Eat. Watch. Do. — Cookie contest winners, Hanukkah specials and ‘A Christmas Carol’ review

It’s Thursday, Chicago.

Those sleigh bells are ringing, are you listening? We’re diving headfirst into the holiday season, and to get you in that festive mood, the results of our annual holiday cookie contest were announced yesterday. Read here about how you can bake a savory spin on a chocolate chip cookie, a customizable coconut tassie and our first-place recipe, a buttery graham cracker praline.

On stages once again is another annual holiday tradition. “A Christmas Carol” at Goodman Theatre is back for the 46th year, and makes you believe in the power of kindness, critic Emily McClanathan writes.

We have these stories, a roundup of Chicago restaurants with Hanukkah specials you can preorder, and more this week.

Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you back here next week.

— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor

Crunchy sesame, caramelized nuts and coconut flakes clinch 2023 Holiday Cookie Contest honors

This year, 38 qualifying entrants vied for our three cash prizes and readers cast over 3,600 votes throughout the two-week voting period. Read about our guest judges, the winners and the recipes here.

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Goodman Theatre is a play to make you believe kindness can win

“In his 16th outing as Scrooge, Larry Yando’s performance is far from stale,” freelance critic Emily McClanathan writes. Read more about the performance here.

Tribune’s Holiday Cookie Contest 2023: Get the winning recipes

For a dish that your guests will love this season, or something to occupy your time during the long winter nights, check out the three winning recipes of the Holiday Cookie Contest here.

Chicago Architecture Biennial returns with ‘This Is a Rehearsal’ and the Cultural Center shines

Eat. Watch. Do.

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Dozens of sites throughout Chicago, from the Loop to West Garfield Park, Englewood to Little India, showcase the inventive work of architects and explore the built environment as a place always in process. Read about the exhibitions, on display through February 2024, here.

19 Hanukkah specials in Chicago with braised brisket and heaps of challah

Instead of covering your kitchen with oil, you can leave the cooking to the pros and pick up latkes, sufganiyot and other traditional fare including brisket and kugel from restaurants and delis throughout the Chicago area. Check out available specials here.

‘Slow Horses’ review: Violence overwhelms Season 3 of the sardonic spy series

“I’m a sucker for paperwork stories,” Tribune critic Nina Metz writes. “And it feels like the right choice for this sardonic, John Le Carré-flavored spy series set in the U.K.” Read her review here.

Review: Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago pours brilliant beer made with corn, but needs time to settle

Tribune food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu checks out the newly opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Fulton Market. Chu recommends trying the beef stew, Irish breakfast and the corned beef Benedict in the transformed train depot. Read Chu’s review here.

When Don and Barbara Rickles met Bob and Ginnie Newhart, they became friends for life — as told in Judd Apatow’s latest film

Judd Apatow’s latest film, “Bob and Don: A Love Story,” is one of the best movies of this or any year, Tribune columnist Rick Kogan writes. Read about the short film here.

It’s time to pop a Midwest-made pét-nat as Illinois winery embraces ancient sparkling winemaking method

Though pét-nat wine originated in southwestern France, winemakers in other parts of the world, including one in Peru, Illinois, are giving this versatile, sparkling style a go. Read about where you can find this fizzy wine in Chicago, here.

‘Maestro’ review: Bradley Cooper wields the baton as Leonard Bernstein. But Carey Mulligan conducts the movie.

Bradley Cooper directs and stars as Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro,” which Tribune critic Michael Phillips says deserved a theatrical run before its Netflix debut later this month. “Any and all parts of his tumult of a life make for juicy cinematic exploration,” Phillips writes. Read his review here.