Is it OK to have just cookies for dinner? Asking for a friend.peachygames

We’ve fully toggled into holiday mode here at New York Times Cooking, starting with Cookie Week, our annual baking bonanza: seven original recipes and videos to go with them; and a newsletter written by the delightful Vaughn Vreeland. Inch for inch, is there anything happier than a cookie? It’s joy forged from butter and sugar. I’m tempted to just disappear into the kitchen and bake up a storm.

Yet, as always, I have to eat a real dinner. And after a Thanksgiving weekend that included steak, French fries and multiple martinis, I’m due for a few lighter meals, like the maple-miso salmon with green beans below. Think of it as cookie-making fuel.

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Sausage ragù; red lentil soup; white beans with chile-fried eggs.

The green beans cook in the same amount of time as the salmon in this simple recipe from Colu Henry, which comes with a maple-miso power marinade that could make anything taste good.

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I love this creamy coconut braise from Yasmin Fahr, which leans on ginger, garlic and turmeric for flavor. This is an utterly fast way to make something special.

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Do you have leftover fresh Thanksgiving herbs, like thyme, sage or rosemary? Here’s how you can use them (or use dried herbs instead). This easy recipe from Jennifer Steinhauer is a gift to the tired cook.

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There are many planets in the pestoverse (classic basil, kale, even avocado), but this broccoli-mint version from Genevieve Ko stands out for how substantial it is, making for a filling meal. Bonus: This recipe uses walnuts, which tend to be less expensive than the usual pine nuts.

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Maybe you don’t need a recipe for rice and beans, in which case, just think of this as a reminder that it can be the base of a satisfying dinner. (I like mine with fried eggs.) But if you want a version imbued with extra flavor and one less pot to clean, you can’t go wrong with this recipe from Ali Slagle.

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