This time, our gal from Rancho Park takes on chocolate cookies.

Put time into dinner now, and you can make it last forever -- or at least the whole week. Welcome to Halfway to Dinner, where we show you how to stretch your staples every which way. 

Today: Kathryne of Cookie and Kate encourages good luck in the New Year with an everlasting pot of black-eyed peas. 

The twins' lunches today echo a sentiment after our hearts: why should cookie consumption end with the holidays? Christmas has come and gone, but cookies remain a lunch go-to -- just the way it should be. Here's Amanda with the details: 

"Antipasti time! Porchetta, Serrano ham, olives, a few beans for fun, Italian crackers, and two kinds of cookies." 

Happy lunching! 

Amanda shares our new favorite not-so-sweet tea cookie.

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

We hope your batches of Holiday Cut-Out Cookies are well on their neatly-packaged ways to friends and family far and wide, but we're sure you didn't stop there. This is full-on holiday cookie crackdown mode. Get your baking sheets out, and switch up this year's cookie roster, because we're answering the question: 

What is your favorite holiday cookie? Here's the twist: if someone already claimed your cookie, it is no longer eligible to be your favorite. 

Let the creativity ensue. 

Today: Gena shares a recipe for vegan gingerbread cookies, and some baking tips. 

Today's glimpse into the twins' lunch is making us jealous, yet again. Here's Amanda:

Sandwiches made from the best sandwich bread ever created, Balthazar brioche bread, homemade aioli (made the night before for some roasted fish and potatoes), sweet lettuce leaves, and smoked ham. And by the way, yes, my kids complain about their lunches just like every other kid in the world does.

But when a lunch like this is topped off with a chocolate cookie (also from Balthazar), who could find room to complain?

Christmas trees on every corner! Latkes on every plate! Cookie roundups on every food blog! The holidays are here, and the test kitchen was especially festive this week.