The Accept Cookies Gift Guide, vol. 2

I love giving gifts, and I love giving advice; I take both seriously. Last year, I sent out a gift guide, and I had so much fun putting it together that I thought I’d do it again. Everything in this year’s list is stuff that I have or food I have eaten, so if there’s someone in your life whose tastes overlap with mine, 1. they sound extremely cool, and 2. I hope you’ll find something for them in here!

My favorite T-shirt
- Forty Five Slub Curved Hem T-Shirt from Huckberry ($19, normally $38)
It’s possible I’ve gone overboard, but I own nine of these shirts! I don’t really follow the Steve Jobs idea of wearing the exact same thing every day—I need more variety in my life—but on most days, I do just wear one of these simple, soft t-shirts and a pair of jeans or trousers. I searched for a long time for a t-shirt that fit me well, and when I found the Forty Fives, it was a thrill and a relief. I had three to begin with, and then over the last two years, I bought another, and another, and another…so if you’ve seen me in a t-shirt in the last couple years, it’s a Forty Five. If you want to get one, or nine, they’re on sale at the moment for 50% off.

The best pasta I’ve had at home
- Porcini Radiatore from Mill Valley Pasta Co. ($12) 
- And their Tomato Sciue-Sciue Sauce ($11)
A few months ago, I was introduced to Mill Valley Pasta when my wife Lindsey got this pasta and this sauce as a birthday present from our friends in the Bay Area. When we made it for dinner one night, I said unequivocally that it was the best pasta I’ve ever cooked. The ‘little radiator’ shape is beautifully springy, the porcini flavor was deep and rich, and the sauce was decadent. A few nights later, we had the rest of the pasta, but we’d run out of the Sciue-Sciue sauce and had to use something else. The meal was still excellent, but didn’t quite hit the heights of the Mill Valley pasta and sauce together, so I say go for both.

Brain calisthenics
- New York Times games subscription ($50 for a year)
I wrote in the last newsletter about my newfound love for Connections, but I’ve been in a long-term relationship with the New York Times Crossword. It’s been a daily addiction since they created a standalone app for it and their other games. 

Cookies (predictable)
- Mocha Fudge Cookie by Crumpets Bake Shop ($55)
In 2018, I did a story for Pop-Up Magazine about the best cookie in Los Angeles. This is it. It’s like a chocolate chip cookie crossed with a sophisticated brownie. I always get a box as a present to myself on my birthdays, but I would happily accept some for Christmas, too. My father and my sister have also gotten boxes of these cookies in the mail from me.

- Shortbread by Laurie Ellen ($22)
Laurie Ellen is the former head pastry chef at Tartine, and now she makes beautiful delicate shortbread (and other treats). She’s a real artist who even creates the swirled marble papers that her goodies are packaged in. If you want to go all out, you can also get someone a year of shortbread deliveries, where she sends whatever limited-edition flavor she’s baking that season.

- Vegan Buttah Pecan Cookie by The Very Best Cookie ($30)
Lindsey is vegan, and I’m constantly looking for ways to share my love of cookies with her. I became friends with the folks at The Very Best Cookie largely due to the fact that they cracked the code on decadent, delicious vegan cookies, and we could get them delivered to our home. Luckily, they deliver all over the country. They also make a great OG chocolate chip cookie, but I slightly prefer the butter pecan, which has dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips, sea salt, and pecans. 

A new savory snack obsession
- BjornQorn x Ruby Hibiscus Popcorn 6-pack ($36, but $30 for us)
In the pages of Accept Cookies, BjornQorn is a recurring character, and that’s because their popcorn is so good. This year, for the holidays, they collaborated with Ruby, who make hibiscus beverages, and came up with this hibiscus popcorn, an idea that doesn’t sound like it should work, but is in fact amazing. It’s tangy and salty, or maybe a little bit tart. It might be even more addictive than their other popcorn flavors, which is a real feat. That’s probably why they sell it in packs of six. They gave us a 15% discount code for this newsletter back when chef Samin Nosrat introduced me to their popcorn, and you can use that code (with their blessing) on the hibiscus popcorn, too: SNACKCLUB15. 

A great guitar for musicians of every level
- Yamaha CGS102AII ($139)
Eleven years ago, I bought this little half-size classical guitar so I could travel with it, without having to lug my bigger, bulkier steel string acoustic guitar. It’s a student model, so I thought it would be okay if it got a little banged up, no big deal. I never expected it to become my go-to guitar. It’s so easy to play, and the small size is a relief to my rotator cuff, so I end up reaching for it all the time. Not only have I written most of my recent songs on it, I record with it, as well. Because of the small body, it has a small sound, less deep and resonant than most guitars, and I love it! So whether you’re a student, for whom this guitar was originally intended, or an avid player who wants a new sound, this is my secret weapon that is now no longer a secret!

And a rechargeable guitar tuner
- D’Addario Nexxus Headstock Tuner ($30)
Every guitar player needs a tuner, and I love the kind that clip onto a guitar headstock, because they’re easy and portable. The most annoying thing is when the battery runs out, because then you have to find those little flat watch batteries which you never just have lying around the house, and then you go to the store and get one and then it turns out there’s actually more than one type of flat battery and you’ve gotten the wrong one!?! Ahem. Anyway, this lovely tuner is rechargeable, via a USB cable. 

A soothing bedside light
- Nightside Lamp ($349)
This ingenious lamp can be an ambient nightlight, or you can telescope out the top of it and send a focused ellipse of light onto a book, for example. You can adjust the angle so the pool of light falls exactly where you want it, leaving the rest of the room dark. It’s great for partners who have different sleeping patterns, or (I have heard) for a baby’s changing table in a nursery. 

Home organizing
- Velcro One-Wrap Ties ($6)
Look, maybe cable management isn’t your idea of fun, but maybe that also means you haven’t experienced true fun yet. Imagine: the annoying little phone charger cord by your bed that dangles and drags when your phone isn’t plugged in. Now imagine that cord wrapped up in a little bundle that you can easily open and close via a small, self-gripping velcro strap. Heck, maybe that bundle hangs on a tiny hook on the back of your nightstand, out of sight but easy to access. Phew, is it getting hot in here…? I’m including this 5-pack of multicolored velcro ties, because they’re cute and would be a great stocking stuffer. I have a couple packs of these, but if you’re even more hardcore, what I use most in my studio and in my home is the cut-to-size version. 

Independent podcasts 
- Radiotopia, from PRX (any $ amount)
If you’re reading this, there’s a chance that you have listened to Song Exploder or Home Cooking or The West Wing Weekly. They’re all independent podcasts that exist under the protective canopy of Radiotopia, a curated network of artist-owned shows that also includes Ear Hustle, The Memory Palace, Articles of Interest, Everything is Alive, and other beautiful, weird productions. Radiotopia is sort of like the island of misfit toys from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer stop-motion animation movie, and our island stays afloat because of listener support. I think a great gift would be to donate to Radiotopia (it’s tax-deductible), and then share a podcast episode you love with someone who would appreciate it, knowing you helped make the show’s continued existence possible.

Please let me know if you get any of these gifts for someone—or for yourself! I still stand by all of last year’s recommendations, too, so if you need more ideas, you can find that one here.

Happy holidays!

Hrishikesh

PS - If you need some soothing songs to listen to while dealing with potential holiday stress, here again is my Spotify playlist, NapCaviar, with a few new additions.