The holiday season is hectic enough and what do we do - we add to that madness by making impossible demands upon ourselves. One year I made over twenty varieties of cookies for my cookie trays to give to neighbors. At that time my son was a toddler and I was hosting Christmas dinner at my house for our family. Yes, I was so much younger then. 

I am now kinder to myself in my expectations. My list this year meets somewhere in the middle of totally doable and reasonably ridiculous. Italian rainbow cookies, orange cardamom cookies, eggnog shortbread, a variety of brownies, bourbon pecan blondies, a selection of fudge, chocolate chip cookies, candied nuts, peanut butter kisses and cut-out sugar cookies. I plan to start baking on Monday and cross your fingers I don't just break out the eggnog too early.

The various newspaper annual holiday cookie contests are one of my addictions along with these cookie books which can be downloaded at no cost that my friend, Tina sends me every year. She who dies with the most cookie recipes wins.

Our Online Recipe function delivers almost 8,500 cookie recipes alone! My post today is a compilation of links to cookie recipe collections, newspaper contests and more. If you have a link to share, please comment here and I'll update the post.

The Washington Post cookie generator allows you to type in a few ingredients and then provides you with a cookie recipe. That sounds familiar. 

Stella Parks' fantastic article at Serious Eats and recipe for the best rolled sugar cookie will have you ditching your tried and true version and trying hers (and her pie crust piece is great, too!) Trust me, you order her book.

Washington Post cookie article 

Los Angeles Times cookie contest

Palm Beach Post cookie contest

Columbus Dispatch cookie collection 

Journal Sentinel cookie contest

Baltimore Sun cookie contest 

Dallas News cookie contest

Post Crescent cookie contest

St. Cloud Times cookie contest

Chicago Tribune cookie contest and their Holiday Cookie book is killer good.

The Coloradoan cookie contest

Dayton Daily News cookie contest

Finger Lake Times cookie contest

C and G Newspapers cookie contest

Jacksonville cookie contest

The Denver Post cookie favorites

Bob's Red Mill United States of Cookies

StarTribune (Minneapolis)

Happy Baking! Photo of the platter of cookies is mine from about a year ago.