NYT Cooking Is Giving Readers The Chance To Stay In Their Own 'Cookie Cabin' This Holiday Season

Few traditions during the holidays are as delicious and nostalgic as baking cookies. Although chocolate chip cookies are delicious any time of year, this is when we bring out the moose cookie cutters and cookie presses, apply sanding sugars in jeweled tones and royal icing expertly to sugar cookies and gingerbread men. Why do we wait all year to enjoy spicy, delicious gingerbread?

Already harried bakers carve out time during the busy season to prepare their fanciest cookies to be shared with family and friends. Whether it's multigenerational or friends gathering to bake and drink wine, this food trend continues to grow. The pandemic sparked a 24% increase in baking-related purchases in 2020, with sales amounting to $25.6 billion. Packaged Facts' Home Baking Report suggests the upward trend has no sign of reversing soon (per Food Navigator-USA).

Sparked by the comfort that baking and watching the "Holiday Baking Championship" deliver, Frederick Opie, Ph.D., professor of history and society at Babson College, says, "Christmas in many cultures was a time of visiting. It was cold, so you weren't out farming and had time to visit. Cookies were made in large amounts and with great care as something to share. And giving gifts didn't mean going out and buying something. Most gifts were sweets or crafts" (via Martha Stewart).

New York Times Cooking wants to be a part of this memorable tradition by offering readers a chance to stay in "cookie cabins" to bake up holiday magic with friends and family.

Per an email sent to Mashed, New York Times Cooking is offering readers a chance "disconnect while reconnecting with loved ones through baking" by creating "Cookie Getaways" this December in "cookie cabins" located in Palm Springs, California, and the Catskills, New York.

Each curated rental home has been outfitted with kitchens stocked with all the ingredients bakers need to create their cherished family heirlooms and NY  Cooking's newest Christmas cookie recipes. Bakers and their families and friends will have access to all the baking tools recommended by "Wirecutter" and receive a New York Times All Access subscription.

The two-night stay cabins are offered each weekend in December, from Friday to Sunday; 12/2–12/4, 12/9–12/11, and 12/16–12/18. Beginning November 22, interested bakers can book a three-bedroom Catskills, New York cabin or a three-bedroom Palm Springs, California cabana online for $325 a night.

As of publication, all the available weekends had waitlists but fear not. You can enter a sweepstake to win a stay by sharing a photo or video baking this holiday using an NYT Cooking recipe with the hashtag #NYTHolidayBaking and #sweepstakes on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. Five lucky winners will receive a cookie-baking kit bursting with everything needed for a memorable holiday baking experience, including NYT Cooking swag, a grocery gift card, baking tools recommended by "Wirecutter," and a New York Times All Access subscription for you and friends, valued at nearly $1,000. Entries will be collected from November 16 through November 29.