This is not a year-end best-of list.
This is just a tribute. (And a full ACBN Friday slate of food, drink, entertainment and more!)
There are, as of the moment this email landed in your inbox, eighteen days remaining in 2024.
No doubt, you’ve already seen the internet begin to turn reflective about the year, with every writer with a platform of any sort pivoting to a Best Of List, whether focused on their work or the things they read/ate/drank/drove/etc.
I am not immune from this! I am pretty sure that at some point in the next eighteen days, I am also going to drop a BOL of some form or another on you. Caveat emptor, and so on.
But it is not this day.
No, today, I want to hear from you. What’s your Best of 2024? Not everything turned out exactly right this year, that’s for sure, but even the Chicago White Sox have to name a team MVP. (That’s how they know who to trade!) I want to hear what you think was best in the year that almost-was, whether that’s things you read, things you watched, things you consumed, dogs you petted, cars you stole*—it’s up to you.
What’s your Best of 2024?
*please do not admit to any crimes for which the statute of limitations has not yet expired
In the meantime—it’s Friday, friends.
I haven’t shifted to full Retrospecticus Mode quite yet—I’m still full steam ahead, trying to finish the year as strong as I can.
Today, I’ve got some delicious holiday desserts, a powerfully-festive punch, fun indie rock, an endearingly-nerdy book, thoughts on the latest Star War, pets, and more!
It’s Friday. Let’s make the best of what’s around.
Once again I must tout the merits of throwing a Cookie Party
Around this time last year, I reminisced about the best party my wife and I ever threw:
My wife and I have always loved throwing parties. It was something we did reasonably often before we had kids, and I think we were quite good at it. There was one party in particular that we’ve looked back on especially fondly, and it’s become a half-joke between us that that was the specific date on which we “peaked”.
It was a simple notion, but a good one: we threw a cookie party.
We mixed up a big batch of punch, invited a bunch of people over, and encouraged them to dress fancy and bring a batch of their favorite cookies. We ended up with something like 40 people in a 400-square foot apartment, and everyone heeded the assignment to great effect.
When I shared this last year, it was as introduction to my recipe of the week, my Salted Bourbon Brown Butter Derby Bars.
They’re one of the better recipes I’ve ever shared here, and you should make them:
This year?
We finally chose to relive that moment, and threw another cookie party. Things aren’t the same, of course—instead of a tiny Manhattan apartment, it was in a suburban Kentucky house, and there were a lot more kids at this one.
Nevertheless, it was a success, as these pictures should attest:
Pictured, we’ve got:
Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies (via Sally’s Baking Addiction)
Classic Spritz Cookies (via Betty Crocker)
Pecan Tassies (via
)
Finally, the bottom right are my wife’s take on Haystack Cookies, a fun no-bake cookie: