will be signing their new book about the contest, "The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book."

Lee Svitak Dean and Rick Nelson will talk cookies and their 20 years with the Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest and its winning recipes, which are in the new "The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book." Lee was a longtime resident of Plymouth. The event is free but registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/mszas89h or 612-543-5825.

At the Minnesota Arboretum's "Farm at the Arb," Lee and Rick will demonstrate several winning cookies from their past years with the Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest. These include Cornmeal Cranberry Shortbread and Rosemary Lemon Creams. There will be more varieties to sample, as well. All the recipes are showcased in their new "The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Contest." Note that the demonstration class is at the Myers Education Center at the Farm at the Arb, which has a separate entrance from the main Arboretum address. Cost is $75 for members; $95 for nonmembers and includes admission to the Arboretum. Registration is required at https://arb.umn.edu/learn/bakeology-cookie      

Cookies and hot cider while they last, as Lee and Rick tell the story of the Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest and how the judging took place, along with more tidbits about the competition and the resulting book, "The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book." The event is in the lower level of the Mill City Museum, in the Baking Lab. The event is free, but admission to the museum is $15 for adults to $8 for children 5-17 (age 4 and under, free).

Lee speaks to the Time for Life organization in Richfield in a non-public gathering.

Join Rick and me at a booksigning in Hopkins at Cream & Amber (books and cafe) Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to noon.

Lee and Rick will sign books at GoodThings in White Bear Lake on Dec. 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be cookies!

Lee and Rick join two other local authors (Zoë François and Sarah Kieffer) at Cookbooks for Christmas Cocktail Party at Graze in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Cost is $20, which includes a specialty cocktail (or N/A beverage) and cookies. Books available to purchase. Ticket information to come.    

Lee and "Kitchens of Hope" will be featured on "Almanac," on TPT, on Friday, during the 7 pm hour, along with a contributor from the book. "Almanac" is the longstanding public affairs television show on the local PBS station, TPT2.